News
Plain English campaign news articles
Clear manifestos
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- Created on Wednesday, 28 January 2015 11:27
With just under 100 days until the general election, we’ve asked all major parties for a clear version of their manifesto.
We know that a large number of people will struggle to read the full-length version. There is no good reason why the parties can’t provide an easy-to-understand, point-by-point summary of their key principles.
Down with the kids
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- Created on Monday, 19 January 2015 13:05
The English Spelling Society (TESS) is up to no good once again with a new scheme. The scheme is aimed at making life easier for children in tests by allowing sentences such as 'my frend has a coff'.
TESS wants to 'open minds to the possibility of an eventual update of English spelling in the interests of improved literacy'. Or, put another way, 'English language should change to a phonetic version so people don't have to bother to learn it'.
More council jargon
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- Created on Friday, 16 January 2015 11:58
Dundee City Council is under fire for writing an 'obscure' letter to parents that's 'a real challenge to read'.
The letter, written by council Education Director Michael Wood, achieves an online readability score of 28.2. Or in other words, it's as difficult to read as the Harvard Law Review. It uses words such as 'redilineation' and contains a paragraph which is over 80 words long.
Plain English Campaign 2014 awards coverage
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- Created on Wednesday, 03 December 2014 10:34
Here’s some of the media coverage of our 2014 awards. Unsurprisingly, Russell Brand seems to be the focal point for most of it. However, our ‘good’ award recipients get their deserved mention in each piece.
Coverage in the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Edinburgh Evening News, the Belfast Telegraph, STV News and the Hartlepool Mail.
There has also been plenty of radio coverage, with most BBC stations mentioning the winners, along with numerous regional stations. We will continue to update our social media pages throughout the day and beyond with relevant pieces.
Facebook won’t 'like' this…
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- Created on Monday, 01 December 2014 15:32
Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites will soon have to tell their users exactly how their photos and information are being used.
A Commons Service and Technology Select Committee report condemns the current terms and conditions as horribly long and complex, and akin to ‘engaging with Shakespeare’ (though much less fun).
The pensions problem deepens
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- Created on Friday, 14 November 2014 10:51
The pensions problem, and it’s a serious problem, hasn’t improved since George Osborne recently announced his ‘pensions revolution’.
Packs sent out to pension customers have simply failed to shed much light on a complex issue. Worse still, not all insurers even mention the new rules, and run the risk of leaving their customers in dire trouble.
More mis-sold policies…
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- Created on Friday, 14 November 2014 10:45
Not so long ago, we covered the mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) fiasco – huge numbers of people saddled with pointless policies which they ended up being compensated for.
These were policies that were created for no reason other than to make money. And it seems that the lessons of the PPI disaster have quickly been forgotten if ‘bankruptcy indemnity policies’ are anything to go by.
Waffle extractor
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- Created on Monday, 10 November 2014 09:20
It’s a shame that such a thing is needed, but fair play to Houston PR for their online tool polifiller.com.
The website, which lists a ‘cliché of the day’ (‘Tightening their belts’ when I looked) strips all nonsense and surplus waffle from politicians’ comments.
