Global Politics

What comes next as British Government targets lawyers and closes investigative body? By Thomas Obel Hansen This Article is based on research conducted under a British Academy grant involving interviews with relevant stakeholders. A more comprehensive academic article addressing the same topics is scheduled for publication later this year.  An examination opened by the International […]

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With the death of Martin McGuinness, the former Provisional IRA senior commander  turned peace-maker and Deputy First Minister, one is struck that such a transition was simultaneously, impressive and outrageous. I had the opportunity of meeting McGuinness last January when I interviewed him. I was struck by his warmth and generosity in taking time out […]

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Over 10,000 people have died in the war in Yemen, which has entered its fourth year, and about 80 percent of the population is in need of humanitarian aid. Despite the gravity of the situation, Yemen’s conflict, which has been described as the “forgotten war” by Amnesty International, receives very little media coverage. Western news […]

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Hilary Benn MP, Chair of the Commons Brexit committee, has always been a great performer in Parliament. Here, he lays into the UK Government’s Brexit strategy, likening it to disembarking from a liner into a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean.        

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“You can’t trust the Tories”. It’s definitely a phrase you’ll have heard somewhere, even if it is just in the Facebook comments of some politically charged post about new government regulations or the sale of NHS property. It isn’t a new concept either, the name “the nasty party” has been around longer than I have […]

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By Daniel Shaw and Claire Elliott Political polls are making a fast comeback after failing to correctly predict either Brexit or the election of Donald Trump.  Following the highpoint of Nate Silver’s flawless prediction of Obama’s 2008 victory, these embarrassing failures blew up in the face of both polling companies and liberal orthodoxy.  These failures were […]

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The UK’s vote last year to leave the EU has resulted in Scotland once again re-evaluating whether or not independence would be in its best interests. The Brexit decision and the subsequent triggering of Article 50 have both generated significant political upheaval throughout the UK. In a recent speech, Nicola Sturgeon has added to that turmoil […]

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CC Image courtesy of Rareclass This piece was also published in Huffington Post on 23rd June 2016 Something we in Scotland learned the hard way in 2014 is that referendum questions are dangerous because they make both choices on the ballot paper seem equally plausible. By giving the people a choice we somehow assume that […]

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The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union is certain to have far reaching consequences both domestically and internationally. Dominating early headlines is the idea that this decision could lead to the fragmentation of the UK as geographic divisions have been thrown into sharp relief. With Northern Ireland and Scotland both voting to remain – Scotland […]

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In trying to puzzle through the populism animating the right and left after the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2015 European migrant crisis, we can draw a worrying parallel between the UK referenda and social and economic populism in the US. As in the US presidential race, the UK’s Remain/Leave debate is complex: it […]

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George Orwell famously wrote that “Political language … is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” Having lived through the Scottish independence referendum, it is hard to believe that less than two years on from that experience the people of the UK are […]

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On the 18th of September 2014, 84.59% of the registered Scottish public exercised their right to express their opinion through the ballot box. 55% voted ‘No’ to independence while 45% voted ‘Yes’. Although the result was decisive, it was not a landslide victory for the status quo, with 1, 617, 989 Scots voting in favour […]

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The Conservative party has this week been briefing about the possibility of a Labour government supported by the SNP leading to a constitutional crisis. However, this crisis may be largely of their own making. Polls currently suggest that the Conservatives will be the largest party in Westminster, both in terms of vote share and seats, […]

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Procrastination report just goes to show how we view people as machines. Monday marked the launch of the ‘Great British Procrasti-nation’ report: the first ever in-depth look at the nation’s procrastination habits. I admit I admired the playful pun for a while. It didn’t last long. Based on a YouGov survey of over 2,000 adults, […]

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