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BBC News | UK | World Edition

'1m more' on housing waiting list
Fri, 16 May 2008 00:55:16 -0000
Five million people in England could be on the waiting list for social housing within two years, councils warn.
NHS IT 'at least four years late'
Thu, 15 May 2008 23:05:52 -0000
It will be at least 2014 before the NHS in England has a single electronic records system, say auditors.
Husband held after body found
Thu, 15 May 2008 21:30:43 -0000
The husband of a missing make-up artist is arrested following the discovery of a body near their home.
Motorbike star Dunlop killed
Thu, 15 May 2008 22:01:41 -0000
Motorcyclist Robert Dunlop dies in a crash in Thursday's practice at the North West 200 racing festival.
Website to trace Brits in crises
Fri, 16 May 2008 04:19:38 -0000
The Foreign Office launches a service to help track down Britons caught up in emergencies abroad.
Ruling due in MPs' expenses fight
Fri, 16 May 2008 03:48:54 -0000
The High Court is set to decide whether 14 MPs must disclose details of claims made for their second homes.

The Economist: Britain

A little local difficulty
Thu, 15 May 2008 13:08:34 -0000
Labour tries to defend a once-safe seatTHE town of Crewe, in north-west England, is used to outsiders. It had a population of just 70 in 1831 but grew rapidly when it was chosen by the west-coast railway as the location for its engineering works. Along with its more bucolic neighbour, Nantwich, it now forms a parliamentary constituency of roughly 100,000 people. Both will be inundated by visitors of the political rather than industrial variety until May 22nd, when a by-election is scheduled to replace Crewe's previous Labour MP, Gwyneth Dunwoody, who died on April 17th.Labour has a comfortable majority in Parliament, so the significance of the by-election is symbolic. It is no less important for that. Were the Conservatives to win, their first by-election gain since 1982 would quicken momentum built up by months of large opinion-poll leads and a strong showing at the local elections on May 1st. To overturn Labour's majority of 7,078 in Crewe, they need to change the minds of 8% of the electorate. A similar national swing at a general election would give them a solid parliamentary majority. ...
Nuclear diplomacy
Thu, 15 May 2008 13:08:34 -0000
British Energy proves a slow sell EVEN today, 13 years after it was built, Britain's newest nuclear-power station looks futuristic, with its landmark white containment dome and the blue haze of Cerenkov radiation in the cooling pond. In contrast to the huge furnaces needed to burn coal, a reactor core at Sizewell B roughly the size of a smallish lorry produces 3% of Britain's electricity. But its construction was so controversial?sparking one of the longest planning inquiries ever?that, after it was finished, nuclear power was abandoned for a generation.Now, worries over climate change and the end of self-sufficiency in oil and gas mean that atom-splitting is set for a comeback. Ministers want new plants to boost nuclear power's contribution above the 18% of electricity it currently provides but insist that, unlike in the past, there will be no subsidies. With that in mind, the government announced in March that British Energy, which owns most of Britain's nuclear plants (including Sizewell B), was up for sale, and with it the state's 35% stake. ...
The hardest word
Thu, 15 May 2008 13:08:34 -0000
Frank Field, the fight-back and the virtues and limitations of apologyTWO apologies were made in the House of Commons on May 13th. The first came via a startling announcement from Alistair Darling, the chancellor. The other was made by a humble backbench Labour MP, Frank Field. His was unquestionably the more gracious: concise where Mr Darling's was waffly, blunt where the chancellor was periphrastic. It is just possible that Mr Field's apology will also turn out to be the more important.Status is an odd commodity in politics. There are some cabinet ministers?Mr Darling is one of them?who combine nominal eminence with bland invisibility. There are some MPs, on the other hand, with little formal authority but high renown, sometimes derived from peccadillos or eccentricities, in a few cases from their intellect or principles. Mr Field is one of those. His latest bout of disproportionate prominence came as leader of a backbench tax rebellion. That threatened to torpedo the government; there is a chance, if a slim one, that his apology may prove a symbolic turning-point in Gordon Brown's premiership. ...
