Bloody Blair cannot hide

University College London discredited themselves by offering a platform to this disgraced war criminal. But the hundreds of protesters made heroes of themselves by highlighting Blair's bloody crimes.

It's not just UCL but the entire political and media Establishment who are discredited by Blair's continuing presence in the halls of power - from the Labour Party which refuses to make a clean break with his reign to the media organisations that eagerly seek his opinions and slaver after his approval.

The only place for him is in the dock at The Hague, with his fellow mass murderer George W Bush alongside him.

Until our leaders routinely face being held accountable for their crimes against humanity we cannot hope for an end to imperial bloodshed in the Middle East, Latin America or wherever else our leaders covet.

So we cannot allow our Establishment to whitewash Blair's crimes and welcome him back into the fold.

Wherever he goes, wherever he pockets a fat cheque for mouthing platitudes to a roomful of the elite, peace protesters must be there to remind the world he's soaked head to foot in the blood of the innocent.

Energy con

Who could have imagined the private gas companies were a bunch of crooks and conmen determined to fleece us for every penny they can get?

Not government ministers, evidently. But certainly everyone else who has had dealings with the shysters to whom Margaret Thatcher handed ownership of our gas supplies.

We have seen our gas bills skyrocket year after year. Rises of 7, 8, 9 per cent are commonplace - and co-ordinated in a way that makes a mockery of any claim of "competition."

The big six are already acting as a cartel when it comes to jacking up our bills. So it won't be the slightest bit surprising if the allegations of market manipulation are proved true.

The energy companies would just be doing what giant companies have always done since the dawn of capitalism.

Luckily, there's a solution that's been with us for nearly as long - nationalise.

Let's get this vital service out of the hands of the greedy thieves and back under democratic control, run by our representatives for our benefit - and for no-one's profit.

House crisis

It's another triumph for Victorian values - the return of mass homelessness and slum overcrowding.

The staggering 23 per cent rise in rough sleeping is just one of the terrible consequences of slashing jobs, axing housing benefits, flogging off council homes, deregulating rents, banning squatting and deliberately pumping air into the buy-to-let bubble.

It should be a source of shame to the Con-Dems that in 2012 in one of the richest countries in the world we are seeing a return to conditions that should have been banished decades ago.

But this is an inevitable result of their ideologically driven assault on public services, public ownership and any form of regulation that stands in the way of profit.

Homelessness is just the most visible sign of a housing crisis that affects all but the wealthiest. We need urgent action - not vague talk of "affordable" homes but a mass programme of council-house building and strict rent controls to stop private landlords profiteering from a basic human need.