Author Archives: Helen Duffett

Coffee shop chain Starbucks has announced that its 700 UK and Ireland branches are to sell only Fairtrade coffee by the end of next year.

The firm hopes the switch will stop a decline in sales caused by the economic downturn, while reassuring customers that growers are receiving a fair price for their coffee crops.

From the Telegraph:

The Fairtrade Foundation, which gives certification to growers who were given at least 92p for every pound of their coffee beans, estimated that 100,000 farmers in Africa, Asia and South America will benefit from the decision.

At present, only six per cent of coffee sold

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From silicon.com:

It had to happen sooner or later. While seemingly a week doesn’t go past without another government data loss as a result of a mislaid memory stick, one government department has made a shocking revelation: it hasn’t lost any for several years.

In a written answer to Parliament, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Paul Goggins revealed that no memory sticks or desktop computers have been lost or stolen from his department between 2001 and 2008.

Figures prior to 2001 are not available, Goggins said in response to a question by Paul Holmes, Lib Dem MP for Chesterfield.

However, the

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On Monday 10th November a Liberal Democrat Opposition Day debate was held in the Commons on a motion on the Post Office Card Account.

The wording of the motion was the same as that used in Early Day Motion (EDM) 2008 from this session. The EDM was signed by 47 Labour MPs. In the vote on the motion, however, most of them voted against. Here are their names:

News for caffeine-fuelled campaigners!

From Transfair USA, a non-profit organisation which certifies and promotes fair trade products in the States:

Starbucks, one of the largest buyers of Fair Trade Certified coffee, will double its purchases to 40 million pounds in 2009, making the company the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee in the world.

“This commitment from Starbucks could not have come at a better time for coffee farmers as they face the threat of climate change, higher prices and brace themselves for a global slowdown,” said Rob Cameron, ceo of FLO. “The partnership combines the expertise of Fairtrade

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The BBC reports today that the start of recession in the UK has now been pronounced:

The UK economy has “deteriorated dramatically” in the past three months, and is already in a recession, top forecasters have suggested.
The Ernst & Young Item Club says the UK will shrink by 1% next year, before recovering in 2010 and growing by 1%.
The Item Club’s chief economist, Peter Spencer, told the BBC: “Recession is already baked in the cake.”

Read more here.

Yesterday saw the FTSE 100 sustain its biggest percentage fall in a single day since ‘Black Monday’ in 1987.

Although the banking crisis is having global repercussions, it has raised questions in our own country about blind faith in markets. Just as in the Thatcher era, the Conservatives won’t solve the problems of another Labour economic legacy.

Gideon Rachman writes at the Financial Times: Conservatism overshoots its limit.

Ruth Kelly, replaced today as Transport Secretary by Geoff Hoon, has announced that she will step down as MP for Bolton West at the next election.

Having already resigned from the cabinet to spend more time with her four young children, Ms Kelly told a meeting of Labour supporters in her constituency that she will not stand for Parliament again.

Ms Kelly has been MP for Bolton West since May 1997 and had a majority of 2064 in 2005.

Results from the 2005 General Election here.