Author: Martin Allen

Young and old both suffer in a changing labour market

http://www.ier.org.uk/publications/federation-news-spring-2012-meeting-challenges-age          Martin Allen and Patrick Ainley      Federation News  Spring 2012 UK youth unemployment continues to be alarmingly high and one of the biggest issues facing government. Based on the April Office for National Statistics – figures which cover the period December 2011 to Feb 2012 – youth joblessness is well over a million, equals 22.2% … Continue reading Young and old both suffer in a changing labour market →

Book Review: ‘Capsule Education’

Patrick Ainley FORTHCOMING IN HIGHER EDUCATION REVIEW The Consumer Experience of Higher Education, The Rise of Capsule Education by Deirdre McArdle-Clinton, Continuum 978-1-4411-7919-7 (pbk), £27.99 I read this book as a treat after two week’s marking. At this point I should stop because the state of higher education in Ireland so presciently described by Deirdre … Continue reading Book Review: ‘Capsule Education’ →

Alan Milburn,social mobility and education

Martin Allen and Patrick Ainley ‘Social mobility,’ Nick Clegg declared on 26th May, ‘is the central preoccupation of this government.’ His speech trailed a report by Alan Milburn, former New Labour Minister and now the Coalition’s ‘social mobility Tsar’, which attacked the professions for failing to be more socially inclusive. The Report (Fair Access to … Continue reading Alan Milburn,social mobility and education →

Book Review : Peter Latham The State and Local Government

                                                                       Patrick Ainley  reviews Peter Latham's The State and Local Government: Towards a New Basis for 'Local Democracy'  and the Defeat of Big Business Control                        http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/reviews/2012/541#.T80czA5BSdQ.email

The hire and fire economy

Vince Cable’s opposition to Tory donor Adrian Beecroft’s ‘no fault’ dismissal proposals apparently led to him being branded a ‘socialist’ by the venture capitalist.  In railing against the plans  for further labour market deregulation, Cable may have forced Coalition colleagues to ditch proposals that would allow employers  to sack staff considered ‘unproductive’ without explanation. For … Continue reading The hire and fire economy →

A fall in youth joblessness but an increase in students

  At first reading, the 12,000 fall in the number of 18-24 year olds unemployed between Jan-March 2012 would seem consistent with the general fall in unemployment of 45,000.  At the same time however, there has only been a 3,000 increase in the number of 18-24 year olds working. This discrepancy reveals significant changes in … Continue reading A fall in youth joblessness but an increase in students →

Young people and the ‘ageing’ workforce

It’s certainly true that if you go into any supermarket these days you will find far fewer young people on the tills. As Will Hutton observes ‘Talk to Sainsbury’s or any other major retailer and they say that they like older workers. They are more reliable, their absenteeism is lower, customers like them’ (quoted in … Continue reading Young people and the ‘ageing’ workforce →

Mayors make a mockery of our local democracy

Patrick Ainley  Guardian letter May 7th 2012       Your extensive coverage of last week's near unanimous rejection of elected city mayors in local referendums (Editorial, 5 May) missed the point made by Peter Latham in his authoritative book, The State and Local Government: "US-style directly elected mayors with cabinets are the optimal internal management arrangement for … Continue reading Mayors make a mockery of our local democracy →