Spending Cuts, Current Affairs and UK Politics | News, Opinions and Analysis from Spending Cuts Review

Posted by spending reviewer on May 9, 2012

Finnish Schools: A Different Approach to Education

Finland’s performance in worldwide testing such as PISA is often praised by others from around the world and for this reason we’ve decided to take a closer look at how their education system differs. Here are 7 important parts of the Finnish education system: Equality and Equity – The main focus for Finland is not excellence (as seen in many countries) but equality. They believe that...

Posted by spending reviewer on Apr 25, 2012

Do Academy Schools Improve Education?

The country is currently undergoing serious education reform with many schools becoming academies; state-funded independent schools outside local authority control and the National Curriculum, receiving their funding directly from central government. The government claims that schools are converting to academies for the freedom of operating outside of local authority control but according to a number of...

Posted by spending reviewer on Apr 16, 2012

50p For Democracy

How much would you be willing to pay to prevent companies from influencing public policies? Would 50p be too much? That is the figure given by an authoritative and recent report by Sir Christopher Kelly and his committee on standards in public life. Ed Miliband has finally added his voice to the debate by offering a £5,000 cap on party funding, and I hope that by keeping this subject in the national...

Posted by spending reviewer on Apr 6, 2012

A World Without Nuclear Weapons

The devastation that can be caused by a single nuclear weapon is like no other. As we saw with the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the consequences are horrific and such destruction should never be inflicted on another country. Without significant public pressure, governments will refuse to address this issue with real purpose, which is why you should add your name to the growing support for a...

Posted by spending reviewer on Mar 29, 2012

Panic Buying, Workers’ Rights and Fuel Prices

The news of the fuel tanker drivers’ dispute has evoked a response from the public but not the one they would have expected. Instead of rallying behind them in support for workers’s rights, people have been panicking about not having enough petrol; leading to congestion at petrol stations around the country. The government advice given by Francis Maude has not helped matters at all and has...

Posted by spending reviewer on Mar 26, 2012

Cash For Access: Time to Reform Party Funding

It will come as no surprise that party donors are granted access to leading politicians to discuss “issues” but the important thing is that party funding is in the public domain and people are actually talking about it. Mark Adams and the Sunday Times reporters should be commended on their actions because surely without them, this method of party funding will have simply continued with the...

Posted by spending reviewer on Mar 19, 2012

For Sale: The UK Road Infrastructure

In another step towards the privatisation of government assets, David Cameron announced a feasibility study into ways in which private companies could be used to run motorways and major trunk roads on long-term leases. The idea is that private companies will be encouraged to invest in the UK’s road infrastructure, saving the government from having to do so. In return, these companies will be able to...

Posted by spending reviewer on Mar 7, 2012

Police Privatisation: £1.5bn Contract

The duty of the Police is to protect and serve the public but the duty of private companies is to secure and maximise profits. This is a clear conflict of interests and the reason why the privatisation of police services should not be allowed. The West Midlands and Surrey police have invited bids from private security companies such as G4S in a tendering process worth £1.5bn to take over certain police...