Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
By Samuel Wood Filed Under: All posts, Science and Technology Posted:
A lively debate on the pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing -fracking- got Policy Week off to a great start. Sam Wood reports on the discussion. Fracking causes a wide range of emotions in people, something that was really brought out at the beginning of the session, when the audience were asked to complete a […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: All posts, Westminster Watch, Whitehall Watch Posted:
The Government has only itself to blame for its House of Lords defeat over Tax Credits, which it could easily have avoided says Colin Talbot. Normally, major financial changes introduced in a Budget are put through the normal House of Commons mechanisms for ‘supply’ (spending) and finance (tax). As these measures were about tax (credits) […]
By Kath Checkland Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
GPs are dealing with increased stress and more are leaving practice. Yet there are signs for optimism, reports Professor Kath Checkland. GPs in the UK are fed up – this much is commonplace. Newspaper headlines and social media alike tell a tale of dissatisfaction, declining morale and intentions to quit. If these reports are to […]
By Kevin Anderson Filed Under: All posts Posted:
Professor Kevin Anderson, Deputy Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, will be attending the Climate Change Conference in Paris this December. He has a stark warning about the future of our climate. In July 2015 scientists attended a major climate conference as a prelude to the political negotiations in Paris in December. After […]
By Ferdi De Ville and Gabriel Siles-Brügge Filed Under: All posts Posted:
On Saturday, a number of demonstrations were held across Europe to protest against TTIP and other trade agreements (notably the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement [CETA], the Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] and the Trade in Services Agreement [TiSA]). Next week, EU and US officials will return to the negotiating table in Miami for the 11th […]
By Bertrand Taithe Filed Under: All posts Posted:
Last Friday, October 3, the US airforce bombed a hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz. Bertrand Taithe says such actions are likely to be counter-productive in the long run. The attack in Kunduz destroyed the hospital and killed 12 Médecins sans Frontières staff and about 10 of their patients. The US military soon recognized their responsibility for […]
By Omonigho Otanocha Filed Under: All posts Posted:
Omonigho Otanocho looks at the little known problem of crude oil theft, which costs lives and contributes to global terrorism. Crude oil theft, otherwise known as ‘illegal crude oil bunkering’, is global challenge especially for oil exporting countries like Nigeria. According to reports available at the Chatham House website, “Nigerian crude oil is being stolen […]
By Diane Coyle Filed Under: All posts Posted:
Diane Coyle asks if our use of economic statistics is distorting policy and making it focused on the short-term. When the same question crops up in some very different places, it is a signal of the importance of the issue. In two events recently, participants have challenged the role of the media in the economy. […]
By Peter Gatrell Filed Under: All posts Posted:
Peter Gatrell teaches a course on refugees in modern world history and is author of “The Making of the Modern Refugee”. Here he makes a few observations about what history can teach today’s policy makers. Never has this subject seemed timelier or more troubling than in 2015. Here I reflect on two questions: what might […]
By David Hulme Filed Under: All posts Posted:
In the final part of our series on the Sustainable Development Goals which have just been agreed in New York, David Hulme analyses what it all means…. The UN has been setting goals to combat poverty for the last 50 or 60 years, but this gathered pace since 1990, following the end of the Cold […]