All posts – Page 70

After the ‘No’: Constitutional Reform must not be by the Elites for the Elites

By Martin Smith, Sandra León and Dave Richards Filed Under: All posts Posted: September 24, 2014

The constitutional debate unleashed by the Scottish Independence Referendum has revealed many of the contradictions and problems of the British political system. The result effectively undermines the notion of the Westminster model and the underlying principle of Parliamentary (in realty Executive) Sovereignty. The Westminster model is based on an idea of indivisible sovereignty, accompanied by […]

After the ‘No’: Dynamics of Scottish Nationalism?

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: All posts Posted: September 19, 2014

This is the first of what will hopefully be a series of short posts examining various constitutional, policy and political consequences of the ‘No’ vote in the Scottish referendum. Where will the SNP go now? They can hardly go for “business as usual” approach, now independence is off the agenda for an unspecified period. There are […]

Why (Smart) Aid Matters

By David Hulme Filed Under: All posts Posted: September 16, 2014

It looks, thankfully, like DFID has survived the brunt of austerity savings made since the financial crash of 2008. While backroom costs have been cut, the government has stuck to its commitment to earmark 0.7% of Gross National Income for Official Development Assistance. Though critics instinctively point to the development budget in suggesting where we […]

The burning issue of health inequality in our cities

By Arpana Verma Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted: August 4, 2014

For the first time in human history more people now live in cities than don’t. Yet urban areas continue to be characterised by what are often extreme and stark variations in economic and social health, says Dr Arpana Verma. It is no surprise that the juxtaposition of the urban rich living right next to the […]

Snakes and Ladders: the challenge of regularising immigration status

By Claire Fox Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted: July 16, 2014

Anti-immigration parties gained support in the European elections, but politicians’ real challenge is to reform a system that treats undocumented migrants unfairly, argues Dr Claire Fox. Despite the election rhetoric and growing support for anti-immigration politicians, the number of undocumented, ‘irregular’, migrants in the UK probably fell in recent years. Increasingly tough immigration policies and […]

Liverpool could sue Suarez

By Hannah Quirk and Elaine Dewhurst Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted: July 4, 2014

Following the four month ban issued to Luis Suarez by FIFA, Dr Hannah Quirk and Dr Elaine Dewhurst from The University of Manchester’s School of Law look at some of the legal consequences. FIFA, football’s world governing body, has banned the Uruguayan footballer Luis Suarez for four months and nine internationals for biting Italy defender […]

Nomination of Mr Juncker – A tentative step forward for European democracy?

By Georgios Papanagnou Filed Under: All posts, Europe, Featured Posted: July 1, 2014

David Cameron failed to block Jean Claude Juncker from being nominated by the European Council for the post of European Commission President. Dr. Georgios Papanagnou takes a look at some of the weaknesses in the campaigns by Cameron and the British media. In the end “this time was not so much different” – Jean Claude […]

Trust Teachers – The first Manchester Education Debate

By Andrew Howes Filed Under: All posts Posted: June 30, 2014

Educationalists, teachers and academics have taken part in the first of a series of debates about the future of our schools in the run up to the 2015 election. Dr Andrew Howes pulls together some key strands from the discussion. If one in four good, trained teachers is saying ‘I’m leaving teaching, I need a […]

Reform of world trade long overdue

By Rorden Wilkinson Filed Under: All posts Posted: June 26, 2014

Reports that Russia is threatening to take the United States to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over sanctions imposed because of the Ukraine crisis throws the global trade body into a more geopolitical light than we have grown accustomed to in recent times. More commonly, the WTO is associated with what are rather wearisome disagreements […]

The problem with alcohol advertising

By David French Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted: June 3, 2014

The public believes that television alcohol adverts breach their regulatory controls. There is a clear need to strengthen the rules, argues Professor David French. Television advertising of alcohol is subject to what should be strong content controls. Regulations ban advertisements from implying that alcohol can contribute to popularity or confidence, or that it is capable […]