A $10m mystery
Thu, 15 May 2008 13:08:34 -0000
What connects the deputy-chairman of the Conservative Party with Hugo Chavez?MICHAEL ASHCROFT is a powerful man. A former treasurer of the Conservative Party, he is now its deputy-chairman. He is also a very wealthy man?the 65th richest in Britain, according to a rough-and-ready ranking by the Sunday Times. Through one of his companies, he has given over GBP3m ($6m, at today's rates) to the Tories in the past five years in cash and kind (including free flights for the leadership and opinion-poll research). Before the last general election, Lord Ashcroft lent the Tories another GBP3.6m. As well as being powerful and rich, Lord Ashcroft is elusive: he is the right-wing pimpernel of British politics, whose name is uttered with awe and terror by Labour MPs. The mystery partly emanates from Lord Ashcroft's association with Belize: he spent part of his youth in what was then still British Honduras, subsequently returning to Belize to base some of his business activities there. ...
A flimsy fightback
Thu, 15 May 2008 13:08:34 -0000
A darkening economy threatens the prime minister's bid to regain the initiativeWHEN Gordon Brown became prime minister last June, few doubted that it was his commanding performance in ten years as chancellor of the exchequer that made him the uncontested candidate. Yet in his astonishing fall from grace of the past few months, economic and fiscal stumbles have featured large. A haunting precedent is the short-lived administration of Anthony Eden, famed as a diplomat, who was felled by his mishandling of foreign policy in the Suez crisis of 1956.This week Mr Brown sought to regain the initiative on what used to be his home ground. His most dramatic step was an astonishing fiscal volte-face to quell a Labour Party revolt against the abolition of the 10% income-tax band. That decision, revealed in Mr Brown's final budget but with effect from this year, returned to plague him because it made 5.3m poor households worse off. The government had agreed to try to help the losers at an expected cost of less than GBP1 billion ($2 billion). But on May 13th Alistair Darling, the chancellor of the exchequer, went much farther when he announced income-tax measures costing GBP2.7 billion in 2008-09. ...
A check on the mail
Thu, 15 May 2008 13:08:34 -0000
Royal Mail struggles to compete in a liberalised marketA MORE remote part of Britain would be hard to find than the small Shetland island of Foula. With a population of 30, it lies across 17 miles of angry Atlantic Ocean from its nearest neighbour. Getting to it is not easy. One can catch a ferry (assuming the waves are not too high) or take a plane, if the wind isn't too harsh. Delivering mail regularly to the 21 addresses on the island is as difficult. Although the island is one of a handful that do not get post delivered six times a week (by special exemption, its mail comes only three times a week, usually when the ferry is running), that is the only concession granted to Royal Mail, the state-owned postal company. No matter how much it costs to deliver letters to Foula, Royal Mail can charge no more than the standard rate of 36p for a first-class letter. This ?universal service? of mail deliveries to all parts of the country for a single price is one of Royal Mail's proudest achievements. It is also its Achilles heel. ...

 

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LabourStart UK - Daily labour and trade union news service, webring, discussion list and bookshop.

Administrative Management (BACM-TEAM) - Contact details, information on membership and members-only area.

Allied Workers Union - Union representing workers in the baking industry or allied trades, with information on health and safety, training and newsletter.
Meta Description: [ Bakers Food & Allied Workers Union - the B. F. A. W. U. represents approximately 30,000 members at work in the food and allied industries & trades ]

Leicester Group Union of Staff (ALGUS) - Union representing staff working for Alliance Leicester plc. Includes membership form and members-only area.
Meta Description: [ The Alliance & Leicester Group Union of Staff is an independent trade union representing the majority of staff working for the Alliance & Leicester plc. ]

