Month: October 2011
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The government mustn’t fail this crucial test of international leadership
by Chris Leslie is the Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury. First published on LabourList As this week’s G20 meeting in Cannes grows near, the prospects for a new “Robin Hood” or financial transactions (FTT) tax is growing. Significant voices such as George Soros, Paul Krugman, Joe Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs have expressed their support, and…
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Tory MPs £25,000 junket to Equatorial Guinea paid for by dictatorial government ahead of report on its ‘trivial’ human right violations, report Daily Mail
The Daily Mail, of all papers, reporting on the extraordinary news that three Conservative MPs enjoyed a £25,000 junket to Equatorial Guinea this summer just weeks before a report concluded human rights violations in the country were ‘trivial’. Nadine Dorries, Steve Baker and Caroline Nokes visit to the country’s capital Malabo was supported by the dictatorial government through…
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Labour welcomes EU transparency rules for extractive and logging companies
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Ivan Lewis MP said: “I welcome the European Union’s new transparency rules which have been published today. They are an important first step in ensuring that companies publish what they pay governments on a project by project basis. It is a positive sign that the plans go wider…
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Support the Robin Hood Tax – now is the moment!
After years of hard campaigning the Robin Hood Tax has its best chance of implementation. At the start of November, G20 leaders will meet in Cannes, France and could agree to introduce a Robin Hood Tax. Germany and France stand in support but the Conservative-led government and their friends in the city are trying to wreck…
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Why we need to stand in solidarity with Afghan women
Kate Hughes, campaigner for the Rights in Crisis Team at Oxfam write for us. Ten years ago, Afghan women were promised a bright future. After decades of civil war, and repressive Taliban rule, they have entered a new era in which they are once again able to work, send their daughters to school, and even…
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This is a momentous day in the history of Libya – Douglas Alexander & Jim Murphy
Douglas Alexander MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: “This is a momentous day in the history of Libya, and closes a dark 42 year long chapter in the county’s history. All of us will hope this will also mark an end to the present fighting in Libya, but the challenges facing the NTC remain great.”…
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Taxing times: is anything wrong with tax avoidance?
Joe Stead, Economic Justice Adviser – Christian Aid writes on a discussion on tax, tax avoidance and efforts to fight global poverty held at Labour Party Conference at the end of September. Now more than ever tax is a hot topic of political discussion, but being a hot topic can usually reduce discussion to a…
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DFID under Labour helped reduce malaria deaths by over 20% in last decade
Great news today as the World Health Organisation announced that malaria deaths have fallen by over 20% over the last decade. The last Labour Government made the provision of bed nets to prevent transmission of malaria a real priority and between 2001 and 2010 DFID helped deliver over 14 million bed nets to countries with…
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Miliband and Balls need to be more vocal in support of the Robin Hood Tax
By Vaughan Gething AM (Labour and Co-operative, Cardiff South and Penarth) – First published on Left Foot Forward The ‘Robin Hood Tax’ – a tiny tax on financial transactions which could generate billions to fight poverty – may have seemed a far-fetched financial compensation dream only a few years ago. Global debt relief used to be seen…
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Our #BAD11 contribution – How could a UK forest company be keeping people hungry in Uganda?
LCID member Serena O’Sullivan writes for us on World Food Day Today, October 16th 2011, is World Food Day. And it coincides with Blog Action Day (or #BAD11 for tweeters) – 24 hours of social action by bloggers around the world, who write on a different subject every year, this year being FOOD. A happy…
Labour Campaign for International Development 