Monthly Archives: April 2013

Lambic and geuze – a success story with a sour taste!

Last weekend, I was over in Belgium for the biennial Toer De Geuze, when the brewers of geuze and lambic beers open their doors to the public to show off their beers. Geuze and lambic beers are, to say the … Continue reading

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Shares For Rights – Government quietly revives one of its stupidest ideas

Remember the government’s ‘shares for employment rights’ idea? It was rejected by almost every business surveyed during the consultation, many coming to the same conclusions as I did when it was first announced. The House of Lords thought it was … Continue reading

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Did the left win the 20th century?

This is the question posed in the New Statesman’s centenary issue and in a debate this Thursday. I’m disappointed that I can’t go. Fortunately my good friends Mervyn Dinnen and Niki Rosenbaum will be there so I trust I will get … Continue reading

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Did Thatcher break the trade unions?

Unless there is a world-changing event somewhere, nothing that isn’t about Margaret Thatcher will get read today or probably for the rest of the week. There is a lot to say about her so I will restrict this piece to … Continue reading

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Workplace rights for druids and pagans – if you supported Eweida, this is what you asked for!

The Daily Mail’s front page today surpasses even its usual standard of cynical and calculated ignorance. It calls the advice given to employers by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, in response to the Eweida judgement in January, “an insult to … Continue reading

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Scroungers, scumbags and soaring welfare costs

In the same week as welfare reforms come into effect, spread all over the front pages of the newspapers is the archetypal ‘scrounging scumbag’. Of course, government ministers would not be crass enough link the murder of six children to the … Continue reading

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