Recent Articles



Viva Argentina! Why it’s right to nationalise companies for its interests

by Mary Tracy     April 19, 2012 at 9:50 am

On Monday, Argentina’s government decided to nationalise 51% of the largest oil and gas company in the country, YPF.

The company used to belong to the Argentinian State, but was privatised in the 90s, and, eventually, sold off to the Spanish company Repsol. The ‘nationalisation’ will be a forced purchase: Argentina will pay for the shares owned by Repsol.

Why is it doing so now? Because Repsol has consistently failed to invest in oil and gas production, forcing Argentina to import energy to keep with internal demand.
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How the BBC and others fail to understand housing benefit

by Mary Tracy     October 31, 2011 at 10:55 am

Last Thursday night I had the unenviable experience of watching ‘The Future of the Welfare State‘, with John Humphrys.

If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour: don’t. Watch Tory propaganda instead; the two are barely indistinguishable.

I want to use a small point made during the programme to make my own point on a topic I know too well: housing benefit, and the Tory plan to push poor people out of London.
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