http://blogs.independent.co.uk| Blogs from the Independent newspaper - news, views and features from the world's most free-thinking newspaper| Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:44:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2| en hourly 1 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/06/15/a-sense-of-justice-the-devastating-impact-of-legal-aid-reforms/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/06/15/a-sense-of-justice-the-devastating-impact-of-legal-aid-reforms/#comments Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:04:24 +0000 Daniel Breger http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=35632 Earlier this week the Justice Select Committee heard evidence on the Government’s consultation paper Transforming Legal Aid, and there was no shortage of individuals arguing that the plans to reform legal aid are wrong-headed.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/06/15/a-sense-of-justice-the-devastating-impact-of-legal-aid-reforms/feed/ 46 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/03/chris-grayling-vs-ken-clarke/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/03/chris-grayling-vs-ken-clarke/#comments Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:07:14 +0000 John Rentoul http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=30393 Also on BBC1 Sunday Politics was Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Justice, explaining how his predecessor Kenneth Clarke is a good Conservative but got it wrong on the European Convention on Human Rights.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/12/03/chris-grayling-vs-ken-clarke/feed/ 0 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/08/30/grayling-promises-school-leavers-three-months-of-unpaid-work-in-exchange-for-benefits-i-for-one-would-rather-play-computer-games/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/08/30/grayling-promises-school-leavers-three-months-of-unpaid-work-in-exchange-for-benefits-i-for-one-would-rather-play-computer-games/#comments Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:00:38 +0000 Adam Bouyamourn http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=27925 A spectre is haunting Britain. The spectre of computer games. “We don’t want [Neets] waking up at lunchtime and playing computer games all day,” said a Department of Work and Pensions source.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/08/30/grayling-promises-school-leavers-three-months-of-unpaid-work-in-exchange-for-benefits-i-for-one-would-rather-play-computer-games/feed/ 81 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/benefits-and-targets-sickness-and-disability-are-not-the-same/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/benefits-and-targets-sickness-and-disability-are-not-the-same/#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:05:05 +0000 Kaliya Franklin http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=26952 "Do you have the potential to return to work?" states Chris Grayling, Minister for Employment. It seems a very reasonable question, and when the idea of Employment Support Allowance was initially mooted during the mid noughties at a time of high employment and economic boom it was an admirable aim. ]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/benefits-and-targets-sickness-and-disability-are-not-the-same/feed/ 70 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/27/how-we-all-started-working-for-free-3/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/27/how-we-all-started-working-for-free-3/#comments Wed, 27 Jun 2012 07:00:09 +0000 Ruth Whippman http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25651 When I was a student, back in the early nineties, I had a holiday job at the frozen-food supermarket chain, Iceland. One morning, presumably fresh from a leadership course at Frosty HQ, our manager called all the staff together to admonish us for our apparent lack of enthusiasm for the sale of turkey nuggets. “Sometimes I feel that some of you are only in this for the money” she hissed. She was cut off by incredulous laughter. After all, what other motivation could there be for spending one’s weekend restocking a giant fridge freezer? ]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/27/how-we-all-started-working-for-free-3/feed/ 54 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/14/grayling-i-just-don%e2%80%99t-think-nadine-has-got-that-right-at-all/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/14/grayling-i-just-don%e2%80%99t-think-nadine-has-got-that-right-at-all/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 09:10:40 +0000 Matt Chorley http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=24126 I spoke to Chris Grayling, the employment minister, Tory attack dog and likely Cabinet promotee. He claimed following the Redwood/Davis calls for a different economic strategy would drive up unemployment, slapped down Nadine Dorries and sidestpped talking of gaining from a reshuffle, while cleverly suggesting he was already “doing one of the most important jobs in government”.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/14/grayling-i-just-don%e2%80%99t-think-nadine-has-got-that-right-at-all/feed/ 4 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/03/05/we-need-a-workforce-with-the-right-experience-and-skills-to-respond/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/03/05/we-need-a-workforce-with-the-right-experience-and-skills-to-respond/#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:10:26 +0000 Jim Knight http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=22100 Last week, Chris Grayling had to cave into pressure over unpaid work experience as big name employers exited the ‘workfare’ scheme.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/03/05/we-need-a-workforce-with-the-right-experience-and-skills-to-respond/feed/ 15 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/03/17/dead-end-jobs/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/03/17/dead-end-jobs/#comments Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:58:12 +0000 Dalia Ben-Galim http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=10096 Yesterday’s unemployment figures continue to be gloomy, with unemployment still rising and youth unemployment at a record high. But the picture is hardly less bleak for many people who do have a job. There are now six million people working in low paid and often dead end jobs. Almost one in four people work in jobs [...]]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/03/17/dead-end-jobs/feed/ 15