Abbey National Group Union (ANGU) - Union representing workers in Abbey National plc and associated group companies. Formerly known as ANSA.
Meta Description: [ Abbey National Group Union - ANGU is a certified, independent trade union affiliated to the TUC and we are dedicated to supporting and representing our members in all aspects of their employment. ]

ACCORD - Represents members in all parts of the HBOS Group including Intelligent Finance, Clerical Medical, Card Services and Bank of Scotland as well as Corporate Sites and the retail network.
Meta Description: [ ACCORD is a certified, independent trade Union, affiliated to the TUC and dedicated to representing members in all parts of the HBOS Group including Intelligent Finance, HBOS Life and Pensions, Card Services, the insurance divisions and contact centres as well as Corporate Sites and the retail ne... ]

Association for College Management (ACM) - Union representing managers in post-16 education and includes newsletter, helpline and members-only area.

Association of Flight Attendants Council Seven - The London Heathrow Airport branch of United Airlines' global flight attendants' union. Union and industry news, London Underground magazine, information on flight attendants' legal hours, union campaigns and contact information.

Association of  Educational Psychologists (AEP) - Professional association and trade union for educational psychologists in the UK. Includes news, details of membership, journal and careers information.

Britannia Staff Union (BSU) - Represents employees of Britannia Building Society and its group of companies, with information on membership benefits and union structure.
Meta Description: [ Britannia Staff Union is the only recognised trade union representing Britannia Building Society Staff ]

British Association of Dental Nurses - Professional association and registered trade union for dental nurses, with professional journal, careers information and specialist sections.

British Association of Occupational Therapists - Professional association and trade union for occupational therapists, with information on training, careers and professional issues.

British Orthoptic Society (BOS) - The professional body for orthoptists, with contact and organisational details, equipment suppliers and information for patients.
Meta Description: [ Orthoptics is a profession allied to medicine. Orthoptists investigate, diagnose and treat disorders of vision and defects of eye movement such as squint, lazy eye, wearing glasses in childhood, co-ordination problems and binocular vision problems. . ]

British Orthoptic Society North West Region - News, events, information about orthoptics, positions vacant, a directory of orthoptic departments in the region, an orthoptics links page, and a members online forum.

Ceramic and Allied Trades Union - Community trade union based in Stoke-on-Trent. Regularly updated with the latest news, campaigns, and who to contact at the union.

Educational Institute of Scotland - National trade union representing Scottish teachers, lecturers and educationalists. Includes news, campaigns and membership information.

Federation of Clinical Scientists - Registered trade union for clinical scientists, with information on pay and conditions, bargaining and workplace advice.

First Division Association (FDA) - Represents senior public servants. Includes contacts, membership details and members-only area.

Ice Hockey Players' Association - Registered trade union for professional ice hockey players with industry news, membership information and newsletter.
Meta Description: [ GB Ice Hockey Players Association. ]

Immigration and Nationality Workers' Union (INWU) - An independent union for people who work for the Immigration Nationality Directorate (IND) in Croydon, with information on the Union and how to join.

Incorporated Society of Musicians - Professional association for musicians in the UK. Details of services, press releases and highlights of monthly journal.
Meta Description: [ The ISM is the UK's professional association for musicians. Membership offers a whole array of benefits. The website allows visitors to search for local ISM music teachers in the UK. ]

Institute of Railway Signal Engineers - Licensing, careers and technical information for signal engineers.
Meta Description: [ IRSE - The professional Institution for those engaged in railway signalling, telecommunications and related matters. ]

Justice for Mineworkers Campaign - History of the 1984/85 British miners strike and the 966 miners who were victimised during and after the strike.
Meta Description: [ National justice for Mineworkers Campaign,1984/85 British Miners Strike, NUM ]

Miner's Advice - Advice for miners, ex-miners, their families and their dependants with news and discussion board.
Meta Description: [ Advice to miners, ex-miners, their widows and their dependants ]

National Association of Educational Inspectors, Advisors and Consultants (NAEIAC) - Represents local authority inspectors, advisers and other workers. Includes membership details and briefings.

