Not exact matches
We then use that to build out two additional scenarios: one assuming a doubling of the current minimum wage plus factoring in the cost of fire and building safety improvements based on data
from the Worker Rights Consortium; and another using a «living wage» figure
from the East Asia
labour organization Asia Floor Wage, which is considered at the high end of
labour reform demands.
They called for immediate steps to reopen banks and said any deal must address debt sustainability - code for reducing Athens» crushing debt - but gave no hint of concessions
from the Greek side towards its creditors» demands for deep spending cuts and far - reaching
reforms of pensions and
labour markets.
Policies that spur more efficient corporate restructuring can revive productivity growth by targeting three inter-related sources of
labour productivity weakness: the survival of «zombie» firms (low productivity firms that would typically exit in a competitive market), capital misallocation and stalling technological diffusion... As the zombie firm problem may partly stem
from bank forbearance, complementary
reforms to insolvency regimes are essential to ensure that a more aggressive policy to resolve non-performing loans is effective.
Uncertainty about
labour market
reforms, the adequacy of pension systems and future economic conditions may also be discouraging consumers
from spending, especially in Germany where these issues have received much publicity.
Catherine West,
Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, has tabled an Early Day Motion (used by MPs to publicise a particular cause and to gain support in the Commons) calling on the government to remove vulnerable road users
from the
reforms.
«If we're to get a strong and balanced recovery which everyone benefits
from we need
Labour's plan to tackle the cost - of - living crisis and
reform our economy for the long term,» he commented.
Neither the Conservatives nor
Labour have shown any interest in
reforming Britain's drug laws, although there are reports of a more sympathetic response
from David Cameron in recent months.
Although speculating that the approaches
from his main political rivals represented the «latest wheeze by
Labour and the Tories to take the best of Lib Dem ideas and call them their own,» Mr Clegg said he was willing to work with other parties on constitutional
reform.
Revelations about «embarrassing» strategems used by a lobbying firm have prompted further demands for
reform from Labour.
However, I consider the claim made by many on the left that
Labour's 2010 manifesto represents a mandate or commitment
from Labour MPs for such
reform to be rather optimistic.
Drawing upon evidence
from the debates over healthcare
reform in both the U.S. and the U.K., where Palin's propagation of the idea of death panels and
Labour's insistence that Gove's
reforms constituted privatisation «pure and simple» served only to confuse and scare the wider public, Thompson argued that misleading and emotive language is making political
reform and compromise harder to achieve.
Aside
from devolution, no constitutional
reform agenda had majority
Labour Party backing before the 1990s.
At a partisan level, also during the Thatcher era, the cause of constitutional
reform was taken up by the SDP - Liberal Alliance made up of the Social Democratic Party, which had split off
from the
Labour Party in 1981, and the more established Liberal Party.
Labour should also introduce an amendment to the electoral
reform referendum bill to change it
from a referendum on AV to a referendum on STV.
Opposition is growing
from the
Labour backbenches towards proposals making claimants work for their benefits contained in the welfare
reform bill.
But if there is a lesson to be learned
from turning back to the insights of New
Labour's road not taken, it is in seeing that economic
reform and political
reform are closely intertwined.
If the Co-operative Party were to disaffiliate
from Labour and run on its own, I'd consider joining it immediately, and would definitely argue for an electoral pact until we
reform the electoral system.
So much of what is being said on their side of the blogosphere, and Twitter, the howls of righteous indignation
from people whose party took us to two bloody wars and failed to
reform the system after 13 years in power, amounts to: «how dare you even speak to the Tories, they are evil, you are evil,
Labour will crush you LOLZ».
The most significant
reform for New
Labour was Blair's removal of Clause IV
from the Party Constitution.
Even if Cameron wins the referendum following a negotiation that brings little immediate practical change there will be calls for more
reforms from those that lost and perhaps
from a
Labour leadership that campaigned reluctantly to stay in.
Now, either
Labour has a huge amount to fear
from forthcoming boundary changes (and much - needed
reform of the corrupt postal voting system), or Cameron is an electoral genius.
From the Lib Dem point of view, though, the real barriers to
reform on this particular issue are about
Labour and the Tories united together.
The
Labour leader is set to press on with his bold attempt at
reforming the relationship between his party and the unions, despite intense opposition
from those gathered at the TUC's annual conference in Bournemouth.
Trade unions
from across the public sector are warning
Labour that there is «widespread anger and resentment» over proposed
reforms to the public sector pension schemes.
«There was a strong consensus
from the Meeting that it would be better to take some of the heat out of this public debate; this would entail taking forward a calmer internal party review of funding which would be more comprehensive and balanced (including importantly, addressing the Conservative multi-million pound donations at and between elections) and putting that forward as part of
Labour's manifesto offer for party funding
reforms.»
