Senior Conservatives may have been calling for Nicola Sturgeon’s head over a potential breach of the ministerial code, but, they have ignored such breaches in their own party. Alex Toal identifies eleven ministers in the Johnson government who have breached the code, there may be even more…
Debbie Eade explains the significance of the new tax agreement between Gibraltar and Spain, also signed by the UK. The two countries will share fiscal information, and Gibraltar will at long last be recognised as an autonomous tax jurisdiction.
Stella Perrott lays out the benefits of immigration to the UK, and explains what this will look like post-Brexit. Broadening the immigration pool across the globe will lead to exploitation of the less-well-developed nations, as they provide the UK with their skills and talents, but receive little in return.
Is there an oppressed minority on the political right who have been dominated into silence? Will no-one stand up for them? Cometh the hour, cometh the Fox. Roger Winterbottom wonders what it is they really want to say.
Charlie McCarthy explains what impact the chancellor’s cuts to the aid budget will have on organisations like VSO. The charity’s international programs will be halted and UK communities will be harmed as they can no longer volunteer.
Steve and Tim have been discussing the importance of flying the Union Jack, and the troubling issue of crisis actors at protests. Catch up on their previous conversations too!
British citizens from 94 civil society groups around the UK have sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, welcoming the stance of the Biden-Harris administration to upholding democratic values and defending the truth. America’s ability to turn the corner on the Trump era and uphold the rule of law in […]
For Census Day 2021, thousands have already pledged to mark themselves as ‘European’ on the form. Will you?
Sue Wilson, who lives in Spain, challenges the stereotype of Brits abroad, suggesting that the press are responsible for the image of gin-drinking, golf players. She points out that until EU citizens in the UK are called ‘expats’, she too will remain a ‘British immigrant’.
Misogynoir is when racism and misogyny combine. Would we have responded differently if Sarah Everard had been black?
The UK service sector has effectively suffered a no-deal Brexit. Services implies people and travel and the impact of Brexit has so far been concealed behind the covid restrictions. The sector is soon to face a ‘bewildering’ array of new visa application and work permit rules.
Dr Hywel Ceri Jones, one of the founders of the Erasmus scheme, shows why Erasmus’ replacement, Turing, is not up to scratch. With less generous provisions and less support for the less well-off, Turing is not as good as Erasmus.
One of the stand-out episodes for me in historian David Olusoga’s series Black and British: A Forgotten History was when he traced the descendants of 18th and 19th century black Britons. One man, Cedric Barber, could recite the names of his father’s father, his grandfather’s father and so on, going back to a Georgian gentleman, […]
One prominent NHS figure thinks we need to re-evaluate our thinking on Test and Trace. “Shurely Shome Mistake?” Test and Trace is really a winner! If everybody’s saying something, it must be true, right? Usually, the answer is yes, for a good reason, though this truism is lost on people like the Flat Earth Society. […]
“Hello, you’re through to our helpline!” “Thank god!” “How may we be of service today?” “It’s my operating system…” “Yes?” “I think it’s corrupted.” “OK, we can help with that.” “Great.” “This is usually a simple fix, sir…” “Really?” “Let’s just run through a few checks…” “Right…” “And see where that gets us.” “Perfect, thanks.” […]
Helen Johnson reports from an event by the Zero Covid Alliance, asking whether a zero covid strategy would have been better. Countering previous arguments by the government that Zero Covid would have been unnecessary, and that pursuing a strategy more like New Zealand’s would have been more fruitful.
Lisa Burton explains the challenges that her business have had in selling to Amazon after Brexit. The preparations she made were extensive, and yet there are still huge challenges when it comes to exporting to the EU.
Sapphire Boast looks at the response on Instagram to the rules women have to follow to stay safe from male aggression
Every woman has a story: a near-miss, paths crossing, a brush with darkness or the man in the shadows. Our lives have fewer safe spaces than men’s do. Chances are most women have at least one story to tell. Maybe several.
Andy Brown asks what priority our society gives to violence against women and whether the police are doing enough.
It is now clear that the massive constitutional, economic and political importance of the Irish border issue raised by Brexit and routinely dismissed at the time, were not appreciated at the highest level of government until as late as early 2018 and arguably not until the last few weeks.
Democracy and the right to protest. This week the government set out its plans for new police powers that will limit the ability to take part in peaceful protests. This is a move recently witnessed in fascist states and is the latest in a series of actions that the government has taken to reduce the rights of British citizens.
Pam Jarvis brings to light the impact of the pandemic on young people’s mental health and their education. She suggests that the ‘Reggio Emilia’ is one that we could learn from.
Alex Toal argues that we should hate the institution of the monarchy, not the monarch. With the monarchy a block on constitutional reform and a symbol of inequality on several levels, it needs to go.
A year ago, as we entered a thing called lockdown, people dealt with it in different ways. As is often the case when in denial facing a traumatic situation, people routinely announced via social media that this was their opportunity to paint the fence, write THAT novel, take up ceramics or learn the clarinet. In […]
Are schools delivering the skills and the social mobility we need for a successful post-pandemic, post-Brexit economy?
Andy Brown breaks down the problems with the Chancellor, looking at its impact on care, education, waste management, and the government’s use of back room deals, cheap tricks, and pork barrel politics.
Confirmation that the EU is about to take legal action against the UK for breaching provisions of the withdrawal agreement, marks another ratcheting up of the rapidly escalating row between London and Brussels
Covid passports are likely to be sold to us as our way out of lockdown – but are they ID cards in any other name? Professor Juliet Lodge looks at the wider issues around this controversy.
Natalie Bennett explains the concept of ‘parental alienation’; when a child refuses contact with a parent, due to being ‘poisoned’ by the other parent against them. Should parents have a ‘right’ to see their children, even if they are a threat (domestic abuse)?