Plans for the Scottish government to hold a referendum on independence from the UK has garnered favour from some observers, with hope that a decisive vote will finally clear this decades-old question.

Third Sector are being squeezed out from being part of the delivery team for the Work Programme despite government promises and reassurances argues the author.

Restraint, and ‘responsible capitalism’ – the key theme of Coalition and Labour politicians pushing the need to end ‘rewards for failure’ but little concern about "high penalties for success".

A contracting economy and rising unemployment do not make for happy reading. But the implications of these national trends are very different for different cities.