Posted on March 16th, 2010 by Owen Tudor
Since the G8 Gleneagles summit in 2005 – the year of Make Poverty History – there has been a consensus among UK politicians about the quantity of overseas aid. Certainly, both Labour and Conservatives have agreed to ring fence their commitment to meet the UN target of spending 0.7% of Gross National Income on overseas [...]
Filed under: International development, Politics | No Comments »
Posted on March 15th, 2010 by Owen Tudor
The ‘Fighting for a Financial Transactions Tax‘ conference in Brussels is now tackling the operational detail of an FTT. All the speakers (see list at the end) are emphasising that FTTs are technically feasible – and more than that, vital.
Filed under: Europe, Financial crisis, Tax, Transactions tax | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 15th, 2010 by Owen Tudor
European Green leader Philippe Lamberts MEP has spoken today about why Greens across Europe support the Robin Hood Tax. Joining the Europeans for Financial Reform conference on ‘Fighting for a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) – how and why?‘ he stressed that the crisis wasn’t over, and that Europe’s people needed an FTT, not forgetting the [...]
Filed under: Europe, Financial crisis, Tax, Transactions tax | No Comments »
Posted on March 15th, 2010 by Owen Tudor
In a transatlantic video-press conference this afternoon, AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka and European Socialists’ leader Poul Nyrup Rasmussen have emphasised the global demand for financial transactions taxes (FTTs). Trumka and Rasmussen put the call for FTTs in the context of wide-ranging financial reform.
But Trumka stressed the need for money to create jobs. FTTs would also [...]
Filed under: Financial crisis, Tax, Transactions tax | No Comments »
Posted on March 13th, 2010 by Owen Tudor
There’s been a week of activity on the Robin Hood Tax with a European flavour, and more to come next week. First, the European Parliament passed a resolution on implementing financial transactions taxes (FTTs). Second, the German and British trade union movements called on their country’s leaders to back a Europe-wide FTT at the European Summit [...]
Filed under: Europe, Transactions tax | No Comments »
Posted on March 3rd, 2010 by Owen Tudor
The Department for International Development (DFID) issues today its new education strategy, designed in particular to educate the 72 million children who currently don’t go to primary school, and the 300-400 million who get inadequate schooling. There are welcome proposals to build at least 15,000 classrooms a year; train at least 130,000 teachers a year (although [...]
Filed under: International development, Skills | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 3rd, 2010 by Owen Tudor
Funny thing, journalism. The Daily Telegraph reports today that the Japanese Foreign Minister has backed the idea of a financial transactions tax – following up earlier reports of support from more junior ministers. It then says that the idea has failed to gain “major traction among leading governments”. And then cites other supporters of the [...]
Filed under: Environment, International development, Public spending, Tax | No Comments »
Posted on February 27th, 2010 by Owen Tudor
Vulture funds are a particularly ‘unpleasant and unacceptable face of capitalism’, as Ted Heath might have said. And they’re based on abusing your generosity. An attempt to crack down on these sordid little operations passed its second reading in the Commons on Friday with all party support, but the Conservative front-bench have denied it the easy ride that would see [...]
Filed under: Globalisation, International development | No Comments »
Posted on February 27th, 2010 by Owen Tudor
As the Vancouver Winter Olympics come to an end, attention turns to the next Olympics – London 2012. And trade unionists around the world are turning their attention to the workers’ rights implications. The Maquiladora Solidarity Network worked closely with the Canadian Labour Congress to ensure that the workers who made the clothes associated with [...]
Filed under: Globalisation, International development, Multinationals, Trade | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 26th, 2010 by Owen Tudor
The Financial Times carries an editorial today about South African President Jacob Zuma’s visit to the UK next week. The FT says Zuma’s proposal that EU sanctions on the thugs who still share power in Zimbabwe is insufficient. On the contrary, it would be a dangerous mistake, and shows Zuma heading down the same route [...]
Filed under: Human rights, International development | No Comments »
