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Showing posts from August, 2016

Poverty, Inequality & Shortcomings: Six Years of Tory Rule

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Source It has been over 6 years since Labour were ousted from power in the UK, bringing their 13-year reign to a rather abrupt end. Despite the fact that Labour oversaw one of the most successful economies in the UK’s history, Blair’s decision to take the country to war in Iraq proved to be too much for some voters, allowing the Conservatives to profit from a swing of 3.7%. However, this swing did not prove to be decisive enough, with the Labour party coming in second, only 1.2 million votes ahead of the third placed, Liberal Democrats. Since then we have heard a variety of bizarre statements from Tory and UKIP voters and politicians, ranging from: “Gordon Brown caused the Credit Crunch” to “Labour have ruined the economy forever”. It remains to be seen just how Labour inflicted a worldwide recession on the rest of the world, but why let facts and reason get in the way of a good old uneducated rant? The truth is that over the last 6 years we have seen Nick Clegg and the

Small vs Big Business – How We Feel versus How It Really Is

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Long live small business 2016 is an incredible time to run a business. I won’t get into the argument of idea over execution, but I’ll state the facts. In 2015, 608,100 businesses started up in the UK –  a 4.6% increase on the year before (581,173). The resources that we have at our disposal give us the potential to take any idea from thought to fruition.  As consumers, this avalanche of new brands makes it seem there is an overwhelming freedom of choice when it comes to what we buy. But once we take a deeper look, are we really that free? Oxfam International’s graphic on ‘The Big Ten’ speaks volumes about how we feel versus how it really is. Source Nestle, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kellogg’s feature amongst the ten conglomerates that own pretty much everything we’d ever buy at a supermarket.  Now let’s delve a little deeper into one industry and take look at like at the very bottom of the business food chain. Craft brewing began as a way for avid brewers to create their own ba

The Great British Brexit: The Aftermath

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It has been less than two months since the unprecedented outcome of the UK referendum on its continued membership of the European Union was announced. However, there are already an array of signs that a ‘hard-Brexit’ will inevitably lead to years of hardship in the UK. It was hardly a surprise that the loudest advocates of voting to leave, including the likes of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, quickly back-tracked on their outrageous promises. There was also Gove’s claim that the people of Britain have had enough of experts , while also claiming he wasn’t interested in becoming Prime Minster. Unsurprisingly the latter turned out to be nothing other than a lie and he promptly put his hat in the ring, while stabbing his crony , Boris Johnson in the back. However, we luckily saw both men lose out on the job of Prime Minster, with right-leaning Teresa May taking the reins. There was time for one final twist though, her decision to make Boris Johnson Foreign Secretary was met