Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
By Andy Westwood Filed Under: Devo, Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
What does the Conservative election victory mean for the North of England and higher education? Professor Andy Westwood interprets the signals. Just in case you didn’t know, the Northern Powerhouse is ‘GO’ and was confirmed in today’s Queens Speech. George Osborne reaffirmed his commitment to the idea almost immediately after he and the Conservatives won […]
By Dave Richards and Martin Smith Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
Professor Dave Richards and Professor Martin Smith analyse what the general election result means for the British political system. The 2015 general election was supposed to produce one type of policy earthquake, but may have produced another. The assumption by nearly everyone until 10.01 pm on May 7 was that we would see the further […]
By Dave Richards and Martin Smith Filed Under: All posts Posted:
In 2005, the political journalist Geoffrey Wheatcroft wrote a critique of the Conservative Party, The Strange Death of Tory England. Here Dave Richards and Martin Smith explore this failed prophesy and examine the implications of GE2015 on the main parties. When Wheatcroft wrote his book the Conservative Party was yet to come to terms with […]
By Lawrence Benson Filed Under: All posts, Devo Posted:
SS DevoManc has now set sail after a six weeks stopover in port during the general election. Dr Lawrence Benson tries to plot its course. Let’s recap on DevoManc. It’s about the devolution of power and resources from Westminster to the city region of Greater Manchester (GM), including for health and social care. This marks […]
By Yaron Matras Filed Under: Ethnicity, Featured Posted:
Roma are one of Europe’s most marginalised and deprived communities. Addressing their problems is made more difficult by lack of transparency in the methods used to collect data on them, argues Professor Yaron Matras, as a new project is launched to tackle the problem. Europe’s Roma population suffers extreme poverty and social marginalisation. European institutions have […]
By Diane Coyle Filed Under: All posts Posted:
As official Government figures show that the UK economy deflated in April, for the first time since the 1960’s, Diane Coyle looks at whether we should be worried. There was much excitement about the news that the UK’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined by 0.1% in the 12 months to April. A negative figure for […]
By Carole Talbot Filed Under: All posts, Whitehall Watch Posted:
Can ‘outsider’ universities break the Oxbridge stranglehold on the Civil Service? Carole Talbot explores… It’s well understood that Whitehall Civil Servants go to Oxford and Cambridge Universities more often than elsewhere. And, many of the linkages into these universities are based on civil servants having attended one of the Oxbridge Colleges themselves and that the […]
By Tarlok Teji Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
Creating a coherent digital policy that addresses both opportunities and threats is likely to prove a challenge for the new Government, argues Tarlok Teji. One of the major policy challenges facing the new Government is defining our relationship to the hyper-connected digital world. While that world brings fantastic opportunities, it also creates risks of global […]
By Dr Joanne Tippett Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
The recent general election has seen calls for parity of mental health within the health care system, and this will require innovative approaches to involving people with mental health issues and their carers in service delivery says Joanne Tippett, as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. A participant with dementia in a recent event hosted […]
This week Bank of England chief Mark Carney – and the University of Manchester’s own Ken Clark – highlighted the problem with productivity that our economy faces. Here Chris Bones offers some solutions. Whilst the coalition government delivered employment and growth it did far less well on productivity. The Bank of England reports that UK […]