Grimsdale's Ire: 28/10/08

The toilet roll of reason and the burger box of justice 28/10/08
Simon Hoggart takes a light hearted look at how crime and punishment is being questioned in the House of Commons. [Guardian]

Tory thinkers offer lesson in equality 28/10/08
Polly Curtis describes an influential new Policy Exchange report on reforming schools funding. [Guardian]

There's cynicism at the heart of the communities agenda 28/10/08
David Clements makes a concerned critique of the Sustainable Communities Act, suggesting that its motive may be to build political legitimacy rather than promote democracy. [Guardian]

Unions prepare big pay demands to offset food and fuel price rises 28/10/08
“Substantial pay rises are being sought to compensate for sharp increases in energy and food prices, the union-funded Labour Research Department warned last night.” [Guardian]

Child support changes could hit 25% of lone parents, warns charity 28/10/08
"Changes to the way lone parents receive child support could see a quarter falling through the system, a charity warned on the day government reforms come into effect. From this week, separating couples on benefits - who make up 70% of child support claimants - will be encouraged to reach their own arrangements voluntarily, leaving the government's new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission to concentrate on those cases where people repeatedly refuse to pay maintenance or regularly default." [Guardian]

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Grimsdale's Ire: 14/08/08

Smithfield market plans refused
A part of the historic Smithfield market earmarked for demolition has been saved after planning permission to redevelop the site was refused. [BBC]

Booming Liverpool rejects 'counsel of despair'
The claim by the Conservative-leaning thinktank Policy Exchange that some northern cities are beyond revival did not go down well in Liverpool. The city - currently undergoing one of the biggest regeneration programmes in Europe - saw off competition from the likes of Bristol, Brighton and Hove, and Oxford to become the European Capital of Culture 2008. [Guardian]

Police call to action after pay talks collapse
The Police Federation yesterday called on its 140,000 members to in effect work to rule after talks broke down in a bitter pay row. The federation's chairman Paul McKeever called on rank-and-file members to conform strictly to their conditions of employment after discussions broke down in the long-running pay dispute which saw more than 20,000 officers march on Westminster in January. [Guardian]

Ethnic minority lawyers discriminated against, report finds
The body that regulates solicitors has been discriminating against ethnic minority lawyers and subjecting them to potentially ruinous investigations, an independent report has concluded. [Guardian]

Building up hope
It might seem a far cry from the golden age of post-war housing, when both main political parties competed to deliver millions of homes in record time and "credit crunch" had yet to enter the popular vocabulary, but after a gap of more than 20 years, town halls are now re-entering an area regarded as no-go territory until recently - planning thousands of new council houses. [Guardian]

Boris Johnson backs 'disproportionate' development project
Boris Johnson has given the go-ahead to a £50m development project in a London borough led by a political ally, despite a warning from his own planning officers that it will fail to help meet the housing needs of some of the poorest local residents. [Guardian]

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