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 […]
Framing DevoManc
Just how good a deal is DevoManc? David Walker expresses scepticism. Here are two ways of framing DevoManc. The first is (somewhat breathless) localist enthusiasm. A principal city-region is being offered new power to shape spending and services in health and social care, infrastructure and transport. As important as substance is the theatre: a group […]
The good ship SS DevoManc: full steam ahead?
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 […]
What health and social care can learn from UK devolution
Greater Manchester has announced its plans for health and social care devolution and its oversight of providers. Joy Furnival examines health and social care oversight functions across the UK and asks what Greater Manchester can learn from these. Devolution and integration of health and social care in Greater Manchester (GM) is the first of its […]
Don’t blame religion for political conflicts, Mr Blair
Just because wars are justified by reference to religion doesn’t mean they are religious wars – organised religion can also bring people together to resolve conflicts, argues Prof Kate Cooper. As an ancient historian, I am surprised by the easy causality which commentators think they find between ‘religious motives’ and modern social conflict. Take the […]
Doing wrong in order to do right in Northern Ireland
As recent events in Northern Ireland have shown, sometimes it is necessary to do wrong in order to do right and we need to understand better this moral paradox when judging politicians, says Dr Stephen de Wijze. The debate about how Northern Ireland deals with its dreadful past has been building for many months. Indeed […]
A halt to prosecutions in Northern Ireland – but what does this mean for miscarriages of justice?
Throughout Northern Ireland’s many efforts to deal with its turbulent past Dr Hannah Quirk believes that one group has been overlooked – the victims of conflict-related miscarriages of justice. For her, the Attorney General’s recent suggestion that there should be no more prosecutions for conflict-related crimes highlights the need for a bespoke solution for these […]