Since the Brexit vote in the EU referendum of 23rd June 2016 the political turmoil that followed has been unprecedented with a change of Prime Minister and cabinet, a leadership challenge in the Labour party and Theresa May calling a General Election. Social mobility is high on the political agenda with Theresa May’s first speech […]
General election 2017 – Is gender still on the agenda? How parties appeal to women voters.
Claire Annesley, Professor of Politics at the University of Sussex and Francesca Gains, Professor of Public Policy and Head of Politics at The University of Manchester examine the main political parties’ manifestos to identify if gender is still on the agenda or has it be side-lined due to an election being fought in a political […]
Could young people show a new way for politics?
Since the general election was called, there has been an upturn in voter registration amongst the under 25s. Many young people, however, have still not registered and they are considered less likely to vote than older people. But this by no means tells the whole story. Young people are starting to seek new, bolder ways […]
A National Education Service could restore the opportunity of education
Liam Shields, Lecturer in Political Theory at The University of Manchester examines the Labour Party’s manifesto promise to establish a life-long National Education Service which could enhance equality of opportunity throughout the UK. This policy has many parallels with the NHS and the emphasis on opportunities for educational enrichment beyond “school-age” is striking. By including […]
Overcoming ethnic prejudice: how a positive trend could be threatened
An important indicator of a breakdown of barriers between different ethnic groups is accepting someone of a different ethnic background marrying into the family. Much research into attitudes looks at the views of the majority ethnic group separately to those of the minorities. In a break from this tradition, researchers from the University of Manchester […]
The UK Technifesto
Inequality in our world is a root cause of many problems, but the strength of technology means it is no longer inevitable, says Vikas Shah. Here he shares his Technifesto for the United Kingdom. Information is now who we are – technology is our primary economic, social and cultural tool It’s an absolute priority to […]
Taking action on local employment issues: how far can voluntary employment charter initiatives take us?
As the Greater Manchester mayoral election approaches, a key issue on the candidates’ agendas is raising employment standards across the city. Here, Ceri Hughes from the Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit and Emily Ball from Oxfam GB discuss the policy implications of rolling out a local employment charter in Manchester, highlighting what this would mean for […]
Shared parental leave: baby steps towards equality?
On the second anniversary of the introduction of shared parental leave into UK law, Doctors Emma Banister and Ben Kerrane look at the story so far and how policy changes can ensure greater success in the future. Claims that shared leave is a ‘failing’ policy have been shown to be based on erroneous statistics Wider […]
Inclusive Growth : what should be on the new Greater Manchester mayor’s agenda?
With the election of the Greater Manchester’s new metro mayor a few weeks away, the Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit are producing a number of short policy briefings around what policies the mayor could adopt around inclusive growth. Here, Professor Ruth Lupton summarises their first policy briefing and identifies some key priorities for the new mayor. […]
Cities Innovation: Footprint for Inclusive Economics
Despite devolution deals continuing to make headlines, the United Kingdom remains one of the centralised states in the western world. Here, Dr Su Maddock makes the link between effective regional governance, inclusive growth, and the innovations and negotiating capacities that are essential to meeting the challenges of Brexit. The UK’s regional economic inequalities, rather than […]