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Opinion

A taste of heaven that comes out in the wash

Soap is far too crude a term for our modern merchandisers; far more oblique strategies have been found to avoid using it.

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Is Labour preparing for a low-speed U-turn?

Have Labour turned against HS2? Most political journalists at Westminster believe so, but the truth is that we don’t really know.

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Power is the hot issue for Government

Government has decided not to give subsidies to energy supplier, Centrica, to develop gas storage facilities doubling the ��Ƶ’s present capacity of 15 days’ supply.

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Contest as James Bird steps down

Birmingham Tory councillor James Bird has been one of the more successful opposition frontbenchers having kept the council’s children’s services and education department on its toes for much of the last two years.

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Female boss is more stealthy than the male

In the stealth and intuition stakes, it’s nearly always the female sex to watch.

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Bringing manufacturing back?

While two thirds of firms surveyed said that reshoring simply wasn't relevant for them, of the third that did see it as relevant, over a half were either doing it or actively considering it.

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George Osborne wasn't right on Plan A

While the austerity cheerleaders argue that it wasn't austerity that led to the poor economic performance, it's clear to many analysts that austerity has in fact slowed growth.

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Getting down to the bare essentials with regard to visas

Running in parallel has been one of the more intriguing political sideshows of the last year or so -exasperating and entertaining in broadly equal measure -Theresa May's 'Dance of the Seven Visas'.

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There isn't always room for fun in fundraising

For every cancer patient who loves the fact that you are running 26 miles for them dressed as a giant chicken, there’s another who will inwardly groan.

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Fans taking the opportunity to protect their spiritual home

A growing number of football supporters are setting the wheels in motion in a bid to protect their clubs’ stadiums being sold against their wishes.

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Placing health above possessions

While 61 per cent of Britons take out travel insurance, just 35 per cent have a critical illness policy.

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Scrutinising shares for rights issue

The introduction of controversial laws which enable workers to give up basic employee rights in exchange for shares in their company were introduced at the start of September.

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Politics is bloomin’ barmy!

For the last fortnight, politics stopped being nuts. It went bananas. And, somewhat unsurprisingly, the media can take pride in helping push politics over the precipice.

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Renewed Tories playing Labour at its own game

Tory backbenchers want David Cameron to steal Labour's thunder with policies to cut the cost of living - and win over trade unionists.

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Sir Albert cutting an austere figure

There have been more difficulties for Sir Albert Bore as he ploughs on with his ‘armageddon’, ‘jaws of doom’ and ‘end of local government as well know it’ narrative.

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Retail woes fuel fears of more gloom

Respected insolvency trade body R3 claims almost a third of Midland retailers are at risk of collapse following the most recent Rent Quarter Day.

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Capita's Service Birmingham profits bonanza

Last year Birmingham City Council paid Capita on balance £126m for ICT, billing and 'business transformation'.

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Writing off the demons of the road

The sound of crunching metal; then, the sight of a big HGV disappearing into the distance, with a “so long, sucker” expression writ large in its tail-lights.

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Don't tell Sid but selling nationalised companies isn't always a good thing

The mysterious Sid was part of the television advertising to exhort us to become part of Mrs Thatcher's 'share-owning democracy'.

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Changing the climate of climate change

Climate change generally brings a big sceptical yawn from the population at large, exacerbated by government reluctance to do anything that might harm the interests of ��Ƶ PLC.

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Tories have a mountain to climb with women voters

With the country’s principal political parties fighting to get their messages out in conference season, Chris Game looks at problems communicating with half of the electorate.

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Bringing Disorder to Birmingham - an independent creative retail experience

One of the things Mary Portas said to us when she visited was she felt the way we approached our business was very imaginative, the cleverest she had seen!

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Manufacturing can revitalise our economy

" Why is manufacturing significant? " asked Professor Susan Christopherson, City & Regional Planning, Cornell University, speaking on Tuesday 24th September at the University of Birmingham's Barber Institute.

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It’s time for a global crackdown to stop match-fixing

Millions of cricket fans watched the replays open-mouthed as Mohammad Asif bowled deliberate no-balls during the Lord’s Test against England in 2010.

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