Happy birthday, Mr. President. You have no idea how much we miss you. Welcome to the Watcher's Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the 'sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the w...

Yesterday, the minister for disabled people, Maria Miller, said there are no shortage of jobs and blamed unemployment on people's unwillingness to apply for work. The last set of data showed that there are as many as 20 people chasing the one vacancy in some areas, in Lewisham there are almost thirty five dole claimants chasing each vacancy.

Over the past 10 years, demand for French language classes has risen steadily among accredited ambassadors and the international press in Brussels. However, this renewed interest might in fact reflect the declining influence of French in the EU institutions. Thierry Lagnau, director of the Alliance Française in Brussels, explains the reasons behind this paradox. More »

Ah, primary season is in full swing.. Welcome to the Watcher's Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the 'sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the...

Today’s PMQs will be another skirmish in the battle for fairness. All three parties know that there is no more potent word in British politics at the moment than fairness and they all want to be its champion. But what will make PMQs interesting today is that Cameron and Miliband each have a powerful weapon in the fairness debate, but also a vulnerability. Miliband’s weapon is bankers&#...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to new figures released by the National Housing Federation which reveal that almost two million people are languishing on council house waiting lists whilst at the same time less than 45,000 new homes being built each year, said:

Jim Murphy MP, Labour's Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to General Sir Peter Wall's comments today, said:

Performance data for secondary schools was published last week, and there is an important difference between the latest figures and those that have been published in previous years. For the first time we are publishing separately the GCSE achievements of looked after children and children on free school meals at each and every school –

Ken Livingstone will fulfil his pledge to spend a full day in each of 32 London boroughs later today, when Ken and his deputy running mate Val Shawcross will spend a full day in Newham. Since the first 'Tell Ken' borough visit to Merton on January 17th 2011, Ken and Val have spent a full day in each London borough, attending a series of public and private events and meeting tens of thous...

The trick is to find the balance between legitimate agitation for change and aggressive proselytising, believes Graeme Archer.