National Federation of SubPostmasters - Information and news about UK sub post offices and sub-postmasters' trade union, with news and research briefings.

National Union of Marine Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers (NUMAST) - Includes news updates, membership benefits and campaigns.
Meta Description: [ The National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers (NUMAST) is a trade union, representing shipmasters, officers, cadets and other staff serving in the UK and international fleets and ashore in maritime related industries. It is affiliated to the TUC (Trades Union Congress), a... ]

404 National Union of Mineworkers - Union representing British mineworkers, with newsletter, resources and historical archive.

Nationwide Group Staff Union (NGSU) - Represents staff of Nationwide Building Society. Includes membership details and members-only area.
Meta Description: [ page is about ]

Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA) - Trade union representing members across the civil and public service and the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland.
Meta Description: [ NIPSA is the largest trade union in Northern Ireland representing 43,000 members across the civil and public service and the voluntary sector ]

Prison Officers' Association (POA) - Details of membership benefits, news, events and how to join.

Prospect - Formed after the merger of EMA and IPMS, representing professional engineers. Includes advice and services and membership details.
Meta Description: [ Prospect - giving you an edge at work. ]

Royal College of Midwives - Registered trade union for midwives, with news, educational resources and journal.
Meta Description: [ The RCM is the only trade union and professional organisation run by midwives for midwives. It is the voice of midwifery, providing excellence in professional leadership, education, influence and representation for and on behalf of midwives. ]

Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association - Trade union for secondary school teachers in Scotland with news, membership benefits and contact details.
Meta Description: [ Founded in 1944, the Scottish Secondary Teachers'Association is Scotland's second largest teachers' union, set up to focus on secondary issues, initially as a reaction to the undue influence exercised on national education issues at that time by the primary sector. Nowadays this has developed int... ]

Social Care Association - An independent professional association operating in social care, across the statutory, voluntary and private sectors, to promote good practice. Information about services, activities and membership.
Meta Description: [ Social Care Association is a professional association for all those involved in care. Whatever your sector we have the services that you require ]

Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists (SCP) - Includes virtual learning centre, publications and job vacancy alert service.

The Alliance for Health Professionals - Trade union federation formed by the British Dietetic Association, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, British Orthoptic Society, Federation of Clinical Scientists, Society of Chiropodists Podiatrists the Society of Radiographers. Includes bargaining, pay and rights information.
Meta Description: [ Home page with editable main image ]

Trouble at Work - Advice on health and safety, workplace rights and respect at work for nursing and working students.
Meta Description: [ How to deal with trouble at work. Help in health and safety, respect at work and legal rights. For nursing and working students. ]

TUC Learning Services - Education and training site for trade union activists and members, including listing of events and courses and subject-specific email alerts.
Meta Description: [ TUC Learning Services supports the union role in workplace learning and skills. We provide training and guidance to the growing number of Learning Reps on how to take forward the learning agenda. ]

Ulster Teachers Union - An organization for primary and secondary school teachers in Ireland. Includes information on services, insurance, and pay issues.

Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT) - Includes information on health and safety and workplace rights.

UNIONREPS.org.uk - A TUC-run network for shop stewards and other union representatives with discussion boards, courses and events and email newsletter. Free registration is required.

United Kingdom Labour Links - Annotated list of UK trade unions with links to their web sites.
Meta Description: [ XPDNC Labour Directory - XPDNC Labor Directory present over 4000 links to individual web sites. Also included are links to union link pages. The majority of sites are sorted by geographic location. ]

United Road Transport Union - Union representing professional drivers in general haulage, parcels, tankers, tippers and distribution.

workSMART Union Finder - TUC site with information on workplace rights, health and safety and a guide to choosing a union, searchable by company or sector.
Meta Description: [ workSMART: workSMART, brought to you by the TUC, is here to help today’s working people get the best out of the world of work. ]