New Statesman I have a close friend, unemployed with two children under three, who will be waiting anxiously tomorrow as politicians decide whether or not to limit rises in benefits and tax credits by one per cent….Sharon was particularly alarmed by this story because she feared the backlash on struggling mums like herself. She spent last year searching for a job that would cover the cost of full-time childcare, or offer part-time hours to fit the 15-hours-a-week of state-funded childcare she receives. Trips to the job centre and frantic calls to the DWP leave her frustrated and trapped. Most of all she feels alone; the professionals in the government supposed to help had no answer to her question, how do I find a job that fits around two young children? Often, Sharon shouts into the silence at the end of the phone, am I really supposed to stay on benefits till they start school?
My fears on rushed new laws over Kate’s baby, by Charles: Shake-up to let a daughter succeed to the throne ‘has not been thought through’, says Prince Daily Mail Prince Charles has expressed serious concern about the impact of ‘rushed’ Government plans to change ancient laws governing the Royal line of succession. Friends told the Daily Mail that he believes altering the rules that give male heirs priority and bar members of the Royal Family from marrying Roman Catholics could have ‘unintended consequences’ that have not been properly considered. He is understood to have raised a series of critical questions in a private meeting with one of Whitehall’s most senior mandarins last month.