Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
In the coming months, three men will face trial for vagrancy for taking discarded food from a skip. Dr Andy Balmer argues that the actual crime is systemic waste throughout the food production and consumption chain. The practice of ‘skipping’ or ‘skip diving’ features intermittently in the news. Often an intrepid reporter dons his or […]
By Gabriel Siles-Brügge and Ferdi De Ville Filed Under: Europe Posted:
Although negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US were launched with bombastic rhetoric, the last couple of weeks have seen confidence wane, write Ferdi De Ville and Gabriel Siles-Brügge. They argue that negotiations will take longer and the economic benefits of a deal will be far smaller […]
By Michelle Kilfoyle and Hayley Birch Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted:
Citizen science isn’t new, but new mobile technologies open up huge potential benefits for science, society and the environment, write Michelle Kilfoyle and Hayley Birch. It seems our modern addiction to smartphones, tablets and gaming is not just providing us with new means of communicating and killing time. It is also providing scientists with innovative ways in […]
By Rob Ford Filed Under: Featured, Polling Observatory Posted:
This blog post, by Dr Robert Ford, Dr Will Jennings and Dr Mark Pickup is the thirty-second in a series of posts that report on the state of the parties as measured by opinion polls. By pooling together all the available polling evidence we can reduce the impact of the random variation each individual survey inevitably produces. Most […]
By Francesca Gains Filed Under: Featured Posted:
How do Governments arrive at policy decisions in the United Kingdom? There has been a great deal of commentary on the apparent disconnect between Westminster and voters, with priorities not necessarily shared between the two. This book by Peter John, Anthony Bertelli, Will Jennings and Shaun Bevan, will help illuminate the reader on how these policy agendas are shaped, […]
The Coalition has decided to drop the privatisation of polygraph, or ‘lie-detector’ tests for sex offenders. But Dr Andrew Balmer believes that the continued use of this flawed technology within the probation service is misguided and the whole programme should be scrapped. Since the Offender Management Act was changed in 2007 to allow for the […]
By Rob Ford Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
Immigration is seldom out of the news, but the past month has seen attention spike to new highs as the removal of transitional controls on migration from Romania and Bulgaria has sparked furious debate, writes Rob Ford. Many headlines suggest the British public is implacably opposed to migration, and demand radical action from the government to bring […]
By Juanjo Medina Filed Under: Featured Posted:
Most police forces don’t understand how to use their powers of stop and search, writes Dr Juan Medina-Ariza. Black people are seven times as likely to be stopped and searched than whites in modern, multi-ethnic Britain – and this risks undermining the public’s faith in the police. The publication of HMIC’s report on the use […]
By Clive Bates Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted:
In seeking a ‘new settlement’ with the European Union (EU), the UK government is ignoring the existing rules and procedures that should already govern law making, argues Clive Bates. Here he focuses on a current example, the regulation of e-cigarettes, highlights the broader faults in the current process and offers some solutions. Otto Von Bismark […]
By Hannah Quirk Filed Under: Featured Posted:
Throughout Northern Ireland’s many efforts to deal with its turbulent past Dr Hannah Quirk believes that one group has been overlooked – the victims of conflict-related miscarriages of justice. For her, the Attorney General’s recent suggestion that there should be no more prosecutions for conflict-related crimes highlights the need for a bespoke solution for these […]