Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
Alex Waddington reflects on how a case for the benefits of blogging at The University of Manchester is gradually being made – with one big and very notable success story. When Manchester Policy Blogs first launched in 2013, me and Prof Colin Talbot wrote an introductory post which reflected that although our University “carr[ies] out […]
By Iain Brassington Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
As the Assisted Dying Bill is due to be discussed in the Commons today, Ian Brassington asks if we are taking the right approach. When Rob Marris’ Assisted Dying Bill is discussed in the Commons, it will be the latest in a number of attempts to make some form of assistance in dying legal in […]
By Sarah Steeg and Dr Pauline Turnbull Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
A new study has shown just how high the risks of suicide and all-cause death can be for patients who have self-harmed. Here Sarah Steeg and Pauline Turnbull, joint authors of the study, explain that it is not all bad news. Using real-world data on people who go to hospital emergency departments following self-harm, we […]
By David Hulme Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
In New York the finishing touches are being made to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are due to replace the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Here David Hulme explores what they might mean. With 17 goals, 167 targets and perhaps more than 1,000 indicators those finishing touches remain a large task. The idea behind […]
By Daniel Dresner Filed Under: All posts Posted:
Daniel Dresner explores the fallout from the Ashley Maddison hack. Whether or not the Ashley Madison incident is a technical hack or the work of an insider with too much access and an axe to grind, web site hacks are a daily occurrence. In fact we are probably becoming desensitised to the main gist of […]
By Rob Ford and Maria Sobolewska Filed Under: All posts, Ethnicity, Featured Posted:
Academics Rob Ford and Maria Sobolewska have written an open letter, reproduced below and signed by 365 people, asking Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secretary Teresa May urging them to do more to help the thousands of refugees currently trying to make their way across Europe. Rt Hon David Cameron MP 10 Downing Street London […]
By Tanja Müller Filed Under: All posts, Europe, Featured Posted:
As the migration crisis continues to rock Europe, Tanja Müller looks back at a story from the Second World War, to see what the past can teach about current attitudes to those trying to make it to Europe for a better life. It has become a common trope to describe the current movement of people […]
By James Pattison Filed Under: All posts Posted:
Should governments send weapons or troops to conflicts in other countries? Professor James Pattison compares the ethics of supplying arms with militarily intervention. Western states are less likely to wage major wars in the future. This is for (at least) four reasons. First, despite ongoing conflicts, the world is generally more peaceful. Second, the US’s […]
By Nissa Finney Filed Under: All posts, Ethnicity Posted:
It’s not how mixed our social networks are that’s the key to reducing poverty, it’s broader issues of social isolation and inequality in education we should focus on, argues Nissa Finney. The people that we know – our social networks – have come to be seen as a resource, for social and economic support and […]
By Joy Furnival Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
Joy Furnival looks at proposed changes to the health watchdog in the UK and asks if the system will work. Last month, Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health, announced that the healthcare regulatory and scrutiny bodies, Monitor and the Trust Development Authority (TDA) were to merge into one body, named NHS Improvement, with an […]