Extending human and civic rights
The concept of class is absent from political debate, even as inequality in Britain reaches new heights
In a recent statement, Labour’s Chuka Umunna seemed to suggest the BAME population form one homogeneous political group in the UK. Sean Swan argues this view is not only inaccurate but it perpetuates the perceived significance of ethnicity and diverts attention from more rational political cleavages. He writes that if Labour is to compete effectively […]
A dignity scale is needed for sustainable governance
Numerous forms of marginalisation or exclusion can exist in liberal democracies as well, and the mere existence of political rights does not guarantee a dignified life. Governments everywhere therefore need to give due attention to dignity as a central focus in policy-making, writes Nayef Al-Rodhan. In this long read he proposes a ‘human dignity framework’ […]
A two-way street: how to make immigration work
Opponents of immigration have two main concerns: that immigrants are bad for our economy because they force wages down, and bad for our culture for they are at odds with our liberal views. Here, Randall Hansen writes that anti-liberal attitudes need to be challenged whatever their source – minorities who oppose liberal values or Europeans […]
Book Review: Unequal Britain at Work edited by Alan Felstead, Duncan Gallie and Francis Green
In Unequal Britain at Work, Alan Felstead, Duncan Gallie and Francis Green examine inequalities in job quality in Britain. The authors look beyond income to explore wider changes to working lives, drawing on data procured through six national Skills and Employment Surveys that asked individuals about their jobs between 1986 and 2012. Dan McArthur welcomes this book […]
Despite all the talk of prioritising poverty in Scotland, most regeneration investment is still going into wealthier areas
In Scotland, all the main political parties are in theory committed to alleviation on poverty, with this year’s Holyrood election likely to see Labour and the SNP competing with one another over their respective sets of anti-poverty credentials. But, as Derek Rankine argues, regeneration investment continues to ignore the poorest areas in favour of those which arguably need the […]
Promoting English learning is an important first step, but much more needs to be done to support integration
Phoebe Griffith argues that David Cameron’s push to support language tuition in migrant communities is laudable but partial: many other positive steps could be taken to ‘level the playing field’ for migrants and, in so doing, support their integration and resilience. Similar PostsPoliticians haven’t been honest with the public about immigration. They still aren’tThe politics […]
To fight the slow pace of gender equality in the workplace, we need to attack the root cause
Caroline Turner writes that beneath the many forms of unconscious bias is one root cause – the cultural preference for masculine over feminine ways of doing and being. In order to achieve and sustain gender diversity, she argues it is necessary to address this root cause and adapt mindsets at the very deepest level. Similar PostsBook Review: What […]
Some types of leading question should be banned from court
Court cases have enormous repercussions for thousands of individuals lives each year, so the integrity of the process is of paramount importance. Jacqueline Wheatcroft argues that what constitutes a ‘leading question’ needs clarification, and that legal understanding and definition of these questions needs refinement and revision. Similar PostsDefending the rule of law against the UK government’s ‘slash and burn’The case for […]
Militancy shines on the big screen, but democratic tactics actually won British women the vote
Dawn Langan Teele writes that although the recent film Suffragette bucks the elite perspective of the suffrage movement, any film which focusses exclusively on the militant wing ignores the key role played by the tens of thousands of non-militant suffragists. Her recent research focusses specifically on the alliance between the nascent Labour Party and the […]
Closing migration routes into France won’t stop terrorism – resisting xenophobia might
The world has been stunned by the brutal attacks which took place in Paris, which IS has claimed as their own work. One of the attackers allegedly entered Europe, posing as a refugee, leading some to suggest that closing migration routes into Europe may be one way of preventing further atrocities. Durukan Kuzu argues that this […]
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