Donna Rachel Edmunds

Despite the rhetoric surrounding cuts and austerity, councils countrywide are hoarding assets as diverse as restaurants, golf courses, shopping centres, and even nightclubs and fish stands, according to new research by the Taxpayers’ Alliance. Over the course of the last

The UK wind farm industry has threatened the government with legal action if subsidies for renewable energy are pulled. Yesterday, a prominent renewables lawyer took to the Guardian to warn against the “wilful destruction” of the wind farm industry. His

Two men have been arrested in New York for ‘man-spreading’ – the act of taking up too much space on the underground or metro system. The arrests have come to light in a report on the efficacy of ‘broken window’s

The Countryside Alliance has launched a new e-lobbying drive as part of it’s campaign to secure the repeal of the fox-hunting ban. The ban on hunting with dogs, which encompasses both fox hunting and hare coursing, has arguably been the most visible

David Cameron has ruled out withdrawing Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights, turning the promised repeal of Britain’s Human Rights Act into a mere smokescreen for quietly maintaining the status quo. The Conservatives pledged to replace the Human

The British leaders of a major Jewish orthodox community have declared that women should not be allowed to drive. They have warned that, from August, children whose mother’s drive them to a community school will face expulsion. In a letter

A survey given to nine-year-old children to ascertain whether they may be terrorists in the making has been slammed as “Orwellian” by shocked parents. One predicted a rise in home schooling following the invasion of privacy, as neither parents or school staff

A lifelong theatre critic has called for all arts funding to be scrapped immediately, as publicly subsidised art is always “no good” while the private sector manages to generate “amazing things” all by itself. Douglas McPherson, who, alongside journalism and

Discrimination against elderly people within the NHS is set to worsen thanks to new “highly unethical” targets being set by the UN which prioritise treatment for younger people, senior medics have warned. Charities have spoken out against an “alarming” cultural

British school children are getting an increasingly raw deal from the British education system thanks to larger class sizes and poorer attainment, a new report has found. Critics have pointed to the government’s failure to build enough new schools to keep up with

The European Commission has announced plans to bribe member states with their own money in a bid to cajole them into accepting migrants from across Africa and the Middle East. The scheme has already attracted widespread criticism not only for economic

The Christian family at the centre of a legal row over a gay marriage cake has confirmed that they will appeal a court ruling finding them guilty of discrimination. Supporters have said that the ruling opens a “Pandora’s Box”, and

In a move that seems almost designed specifically to annoy the British, German and French officials have drawn up secret plans to impose a standard Corporation Tax rate across the whole of the EU, at a stroke destroying Britain’s global competitive

A woman who claims she was subject to sexual abuse by VIPs as a child has waived her right to anonymity in the hope that speaking out will encourage others to come forward – and to protect herself from attempts

Millions of working families on low incomes are likely to see their benefits cut, thanks to Conservative pledges to protect pensioner benefits. In the run-up to the election Chancellor George Osborne promised to cut £12 billion out of the welfare

A Swiss artist has provoked the ire of the Italian authorities by constructing a working mosque at a Venice art show in the name of art. The piece, entitled “The Mosque: The First Mosque in the Historic City of Venice,” is

The Irish Labour Party, jubilant following the resounding endorsement of gay marriage in the republic, is now turning its attentions to liberalisation of the country’s abortion laws. Although a more contentious topic than gay marriage, senior Labour figures are confident that

Thirteen people have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to defraud following a police investigation into allegations that hundreds of Bangladeshis flew into Britain for just one day in order to fraudulently claim British benefits. The migrants, who gained EU

Footage showing at least six Home Office immigration officers being hounded off the streets of Peckham has emerged on the internet. The short video shows two officers getting into a brief physical altercation with one man, pushing him back into the

Europhiles working to keep Britain within the EU must not be allowed to railroad discussions over an EU referendum onto questions of who would be eligible to vote in it, senior Tory MP John Redwood has warned. Writing in the Telegraph,

Rows are consuming the Conservative Party over cuts to the welfare budget, following the party’s surprise win in the general election. In the run-up to polling day, Conservatives had been promising to slash £12 billion from the welfare budget, banking on

An Irish Catholic Archbishop has said that the result of yesterday’s referendum on gay marriage shows that the church needs “a reality check”. Diarmuid Martin, one of the country’s most senior churchmen, has said that he voted No to the measure,