The enthusiasm with which many Conservatives campaigned for Brexit was dispiriting. Not because I thought their views wrong – though they may yet prove ill-advised – but because I couldn’t empathise with, or even recognise, the certainty with which they made their case. They talked about restoring British “independence” and about how we would, once […]
IPPR North exist to insist that more of our money should be spent Up North. That they have presented us with a report insisting that more of our money should be spent Up North is not thus a surprise. But even though we aren’t surprised, we should probably address their main point: since lots of money is spent on […]
The tensions that followed the historic electoral defeat of Gambian strongman President Yahya Jammeh have been a litmus test for democracy in Africa beyond the tiny west African nation. It’s five years since the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance came into force. When it was adopted, there were high hopes for a new […]
Everything needed to pinpoint the current condition of the British Labour Party can be derived from John Bew’s excellent biography of Clement Attlee (published last year). The book serves as a timely reminder that since Attlee formed his first government in 1945, very little has changed within the idealist Left-wing Labour faction. Now, as then, […]
It’s perhaps not the catchiest name, but it is one worth remembering: CRISPR-Cas9. Only discovered in 2012, this powerful genome editing technique has rapidly become a widespread and indispensable tool for research, and today is used in labs across the world to study human development, fertility and disease. The technology is progressing at such speed, […]
Of all the things one would expect to unite US Republicans and the Chinese Communist Party, a shared, pro-market approach to addressing climate change might be low down the list. But this year will see the Chinese Communist Party embracing the power of the market by opening the largest emissions trading scheme in the world. It […]
The biggest lie about democracy is that it means rule by the people. Yes, that might be the literal meaning (the kratos of the demos). But what it actually means is rule by the people who can be bothered. That’s why, for example, the latest YouGov polls here in the UK are even more devastating […]
After the seismic events of last year, people are taking a greater interest in serious current affairs. Here in the UK, for example, the Economist, New Statesman and Spectator have enjoyed increased year-on-year sales, even as the circulation of celebrity magazines and women’s weeklies is in decline. Radio 4’s Today programme has recorded its highest […]
Early in 2006, I decided that what The Guardian‘s technology section really needed was a campaign. Campaigns energise readers. But a campaign about what? I’ve always liked statistics. So obviously it had to be about data. I already felt that the UK government’s mapping data should be available to us all for free, as it […]
Unless you were hiding in the woods, you couldn’t have missed the screaming headlines about Oxfam’s inequality report last month. Much outrage was directed at the eight men who own the same wealth as half the world does. If you weren’t already hiding in the woods, you might have been tempted to head in that direction. The blood […]
Ever since the news broke that Sweden was experimenting with a six-hour working day, at an elderly care centre in the city of Gothenburg, the world has been watching, agog. Would it save money by increasing productivity and reducing workplace sickness? Could this be a new model for progressives around the world to strive for? […]
America’s journalists aren’t just inaccurate – they’re in league with the enemy. That, at least, seemed to be the message from President Trump when he spoke to America’s military commanders on Monday. ISIS, he said, were waging “a campaign of genocide”: “All over Europe it’s happening. It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being […]
America’s immigration policy has got the country to where it is today, for better or worse. It created a diverse and innovative nation that has pushed human civilisation forward. It also brought us President Trump, and with him, a more heated debate about immigration. But rather than continuing to shout over one another and refusing […]
For parents, their child’s education, safety and upbringing are among their biggest concerns. But what families need and when they need it, varies dramatically. Some families with one working parent and one stay-at-home parent may only need childcare for a couple of hours a week, where carers simply provide parent-like supervision for limited periods of […]
Between 1960 and 2015, world population increased by 142 per cent, rising from 3.035 billion to 7.35 billion. During that time, average income per capita adjusted for inflation increased by 177 per cent, rising from $3,680 to $10,194. Moreover, after 56 years of human use and exploration, the vast majority of the commodities tracked by […]
When I’m in Europe giving speeches and participating in conferences, it’s quite common that folks on the Left will attempt to discredit my views by asserting that Americans are selfish and greedy. Since I’m generally sympathetic to Ayn Rand’s writings, I don’t see anything wrong with people striving to make themselves better off. Moreover, Adam […]
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