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 […]
Point-scoring and modern slavery
In February, the UK Government announced new post-Brexit immigration measures promising to “take back control of our borders”, introducing an Australian-style points-based system limiting the number of ‘low-skilled’ foreign workers in the UK. In this blog, Dr Rose Broad and Professor David Gadd explain why, far from protecting both foreign and British workers, the new […]
Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-2021: Does the inclusion of ‘relatives’ go far enough in addressing the issue of adolescent to parent violence?
The Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-2021 will receive its third reading today. Once this long awaited Bill passes through Parliament, assuming it receives Royal Assent, it will ultimately mean that for the first time in England and Wales, there will be a criminal offence of domestic abuse. In this blog, Caroline Miles and Rachel Condry examine […]
Furlough, fraud and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
The Government-implemented Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) supports companies in their attempts to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic, permitting them to place employees on a temporary leave of absence known as ‘furlough’, and claim state aid to pay furloughed staff either 80% of their usual wages or up to £2,500 per month, whichever amount is […]
The scourge of summer: seasonal allergies, asthma and how your mobile phone could help
Asthma and allergies affect millions in the UK and abroad. Understanding what drives allergic reactions, both inside the body and in the wider environment, will strengthen the ability of public health policymakers to address and limit the impact of these conditions. Here, Professor Sheena Cruickshank introduces ‘Britain Breathing’, a mobile phone app that can help […]
Gender and sexual violence
Sexual violence can have devastating consequences for victims. In this blog, Dr Catherine White, Dr Rabiya Majeed-Ariss and Professor David Gadd explore how gender intersects with social demographic characteristics to compound vulnerabilities and complicate access to services. Most adult victims of sexual violence are females, and perpetrators of sexual violence are predominantly male. In 2017, […]
Gilets jaunes, Extinction Rebellion and neoliberal climate policy
#SDG Two protest movements erupted in the UK and France on November 17th, with apparently opposite logics. Here, Matthew Paterson, Professor of International Politics in the School of Social Sciences, argues that both movements are a result of the way carbon pricing is been both regressive socially and woefully inadequate in climate terms. This centre […]
Immigration in its place: how policy needs to recognise geography
Ken Clark, Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, examines the Migration Advisory Committee’s recent report and discusses the need for place-based migration policy. The Migration Advisory Committee has persistently rejected calls for regional variation in the framework that regulates migration in the UK. It is clear that patterns of migration, and thus its […]