Policy@Manchester Articles

Socio-economic inequalities widening again in English schools: The story behind the 2014 GCSE results.

By Ruth Lupton Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted: January 30, 2015

Publication of the 2014 GCSE results has highlighted a worrying decline in academic performance by poorer children, say Ruth Lupton and Stephanie Thomson from The University of Manchester. Yesterday’s release of the 2014 GCSE results, showing a fall in overall achievement and a doubling of the number of schools not meeting the government’s floor target, […]

Surviving Ebola

By Mukesh Kapila Filed Under: Featured Posted: January 29, 2015

There are positive signs that West Africa is recovering from the Ebola epidemic. But more must be done to create a healthcare system that can withstand the next attack from deadly disease, says Professor Mukesh Kapila. Sierra Leone is at war again, as are Liberia and Guinea. This latest war is against Ebola, a nasty […]

Greece- The shape of things to come

By Dimitris Papadimitriou Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted: January 27, 2015

In the aftermath of the Greek general election, which put SYRIZA, an anti-austerity left wing party, into power in coalition with far-right Independent Greeks, Dimitris Papadimitriou Professor of European politics at The University of Manchester, explores the situation and assess the possible impact. So, there you have it! Greek bailout politics have come full circle. […]

‘Neither Unified, Nor Uniform – So What Civil Service for the Twenty-First Century?

By Francesca Gains and Dave Richards Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 26, 2015

In the final part of our special series on the Civil Service, Francesca Gains and Dave Richards sum up the debate and assess the future of the service during a period of great change. The most striking theme to emerge from the Policy@Manchester series of Civil Service ‘stocking-taking’ blogs by Martin Stanley and Colin Talbot […]

Civil Service Accountability to the Public Part III

By Martin Stanley Filed Under: All posts, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 23, 2015

In the latest blog in our series on the Civil Service , Martin Stanley continues his examination of whether senior officials should be more accountable – especially to MPs – for the advice that they give to Ministers. Whatever the strength of the arguments for and against greater civil service accountability, there does seem to […]

Tolstoy’s River – Why pro-Europeans need to be braver

By Michael Welsh Filed Under: All posts, Europe Posted: January 22, 2015

As the anti -EU movement grows, ex Conservative MEP for Lancashire Central Michael Welsh, argues those in the pro-EU camp need to be braver when arguing their case, if Britain is to continue to play its part in the world. In the concluding chapters of War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy compares the course of history […]

Continuity and Change in the Civil Service III: Changing Accountability

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 21, 2015

The unwritten British constitution as it affects Civil Service accountability – especially to Parliament – is going through an incremental, but very significant, change, argues Professor Colin Talbot. At the heart of the British constitution lies the concept of separation of the administrative elite from the political elite. This is very different from other countries […]

Civil Service Accountability to the Public part II

By Martin Stanley Filed Under: Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 19, 2015

In the second of three blogs Martin Stanley examines whether senior officials should be more accountable – especially to MPs – for the advice that they give to Ministers. This is the fourth post in our series on the Civil Service. How would officials react to greater public scrutiny? Most of them, I suspect, would […]

Continuity and Change in the Civil Service II: How SPADs and Tsars are changing the Whitehall landscape

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 16, 2015

The UK has had a clear dividing line between its political and administrative leadership. In the third post in our series examining the current state of the Civil Service, Professor Colin Talbot argues that the rise of the SPAD and the Tsar is changing this. Special advisors – or SPADs, to use their common acronym […]

How racism harms health

By Laia Becares Filed Under: Ethnicity, Featured Posted: January 15, 2015

Lifetime experiences of racism damage the health of ethnic minorities from before birth until death, writes Dr Laia Bécares. Racism is toxic for health. This can be taken literally, proven by a vast environmental justice literature that shows how some ethnic minorities are more likely than the white majority population to live within close […]