Tomorrow marks the beginning of a series of citizens’ assemblies, organised by the Electoral Reform Society in partnership with academics from Sheffield, Southampton and London, which will be taking place in Southampton and Sheffield over the next month. In this article, Chris Terry discusses the trend of grassroots deliberation which has been gaining momentum since […]
The field of political psychology has demonstrated that there are quantifiable psychological traits that impact the perceived efficacy of political leaders in the US, Russia and specific case studies of individual British Prime Ministers. In a recent study, Sam Rohrer drew on this literature to analyse psychological traits linked to great leadership for 20th century […]
In August two British citizens were killed by British drones in Syria. The government has managed to avoid tough questions about the precise level of threat posed by the men to UK by conflating the right of an individual to self-defence with a state’s capacity to pre-emptive action. But Humeira Iqtidar writes that it remains […]
What does it really mean to be “right” or “left” in England today? Can we be certain that all who identify as conservative are against immigration? Or can we say that anyone opposing Trident is invariably “left”? And can we assume that one can never be both pro-immigration and “right-wing” in economic terms? Jonathan Wheatley […]
Electoral turnout in UK elections has been disappointing over recent cycles, despite a small uptick at the past two elections. One proposed solution is introducing compulsory voting, though this measure is controversial in countries where voluntary voting is practiced. Dr. Jill Sheppard argues that countries which use compulsion to ensure turnout not only have higher […]
Transparency discussions invariably focus on the public sector, leaving a significant gap when it comes to the private contractors and companies. In this article, Ben Worthy explores the laws, regulations and technological innovations which are gradually increasing transparency in the private sector. The focus of transparency is almost always on government and public bodies. However, […]
The UK continues to use the First Past the Post electoral system, which is more likely to result in majority governments, but less representative of voter preferences as expressed through the ballot box. It has been argued that not only are proportional systems fairer than majoritarian ones, but that they can increase turnout through making […]
Theresa May’s speech at the Conservative Party conference, which focussed largely on immigration and its supposed negative societal and economic effects proved to be controversial, finding criticism even amongst conservative supporting newspapers and members of her own party. Marley Morris however found some promise in the ideas she presented around community sponsorship. Similar PostsTheresa May […]
Last week, an appeal by a French prisoner to the EU’s top court against his voting ban revived the debate about prisoner voting rights in the UK. Colin Murray writes that although the appeal was unsuccessful, the ruling did not foreclose the possibility of future successful challenges to bans on prisoner voting. He suggests that it is highly likely […]
Islamic State: The Digital Caliphate provides detailed answers to a number of pressing questions: What exactly is ISIS? Where did it come from? Who is behind it? How does it function? What are the reasons for its success? Daniel Falkiner welcomes the rich description and analysis and finds Abdel Bari Atwan does an admirable job of explaining the ways Islamic […]
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