Policy@Manchester Articles

The Polling Observatory Forecast 5: Conservatives fading away?

By Rob Ford, Mark Pickup, Will Jennings and Christopher Wlezien Filed Under: Featured, Polling Observatory Posted: October 15, 2014

As explained in the inaugural election forecast, up until May next year the Polling Observatory team will be producing a long term forecast for the 2015 General Election, using methods first applied ahead of the 2010 election (and which are also well-established in the United States). The authors’ method involves trying to make the best use of […]

Polling Observatory 41: Opinion stable for now, but election battle lines are being drawn

By Rob Ford, Will Jennings, Mark Pickup and Christopher Wlezien Filed Under: Featured, Polling Observatory Posted: October 8, 2014

This is the forty-first in a series of posts by Dr Robert Ford, Dr Will Jennings, Dr Mark Pickup and Prof Christopher Wlezien that report on the state of the parties in the UK as measured by opinion polls. By pooling together all the available polling evidence, the impact of the random variation that each individual survey inevitably produces can be […]

Where’s the evidence for IDS’s new ‘smartcard’ scheme for poor?

By David Hulme Filed Under: Featured Posted: September 30, 2014

Iain Duncan Smith has announced the launch of pre-paid cards, loaded with benefit payments to ensure that money will go to feed families and not “self-destructive habits”. It was an initiative that attracted applause from his Conservative party colleagues. But, asks Professor David Hulme, is it really necessary? Hear Prof David Hulme speak at a […]

Where next for Labour’s schools policy?

By Ruth Lupton Filed Under: Featured Posted: September 29, 2014

With the Labour Party conference in town, Manchester Institute of Education (MIE) invited four leading figures in education to join teachers, academics, teacher educators, parents and others in a public debate on what a future Labour government should do on schools. Prof Ruth Lupton considers some of their key ideas. Panel members were Rt. Hon David […]

Why do ethnic inequalities continue to matter?

By James Nazroo Filed Under: Ethnicity, Featured Posted: September 25, 2014

Have we moved into a ‘post-race’ policy environment, in which politicians claim ethnic inequalities no longer matter? They remain important and significant, counters Prof James Nazroo. When was the last time you heard an MP, let alone a minister, talk about ethnicity in terms of inequality? In mainstream policy discussion we appear to have moved […]

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 […]

All Public Services are Local: why we need smaller, and bigger, local government (in England)

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted: September 12, 2014

Here’s a simple question: why does the UK have a single agency, HM Revenue and Customs, to collect most taxes? This idea is so embedded in the UK political psyche that it is never, ever, questioned. But there are clear examples of alternatives that work perfectly well. In Denmark, for example, local government collects most […]

Polling Observatory Scottish referendum special: who is ahead, and how close is it?

By Rob Ford, Mark Pickup, Will Jennings and Christopher Wlezien Filed Under: Featured, Polling Observatory Posted: September 12, 2014

This is a Scottish independence special of a regular series of posts that reports on the state of support for the parties in Westminster as measured by opinion polls. By pooling together all the available polling evidence the impact of the random variation each individual survey inevitably produces can be reduced. Most of the short […]