Stephen Barber, University of East London
Democracies are no better than other forms of government at avoiding catastrophic mistakes. But they are much more effective at rectifying them. While the 2024 British general election might have seemed a long time coming, as the country meandered from one failure to the next, the utter scale of defeat for the Conservatives is testament to the ability of a democratic system to reject, reverse and renew.
Oliver Heath, Royal Holloway University of London and Humphrey Southall, University of Portsmouth
As the country gears up for the election, all eyes are on the bellwether constituencies that historically reflect the broader national mood.
Daniel Hoyer, University of Toronto
American humorist and writer Mark Twain is believed to have once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
I’ve been working as a historian and complexity scientist for the better part of a decade, and I often think about this phrase as I follow different strands of the historical record and notice the same patterns over and over.
Simon Potter, University of Bristol
Global media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has announced his retirement as chairman of Fox and News Corp, making way for his son Lachlan. He has been demonised as a puppet master who would pull the strings of politicians behind the scenes, as a man with too much power. But what influence did he and his fellow media moguls really wield?
29 August 2023 /Transport/ –The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is a low-emission zone in London, England. It was introduced in April 2019 and expanded to cover all London boroughs on August 29, 2023. The ULEZ charges drivers of vehicles that do not meet certain emission standards a daily fee to drive within the zone. The aim of the ULEZ is to reduce air pollution in London.
April 28, 2023 /Media/ — Richard Sharp resigned as Chairman of the BBC on April 28, 2023, after a report found he had breached rules on public appointments by failing to declare his connection to a secret £800,000 loan made to Boris Johnson.
The report, by the UK commissioner of public appointments, found that Sharp had created a “potential perceived conflict of interest” by not disclosing his knowledge of the loan when he was appointed to the BBC board in 2020. Continue reading
April 21, 2023 /Politics/ – Dominic Raab, the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, resigned on 21 April 2023 in the wake of a report that found he had bullied civil servants. The report, which was commissioned by the government, found that Raab had created a “toxic” and “intimidating” work environment.
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Angus Nurse, Nottingham Trent University
Louise Casey’s review of the standards of behaviour and internal culture at the Metropolitan police makes for uncomfortable reading. It was commissioned following the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, who was a serving Met officer at the time.
Casey highlights the prevalence of sexism and homophobia. Crucially, in considering police culture she draws different conclusions on the existence of institutional racism than the position taken in 2021 by Boris Johnson’s government on race.
Paul Whiteley, University of Essex
With the UK’s new prime minister in office, it looks like the political turmoil of the last few months is likely to ease, at least for the time being. Rishi Sunak and his fellow MPs must put their political differences aside to focus on stabilising the economy and calming financial markets. But Sunak will of course have one eye on the next election, which he must call before January 2025.
Victoria Honeyman, University of Leeds
When Rishi Sunak lost to Liz Truss in the first Conservative Party leadership race of 2022, few were surprised. Many of the people given the chance to choose between the two candidates blamed Sunak for Boris Johnson’s downfall. They also preferred Truss’s “optimistic” economic policies to Sunak’s sombre assessment of the fiscal outlook. Where she promised generous tax arrangements, he argued that economic circumstances would be hard and taxes could not be cut in the short term. Indeed, he warned, they might even have to rise.