http://blogs.independent.co.uk| Blogs from the Independent newspaper - news, views and features from the world's most free-thinking newspaper| Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:31:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2| en hourly 1 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/22/why-savers-should-forgive-the-bank-of-england/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/22/why-savers-should-forgive-the-bank-of-england/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:22:34 +0000 Ben Chu http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21755 Charlie Bean points out that those complaining about the impact of QE on their annuity rates overlook the fact that QE also boosts the size of their pension pots.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/22/why-savers-should-forgive-the-bank-of-england/feed/ 2 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/22/germany-crisis-what-crisis/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/22/germany-crisis-what-crisis/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:57:42 +0000 Ben Chu http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21745 Germany does not share the economic pain of the likes of Greece and Spain and thus does not feel the urgency of the situation.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/22/germany-crisis-what-crisis/feed/ 4 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/21/reform-lost-in-holistic-partnership/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/21/reform-lost-in-holistic-partnership/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:26:54 +0000 John Rentoul http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21727 Further to my comment yesterday about pointless court hearings for defendants to say what their name is, I think I have established that the Government is getting rid of some of them, but not all. Nick Herbert, the justice minister (pictured), has announced (but not on the Justice Department website) that some committal hearings are to [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/21/reform-lost-in-holistic-partnership/feed/ 1 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/20/public-sector-inefficiency-at-its-worst/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/20/public-sector-inefficiency-at-its-worst/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:19:51 +0000 John Rentoul http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21661 Sometimes it takes a media circus to expose an absurdity. One such is surely the waste of the time and salaries of court officials and police of requiring defendants to appear in a magistrates’ court, confirm their names and addresses and be told that their case is being sent to a Crown court on a [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/20/public-sector-inefficiency-at-its-worst/feed/ 10 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/19/the-scottish-question/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/19/the-scottish-question/#comments Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:18:10 +0000 John Rentoul http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21586 I have written about David Cameron’s character in The Independent on Sunday today, prompted by our ComRes poll which asked respondents to say which of a set of 14 statements applied to him. Apart from being “out of touch with ordinary people” — not fatal but not great — little about him seemed to have made much [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/19/the-scottish-question/feed/ 7 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/19/tesco-a-good-company-and-a-responsible-employer/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/19/tesco-a-good-company-and-a-responsible-employer/#comments Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:47:46 +0000 John Rentoul http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21575 I caused a breach in the left-right continuum yesterday by saying: Tesco: a good company and responsible employer that sells things people want at prices they can afford. I was condemned the length and breadth of Twitter and was asked to go on Radio 5 so that I could be condemned there too (unfortunately a boxing match [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/19/tesco-a-good-company-and-a-responsible-employer/feed/ 31 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/19/ed-balls-on-greece-the-eurozone-and-tax-cuts/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/19/ed-balls-on-greece-the-eurozone-and-tax-cuts/#comments Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:23:30 +0000 John Rentoul http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21547 Courtesy of Labour’s impressive news operation, a transcript of Ed Balls on Sunday AM this morning. Always worth listening to the Shadow Chancellor. Andrew Marr: You were hostile to Britain joining the euro, what do you think should happen now with a country like Greece where they are absolutely up against it and really serious [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/19/ed-balls-on-greece-the-eurozone-and-tax-cuts/feed/ 14 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/18/tories-take-first-lead-with-comres-since-october-2010/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/18/tories-take-first-lead-with-comres-since-october-2010/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:29:44 +0000 John Rentoul http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21522 Our ComRes opinion poll in tomorrow’s Independent on Sunday, shared with the Sunday Mirror, is the first from that company to show a Conservative lead since October 2010: Conservatives 39% (+1) Labour 38% (-) Liberal Democrats 10% (-1) Others 13% (-) The changes since last month’s IoS/SM poll (published 22 January) are small, but this is confirmation that the Conservatives [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/18/tories-take-first-lead-with-comres-since-october-2010/feed/ 6 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/18/did-hitler-father-a-lovechild/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/18/did-hitler-father-a-lovechild/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:29:08 +0000 John Rentoul http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21525 A big thank-you to the Daily Mail sub-editors for converting a Daily Telegraph story, which resolutely avoided asking a Question to Which the Answer is No, into Number 757 in the world-famous series. The Mail was kind enough to supply additional evidence in the form of photographs (right) that show conclusively that Hitler and M Loret had [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/18/did-hitler-father-a-lovechild/feed/ 2 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/18/poll-alert-16/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/18/poll-alert-16/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 10:33:55 +0000 John Rentoul http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21519 We have a ComRes opinion poll in The Independent on Sunday tomorrow, shared with the Sunday Mirror. Our poll last month had Labour and the Conservatives tied on 38 per cent. The most recent ComRes poll, carried out by telephone rather than online, for The Independent on 1 February, found a 1-point Labour lead. We also asked if [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/18/poll-alert-16/feed/ 3 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/17/why-david-cameron-owes-unemployed-single-mothers-an-apology/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/17/why-david-cameron-owes-unemployed-single-mothers-an-apology/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:42:47 +0000 Jonathan Portes http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21495 How would you describe an unemployed single mother, with moderate depression, who can't afford new shoes for her children, and whose roof is leaking? The Prime Minister calls her a "neighbour from hell", and argues that she, and people like her, are part of a "culture of disruption and irresponsibility."]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/17/why-david-cameron-owes-unemployed-single-mothers-an-apology/feed/ 258 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/17/mandelsons-plan-for-europe/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/17/mandelsons-plan-for-europe/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:23:23 +0000 John Rentoul http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21490 Peter Mandelson’s short speech in the House of Lords yesterday was a fine contribution to the debate about what Britain should do about the unravelling of the euro. He said that the task for Europe is to create an Economic and Monetary Union Mark II, learning the lessons from the “design problems” of the current version. [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/17/mandelsons-plan-for-europe/feed/ 5