Venezuela’s tragedy: appalling healthcare going from bad to worse

HUGO CHAVEZ talked a lot about caring for the poor and sick, enshrining the right to free healthcare in the constitution and spending large sums on importing Cuban doctors into new healthcare facilities. 

Those leading the anti-smacking campaign are outside the real world of families

THE DISCUSSION around banning smacking is highly confused. John Finnie who is proposing the bill equates smacking children with domestic abuse. While severe smacking or punishment is already illegal, his bill will outlaw mild smacking ...

No sweet music as government turns a deaf ear to policy failure

THE FUTURE OF INSTRUMENTAL AND VOCAL TUITION in Scotland's schools has been grabbing headlines and occupying the attention of politicians in recent months. Decisions by local councils to end free music tuition, or to greatly ...

Venezuela’s tragedy: The disintegration of the health sector

VENEZUELA IS SUFFERING from an acute health crisis, with many suffering and dying from preventable diseases. Public spending on healthcare has been drastically cut back, and private citizens, desperately trying to afford food and basic ...

Sweden’s Sunday awakening for established political parties

A RECORD TURNOUT of over 80 per cent is expected on Sunday’s election and around 50 per cent have already voted by post or have done so in their polling stations which, in Sweden, are ...

Venezuela's tragedy: a country in free fall

WHEN PEOPLE abandon a country in droves, it is rarely a sign of a healthy economy.  2.3 million Venezuelans (7 per cent of the population) have fled poverty and economic despair, and another 2 million are ...

Why the Chequers plan will deliver a Corbyn government

GLOBAL BRITAIN has commissioned polling to determine what the Chequers Agreement will mean for the Tory MPs who will ultimately face the electorate. Across the forty-four most marginal Conservative Party constituencies – including Ayr, Gordon ...

Venezuela’s tragedy: Economic collapse predates US & EU sanctions

SUPPORTERS of the Venezuelan regime promote the idea that sanctions on Venezuela are responsible for its current economic woes, and that if the US and EU would withdraw these sanctions then everything would return to ...

Venezuela's tragedy: how zoos, pets and strays suffer too

ANIMALS IN VENEZUELA are suffering from acute malnutrition in a country where even most people find it difficult to feed themselves. They are often simply allowed to starve to death, despite efforts to transport them ...

Venezuela's tragedy: Censored speech and independent expression

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION and of the press is under attack in Venezuela.  The Government is cracking down on any perceived opposition. The ongoing humanitarian crisis has made these responses more brutal, as food becomes scarce ...

Venezuela's tragedy: Corruption and cronyism in plain sight

RUNNING A COUNTRY in crisis is challenging for even the most capable politicians. When thinking of those that have successfully led a country out of crisis, you might think of a leader with the vision ...

Venezuela’s tragedy: the regime's policies deliver malnutrition and death

SINCE HUGO CHAVEZ declared his ‘Bolivarian Revolution’ in 1999, Venezuela has become entirely dependent on imported food. 

In 2014, it was estimated that 70 per cent of all goods, including food, ...