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Policy@Manchester Articles
Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
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Females to the fore in reshuffle – but women’s policy input may remain limited

Francesca GainsClaire Annesley By Francesca Gains and Claire Annesley Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted: October 7, 2013

As expected, David Cameron has boosted the number of women in his Government. But this strategy is problematic, argue Professors Claire Annesley and Francesca Gains, and may not address the lack of women’s policy input in decision making. Earlier this spring Andy Coulson, David Cameron’s former spin doctor, suggested that ‘Sam Cam’ was the Conservatives’ ‘secret […]

Tagged With: cameron, coalition, conservatives, election, government, policy, reshuffle, women

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Zero-hour contracts: the dark side of flexible labour markets

Jill Rubery By Jill Rubery Filed Under: Featured Posted: October 7, 2013

Whether it be young people selling sports shoes, or carers looking after the elderly, workers in the UK are increasingly being forced into zero-hour contract, writes Prof Jill Rubery. But this hasn’t happened by accident: it is a product of many years of moving towards a ‘flexible’ labour market, one that in practice means more […]

Tagged With: employees, employers, employment, flexible labour, law, policy, Sports Direct, WEI, workforce, zero hour contracts

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Avoiding catastrophe: the role of the state in the water-food-energy nexus

Danny Fitzpatrick By Danny Fitzpatrick Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted: October 2, 2013

The recurring themes of water, food and energy in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals suggest the policy-making community is waking up to the deep inter-dependencies between these three essential resources.  The role of central governments in translating such a ‘nexus thinking’ into meaningful action, in order to avoid a potential catastrophe, will be critical, writes […]

Tagged With: development, energy, environment, food, nexus, sustainability, UN, water

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Small area data: something worth saving?

Nissa Finney By Nissa Finney Filed Under: Featured Posted: September 30, 2013

Small area data has lots of potential uses, writes Dr Nissa Finney; by healthcare or education providers to tailor their services, by the local authority in forecasting, or for academic research. But under money-saving proposals currently being considered, the Census as we know it – and the subsequent availability of these data – may disappear. […]

Tagged With: austerity, beyond 2011, census, data, ONS, planning, small data, statistics, UKSA

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Learning to live with the Frankenstein’s Monster that is modern nursing

Stuart Butler By Stuart Butler Filed Under: All posts Posted: September 25, 2013

Today’s nurses have been accused of being “too posh to wash” and lacking compassion, writes Stuart Butler. But unless policymakers are willing to free up their time through further recruitment, or abandon their obsession with targets, they should learn to live with the professionalized work-force that is entirely of their own making.   Rather uniquely […]

Tagged With: HCA, jeremy hunt, NHS, nurses, nursing, policy, training

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The OBR and Scrutinising Public Money and Policies: Why We Need a Parliamentary Budget Office

Colin Talbot By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted: September 23, 2013

Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, has declared he’d like the Office of Budget Responsibility to assess Labour’s tax and spend policies before the next election. Robert Chote, the head of the OBR, and Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative chair of the Treasury select committee, have both said they think this could be a good thing. Others […]

Tagged With: CBO, ed balls, Labour, OBR, parliament, policy, Whitehall

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Welcome to Manchester Policy Blogs (and the biggest Think Tank in Britain)

Colin Talbot By Colin Talbot Filed Under: All posts Posted: September 23, 2013

Thinks-tanks get a massive amount of (sometimes ill-deserved) attention, but they are small, usually ideologically biased and carry out only very limited research. We are big, neutral and carry out massive amounts of research – which doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. That is partly our fault, for not communicating our research well enough […]

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Who Killed the Bees? Pesticides, risk and the politics of knowledge

Richie Nimmo By Richie Nimmo Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted: September 23, 2013

The UK government was one of a minority of states that voted against the EU ban on insecticides said to be responsible for desecrating the honeybee population. Its rejection of a precautionary approach to this issue suggests that deep public anxiety about risks associated with technological and scientific ‘progress’ is justified, writes Dr Richie Nimmo. In […]

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Welcome to the new “Whitehall Watch” – the same as the old Whitehall Watch, only different.

Colin Talbot By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted: September 23, 2013

Different because we have a new home, and a new family. Whitehall Watch is now part of “Manchester Policy Blogs” – one of several streams of analysis and comment from academics at the University of Manchester and from many other places too. Different too because Whitehall Watch itself will gradually be changing into a “multi-author” […]

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A welcome message from the Science and Technology editors

Danny FitzpatrickAndrew Balmer By Danny Fitzpatrick and Andrew Balmer Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted: September 23, 2013

Knowledge of science and technology permeates every social space, and is central to the ways we govern ourselves today. This blog focuses on what the current debates in science, technology and environmental science mean for policy and vice-versa. It aims to be a truly interdisciplinary platform seeking to bring together a range of diverse voices […]

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