Developments in local governance and devolution over the past decade have provided new opportunities to tackle policy problems from a place-based angle. Innovations to strengthen participation can ensure more people participate in policymaking to help mitigate issues such as structural inequalities which affect them first hand. In this article, from our Power in Place publication, […]
Building back better: rethinking urban futures with children and young people
The global pandemic of 2020 has had a huge impact on the lives of millions of citizens around the world, with research showing that children and young people (CYP) have been the most severely affected. Here in the UK and beyond, governments and policymakers are expressing their determination to ‘build back better’ after COVID-19, while […]
Democracy at risk? Detecting and deterring the flow of disinformation in elections
On 21 July, Ministers published a report that found the UK Government failed to counter Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum, despite a mounting body of evidence of global efforts to use and abuse digital platforms to influence democratic outcomes. As a result, how can we be sure that what we are being told […]
Populism, Post-Truth and the Challenges for Journalists: Forging Dialogue Across Battle Lines
By providing the first in-depth study of Russian state broadcaster, RT, the Reframing Russia research project aspires to improve our understanding of the intensifying ‘information war’ between Russia and much of the Western world. In this context, in November 2019, the project team organised an experimental dialogue ‘across battle lines.’ Stephen Hutchings, Vera Tolz and […]
Is Russia Today an attack on democracy?
What to do about Russia’s primary international broadcaster Just before the European elections, EU officials raised concerns about Russian attempts to influence the democratic process, and Russia’s international broadcaster, RT (Russia Today) came under scrutiny for its anti-EU content. But is RT really an attack on democracy? What should be done about it? Reporting findings […]
Brexit and Health, Science and Society
Our blog ‘Brexit, Regulation and Society’ blog series, in conjunction with ManReg, continues with Tamara Hervey and Sarah McCloskey, from the School of Law at The University of Sheffield who examine the importance of health to the Brexit debate. Health was simultaneously at the forefront and the back of the electorate’s minds when the majority […]
Democracy on the Line?
Kingsley Purdam and Rob Ford from The University of Manchester use the Manchester Metrolink map to show levels of voter turnout and ask if there will be more or less local democracy in 2018. The 2018 local elections across England will be held in May, but despite their importance for policy they are likely to […]
Voter ID at British Polling Stations – Learning the Right Lessons from Northern Ireland
Asking voters to produce a form of identification before voting will be piloted in five English council areas this May. The move represents part of the government’s response to a series of recent recommendations for measures to safeguard the electoral process from fraud. While the pilots will provide important opportunities for policy-learning, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Visiting […]
Should we really welcome DevoManc?
The Northern Powerhouse and local devolution do not go far enough in empowering local communities. We need proper bottom-up devolution, argues Green Party leader Natalie Bennett in the Cresc Annual Lecture. “We believe that the basic principle of Government should be … that power flows upwards from the people, and from their most local levels […]
Varieties of the democratic state market?
When Francis Fukuyama published his now famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) initial essay on “The End of History” in 1989 it provoked a furious discussion that continues to this day (the later book version is here) and is continued here by Colin Talbot. The discussion has often generated more heat than […]