Yesterday during business questions I welcomed the fact that, after months of prevarication, the government has decided to bring forward legislation on equal marriage.  But I pushed the Leader of the House, Andrew Lansley, to ensure that we do not have a repeat of some of the outrageous and offensive remarks made recently in debates, …

Last year a leaked No 10 memo admitted the government had a problem with women and promised a new communications campaign to turn things around – but the admitted blind spot has got worse, not better – with last week’s autumn statement disproportionately hitting women harder than ever. Despite repeated warnings from Labour, the Fawcett …

In an attempt to divert attention from his failure to meet his own fiscal targets, George Osborne knew that he would have to pull a political rabbit out of the hat in last week’s autumn statement. So he pledged to uprate benefits by just one per cent in each of the next three years, placing …

One of the most surprising things about George Osborne’s omnishambles budget statement was that it undermined his reputation as a canny – some might say devious – political operator. The autumn statement has gone some way to restoring this reputation. His proposal to cap benefit payment increases has set a potential trap for Labour. We …

It was a heck of a year. 1942 wasn’t the beginning of the end. But it was, as Churchill said, the end of the beginning. The Allies turned the tide in north Africa, Stalingrad and Guadalcanal. Interest in what the fight was for hit a new high and, 70 years ago today, Sir William Beveridge …

The chancellor looks set to miss his self-imposed goals By Kitty Ussher —When George Osborne delivers his autumn statement on 5 December he will have a tricky task to pull off. On the one hand, things could be a lot worse for him. Recent data shows unemployment falling and the economy slowly emerging from recession. …

With the autumn statement looming and the prospects for the public finances looking ever worse, Labour can’t duck the question for much longer: what would you do? Progress’ recent collection, The Purple Papers, began to sketch out some answers and today the Fabian Society is picking up the baton by launching a new Commission on …

This week I welcomed the publication of the government papers on Hillsborough and the report by the Bishop of Liverpool, a process Andy Burnham and Maria Eagle began in government. In the chamber, we on this side of the House fully associated ourselves with the very welcome apology the prime minister made to the families …

The chancellor needs to be as brave on growth as he has been on the deficit. You have to assume that Osborne was gripped by a cold, clammy sweat when he stood to deliver his autumn statement last week, but as ever there are two types of bad news – political bad news, and real …