Today’s news has been rightfully dominated by the very emotional rescue operation of all 33 Chilean miners. My thoughts go out to these incredible men and their tragically affected families. Thank the massive effort of the Chilean government and international agencies (including NASA!) for an example of how collaborative effort at that scale can really come together to make a life-saving difference when there is a sufficient will and no political obstruction! We need to see so much more of this kind of action to help those in need.
However there’s also been some other important updates today including first steps from the new big man (little brother) in red…
It seems that there is a general consensus amongst political pundits and tweeters from all three major political parties that Ed Miliband delivered a strong effort in the commons and ultimately ‘won’ narrowly in his first ever Prime Minister’s Questions, firing some great questions – yes, actual QUESTIONS rather than just pathetic point scoring against a somewhat poorly prepared David Cameron, in particular on issues like Child Benefit (Cameron floundered), Winter Fuel Allowance (Cameron made a solid promise) and closure of Job Centres (Cameron refused to answer). If this is a sign of a little bit more of a new, grown-up form of politics coming from the Labour camp, then I more than welcome their new found maturity. I absolutely resent the occasional behaviour of MPs of both sides in the commons and I believe strongly that it’s perceived as childish and frankly quite rude in many cases when televised – a terrible example to be setting during the current times (see: disrespecting a dead woman with ‘ghost’ noises, outrageous). Sorry to be a bit of a downer, but with public spending cuts looking likely to drop another 1 million jobs (50% in the private sector but reliant upon public sector contracts) I think that MPs on both sides must look long and hard at how they’re acting and being perceived day to day.
Equalities Update
The Fawcett Society published a brand new press release showing how moves to reduce the deficit have left women facing a ‘triple jeopardy‘ of Benefit Cuts, Job losses and Looming ‘Care’ Gap.
Looking from a more positive perspective, the Financial Times has launched a new multi-platform inititive celebrating the top women in business in the UK: ‘Women at the Top‘.
And finally, one for the diary: The Royal Statistical Society is hosting a meeting entitled 40 years since the Equal Pay Act 1970; examining the achievements and failures of the Equal Pay Act which was passed 40 years ago. Hosted on 16 November 2010, 5.00pm at the Royal Statistical Society.