Labour have sought to prevent the public
from focusing on this by suggesting that the Conservative commitment to
reform had weakened.
But for party finance
reform more generally, the asymmetric effects of these changes are such that a future
Labour or
Labour - led government may exact some form of «revenge», either though excessively partisan measures or through a root and branch
reform of party finance regardless of any opposition
from the Conservative Party.
Quite apart
from the fact that proportional representation is * fair *, and therefore a far better starting point for a Parliament that is responsive to the will of the people, the difference between Caroline and most
Labour or Conservative MPs is that she is trying to ensure that a referendum on voting
reform actually offers a meaningful choice.
Faced with entrenched opposition
from Tory MPs coupled with
Labour's refusal to back a crucial timetable for the House of Lords
Reform Bill, Mr Clegg announced last month that the plans were being scrapped.
While support
from Labour means the
reforms will pass the Commons easily, the Lords may pose a greater threat.
In the past
Labour has often relied on its MPs
from outside England - most notably, its cohort of around 40 Scottish MPs - to help get its
reforms through the Commons.
When the What's Left group of MPs rejected
Labour Reform's proposal to defer decisions to allow proper consultation,
Labour Reform issued a press release announcing their withdrawal
from the What's Left group.
Outside
from the different
Labour cliques the bigger picture is that for the sake of our democracy the issue of party funding needs
reforming.
Spending was tackled, the unions were contained, the City was unleashed, and a series of important supply - side
reforms helped to deliver a long boom; and when the exhausted and fractious Tories were eventually chucked out in 1997, it was
Labour that profited — politically —
from those
reforms.
To recap, the disastrous selection process for
Labour's parliamentary candidate for Falkirk West, where allegations of malpractice triggered the resignation of Tom Watson MP as its election campaign coordinator — and which even now is subject to wildly differing versions of events — has kicked off a wholesale
reform programme of everything
from party funding to MP candidate selection and conference voting.
The 19 leading figures
from groups such as Fabian Society, Compass, Policy Network and Progress expressed unease that
Labour's leader may not secure a mandate for the kind of
reforms they believe Britain needs.
This evening Ed Miliband will make speech mentioning
Labour's great unmentionable, a policy area that has been mothballed since Tony Blair's departure
from Number 10: public service
reform.
But there are growing signs that Miliband has stepped back
from plans to dilute the size of the union vote at party conference, and is instead focusing on a series of
reforms designed to make local parties more dynamic, and open up the party to a wider group of
Labour supporters.
When I read the email
from Ed Miliband to all party members yesterday afternoon, I thought Left Futures should run a competition with a prize for the first person who could identify «Paul», the possibly mythical figure who it is said has joined the
Labour Party because of the «
reforms» now backed by
Labour's national executive: I -LSB-...]
Danny Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, said
Labour was not happy with the status quo but believed
from conversations with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, that
reform was possible without the threat of a referendum hanging over talks.
«Miliband says he would not want a
Labour government to be deflected
from its economic agenda by pursuing an in - out referendum in 2017, but Britain's economic interests are intricately bound up in the debate surrounding EU
reform.
Impact stakeholder group: Greg Cook [
Labour Party], Andrew Cooper [Populus Ltd / Conservative Party], Ruth Fox [Hansard Society], Katie Ghose [Electoral
Reform Society], Peter Riddell [Institute for Government], Neil Serougi [ESRC / Freedom
from Torture], Tom Smithard [Liberal Democrats]
There was somewhat predictable outrage
from some parts of the left over the weekend, when
Labour's unloved DWP shadow, Liam Byrne, announced a new approach to welfare
reform including emphasis on contributions, a full employment strategy and giving councils the option to give those who work or contribute to their communities» priority on social housing lists.
«This is important work, but if David Cameron demands results
from local authorities, whilst pulling the carpet
from beneath them while
reforms are being shelved, this could be a wasted opportunity to properly expand
Labour's family intervention policies.»
Wright's defiant response — to quit
Labour but refuse to quit as crime commissioner — means the focus could continue to be away
from the fundamental need for
reform, Starmer suggested.
And with that entirely predictable performance
from either side, the prime minister went back to the business of government (quibbling over the semantics of benefit
reform) and the
Labour leader returned to the good work of opposition (donning a charming little tux with a maroon metallic sheen, dealing out the cards, and raking in the chips).
Reforming union links is the
Labour leader's EU referendum moment - so he should learn
from David Cameron's mistakes
Opponents to the coalition's bid to introduce more competition into the NHS had won a sweeping victory, but
Labour's fight against the
reforms appears to be far
from over.
«The task for the
Labour left now is to bring about
reform, as part of a strategy of democratising
Labour from top to bottom,» states the guide by David Osland.
In legislative terms, constitutional
reform is necessary but very far
from suffi cient to stem the decline in
Labour support.