Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
How significant will the elected mayoral role be for Greater Manchester – asks Iain Deas – and who will be that mayor? Simon Jenkins recently treated readers of the Guardian to an account of the rebuilding of city-regional governance in Greater Manchester. The story was of heroic struggle by Manchester’s civic leaders, guided by the […]
By Ferdi De Ville and Gabriel Siles-Brügge Filed Under: All posts, Europe, Featured Posted:
European Commissioners calling the adoption of the TTIP trade agreement a ‘no-brainer’ is not conducive to the honest debate on the EU-US free trade agreement that is needed, argue Ferdi De Ville and Gabriel Siles-Brügge. European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and European Financial Services Commissioner Jonathan Hill have written that concluding the Transatlantic Trade and […]
By John Read Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted:
The starting gun for the General Election has been fired, with less than 100 days to go before we vote. But, asks John Read, will the parties have the courage to discuss how future governments will pay for workers’ retirement? Financing the state pensions of the next generation of retired workers is a key challenge […]
By Neil Perkins and Jonathan Hammond Filed Under: Featured Posted:
MPs have just had a bitterly divided debate on what the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will mean for the NHS. Neil Perkins and Jonathan Hammond consider the evidence. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a trade deal currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States. If TTIP goes ahead, […]
By Nicholas Lord Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
Last week BBC Panorama and the Guardian newspaper, following international collaboration with various other media organisations, broke news of how Britain’s biggest bank, HSBC, aided some of its wealthiest clients in evading tax. Here, Dr Nicholas Lord analyses why it is that otherwise ‘good people’, in the context of business organisations, indulge in such ‘white-collar’ […]
By Ian Crowther Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
The Ship of Fools – in Foucault’s book Madness and Civilisation – set sail from Basel in the 14th Century. Today the European Central Bank is launching its own Ship of Fools with quantitative easing, argues Ian Crowther. Basel is home to a museum of alchemy and micro prudential banking regulation. It was also where […]
By Kingsley Purdam, Elisabeth Garratt and Aneez Esmail Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
A recently published All Party Parliamentary report warns that food insecurity in the UK is here to stay until effective action is taken. Dr Kingsley Purdam, Elisabeth Garratt and Professor Aneez Esmail explain why. More than half a million people in the UK are reliant on food aid, according to Church Action on Poverty. This is […]
By Ian Crowther Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
The McKinsey Global Institute last week released a report highlighting the fact that global debt has increased in the years since the credit crunch. Here Ian Crowther of the Business School at The University of Manchester analyses the findings and what the impact may be. A rather disturbing report was released by McKinsey Global Institute […]
By Ruth Lupton Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
Last week’s topic in the pre-election debate was schools. The Conservative party announced that it would protect spending on schools in cash terms, but not keep pace with inflation. It would also convert more schools to Academies, including those adjudged ‘requiring improvement’ by Ofsted. Labour retaliated by accusing the Coalition of failing to tackle educational […]
By Julia Segar Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
Clinical Commissioning Groups were introduced by the 2012 Health and Social Care Act. The role of GPs within the NHS and their relationships with NHS managers are changing as a result, explains Julia Segar. The NHS is dealing with severe challenges at present, with A&E in crisis and bed blocking preventing the release of some […]
