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In the sphere of education, it's time to disenthrall ourselves with markets once and for all.

The Government has said that reducing the deficit is the most urgent issue facing Britain today and has opened a public consultation as part of its Spending Review. The public service cuts, benefit freezes and raising indirect taxes announced in the budget will increase inequality but there is an alternative. We have set up an easy to use tool to allow you to send a message to the Treasury consultation demanding fair taxes not unfair cuts.

The "emergency budget" of 2010 unfolded, as budgets are wont to do, in the oak panelled Commons Chamber, lined by hundreds of people - mostly men, it must be added - besuited, baying and occasionally gurning for the cameras. For decades, the same old drama has played out in the Palace of Westminster, and yesterday's events were no different.

Since the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition took power six weeks ago, right wing think tanks have been demanding huge cuts in government spending that are breathtaking in their ruthlessness and extraordinary to behold. It was, however, something else to see the Chancellor today confirm the most savage round of cuts that anyone has ever attempted to impose on the UK economy.

Goldman Sachs allegedly failed to disclose to investors that it was betting against subprime mortgage investments it was selling to clients. In response the Tories and Liberal Democrats said Goldman Sachs should be suspended from working for the Government until the outcome of the fraud case brought against the investment bank is known. Once in government, however, the Tories and Lib Dems have failed to follow through on their rhetoric and on May 14 Goldman Sachs was hired to sell 40-year index-linked bonds on behalf of the government.

The government has announced the first round of cuts in government spending. At just over £6bn they represent just 0.8% of total forecast state spending this year, and by themselves are insignificant to the economy as a whole.

George Osborne has given us our first taste of things to come (although strictly speaking, the prize goes to Alistair Darling in his PBR last year). Savings include £836mn at Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS); £683mn at Transport; £325mn in cuts at Justice; £362mn in lower grants to town halls; £320mn from axing child trust funds; £85mn of cuts at Energy and Climate Change and so on - a total of £6.2bn.

Today we have officially launched www.sameoldtories.co.uk  a new interactive website to highlight the gap between the rhetoric and reality of the Conservative Party. This website is co-launched with a new pamphlet entitled Blue Dawn Fades - a critical analysis of the philosophy of 'Compassionate Conservatism.'

In a high profile letter coordinated by Compass, which appeared in Saturday's Guardian, several leading figures rejected David Cameron's recent claim that Boris Johnson was responsible for the introduction of a living wage in London.

This week, leaders of some of the UK's biggest businesses came out in support of George Osborne's plans to reverse Labour's proposed National Insurance rise. In a letter to the Telegraph, they argue that the reversal, to be funded by an extra £6 billion's worth of efficiency savings, is neeeded to protect jobs keep Britain's economic recovery on track.
38 Degrees has launched a campaign to persuade these business leaders to change their minds.