Scottish Politics
— What does the future hold for Scottish independence and the SNP after Nicola Sturgeon?
Analysis
Our analyses thoroughly examine current events and complex issues, providing nuanced insights into politics, health, economics, and social trends. Supported by evidence-based perspectives from experts, these articles go beyond the headlines to explore underlying causes and impacts, fostering informed discussions on the forces shaping our world.
Analysis
— Balloons can still be useful for gathering intelligence when used alongside satellites and aircraft.
Conspiracy Theories
— The mysterious QAnon network is becoming an international movement, and an estimated 22% of Americans back one of its core beliefs.
Long-Read
— Professor Chris Grey’s latest Brexit analysis. Three years on, with public support declining, there were no celebrations last week – only lies, excuses, and the usual cries of ‘betrayal’. Nothing new, but as time passes, the failure of the Brexit project is simply inescapable.
Climate Change
— A departmental redesign is useful, but progress still depends on political will.
Corruption
— The UK is perceived to be more corrupt than it was following the 2009 expenses scandal that rocked parliament to its core. Hostile states are happy to watch the UK move away from core liberal democratic principles.
Analysis
— A Chinese high-altitude balloon recently entered U.S. airspace, causing a high-level diplomatic meeting in Beijing to be cancelled in response. The balloon was shot down afterwards, even though it is believed that it was just a political provocation by China.
Analysis
— Parliaments are already widely viewed as inaccessible, technocratic institutions that are several steps removed from public concerns and values. A lack of clarity as to what visitors can bring with them will only reinforce these perceptions.
Long-Read
— Professor Chris Grey’s latest Brexit analysis on David Lammy’s speech that was maybe the first time since Brexit that a major politician challenged its central, flawed assumptions. A small but welcome first step to realism.
Freeports
— Customs provide crucial scrutiny of goods, processes and documentation. UK freeports will only succeed with similarly robust measures in place.
Analysis
— The prime minister’s pledge to bring integrity to public office could become a stick to beat him with – just like ‘back to basics’ became one for John Major.
UK Strikes
— Recent price rises are not due to higher wages but supply-side issues, including the war in Ukraine, the COVID pandemic, and Brexit. All in all, the current government’s intransigence on public sector pay is based on both bad economics and bad politics.
Long-Read
— Professor Chris Grey’s analysis on how the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Retained EU Law Bill processes rumble on undramatically but with potential for crisis and chaos, the idea that Brexit is dying, and thoughts on how Re-joiners will need to build and sustain a ‘big tent’.
NHS Crisis
— Even if many challenges remain, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for the NHS crisis.
UK Politics
— The public still does not know what Keir Starmer and the Labour party stand for. Inspiration could come from a surprising source.
Royal Family
— The drama around the revelations in Harry’s book are just the latest episode in the royal soap. But he is unlikely to emerge from his biography as a heroic figure – particularly if people read coverage of the book instead of the memoir itself.
