The challenge of the century

 Simon Lee 09 Jan 2012

'It has been widely accepted that the UK's economics performance reflects a significant competitive disadvantage, in institutional and policy terms, when compared with its major competitors'

Dr Simon Lee is Senior Lecturer in Politics and Director of the Centre for Democratic Governance, University of Hull. 

Health and welfare

Trouble-shooting problem families is worth every penny it costs

 Rob Williams 09 Jan 2012

Is it really worth spending money on troubleshooters to help families with multiple problems?  Indeed it is.  Just look at the numbers.  Existing local authority family intervention programmes (FIPs) have … » more

Rob Williams is Chief Executive of the Fatherhood Institute www.fatherhoodinstitute.org

Despite the fuss, it must be better to keep fathers in the picture

 Nick Woodall 09 Jan 2012

As the Welfare Reform Bill makes its way through the House of Lords, the controversy surrounding those elements relating to the proposed reforms of the child-maintenance system shows no sign … » more

Nick Woodall works on policy and development at the Centre for Separated Families.

Tackling drug-abuse is a national priority, er, depending on where you live

 Noreen Oliver, Martin Barnes 09 Jan 2012

There is a strong commitment within government to drug policy and particularly drug and alcohol treatment. This is evidenced by the cross-departmental representation on the Inter-Ministerial Group on Drugs and, … » more

Noreen Oliver MBE is chief executive officer of BAC O’Connor Centres and Martin Barnes is chief executive of DrugScope. 

A merciful muddle

 John Perry 09 Jan 2012

Britain's legal approach to euthanasia may be a messy compromise, but it is much better than anything that could take its place

John Perry is McDonald Postdoctoral Fellow for Christian Ethics & Public Life at Christ Church, Oxford. His book, ‘The Pretenses of Loyalty: Locke, Liberalism and Political Theology’, was published last summer by OUP.

The scandal of slavery in Britain

 Simon Chorley 09 Jan 2012

Ten years after the United States was violently awoken to its vulnerability to terrorist attacks, the date 9/11 marks another rude awakening much closer to home. On 11 September 2011, … » more

Simon Chorley is the UK Coordinator for STOP THETRAFFIK www.stopthetraffik.org

» More from this edition

It is time to fix broken Britain

The economy: the challenge of the century; also inside: child maintenance: the government has got it right, euthanasia: a merciful muddle, and eurozone crisis: views…» more

From the last edition …

The swan song of Britain in Europe

 Andrew Gamble 07 Dec 2011

The Eurozone problem 'is not in the technical detail of what needs to be done, but in the political will to do it'

Andrew Gamble is Professor of Politics and Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge.

Not making good

 Simon Lee 07 Dec 2011

The challenge of deindustrialisation and the need for rebalancing is decades old.  In 1992, UK manufacturing output was less than one per cent above its 1973 peak. 

Dr Simon Lee is Senior Lecturer in Politics and a Director of the Centre for Political Economy, University of Hull.

The value of Northern 

 Ian Bevan 07 Dec 2011

Northern is the largest train  operator in the country, connecting people with jobs, education and leisure facilities across the north of England. We provide 2,500 local and regional train services … » more

Ian Bevan is Managing Director of Northern Rail.

Foreign affairs

Life-saving lessons from the Horn of Africa

 Debbie Hillier 07 Dec 2011

There were strong and clear warnings for the food security crisis in the Horn of Africa as early as November 2010 yet not nearly enough was done till after the … » more

Debbie Hillier is Humanitarian Policy Adviser to Oxfam

Afghanistan: what is needed now is a political surge

 Anthony King 07 Dec 2011

The surge is over in Afghanistan. The quest-ion now is what to do next? In November 2009, after weeks of deliberation, Barack Obama and his administration decided to commit 30,000 … » more

Anthony King, University of Exeter, worked in PRISM Cell, Regional Command South, Afghanistan, 2009-10.

Once again, war comes to southern Sudan

 Douglas H. Johnson 07 Dec 2011

With both Washington and London having no idea what to do about it ...

Douglas H. Johnson is the author of The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars: Peace or Truce, revised edition, James Currey, 2011.

Islamism beyond the bogeymen

 Anders Strindberg, Mats Wärn 07 Dec 2011

For decades, scores of Western pundits have described Islamist movements as irrational bogeymen, inherently violent, bent on mayhem and destruction. They have been said to glorify values that sharply contradict … » more

Anders Strindberg teaches at the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security, in Monterey, California. Mats Wärn is Research Associate in the Politics of Development Group at Stockholm University 

We are living in interesting times

 John Hughes-Wilson 07 Dec 2011

The great 'Arab Spring' has gone sour.  We could be seeing the start of a dangerous regional nuclear arms race. The Turkish military is openly preparing for a border clash with Syria.

John Hughes-Wilson is ...

» More from this edition

Same again next year?

Europe: the swan song for the EU? Also ... Economy: replacing public with private debt; Scotland: an almighty headache for the Coalition; Afghanistan: time for…» more

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