Every election, politicians ignore England – here's why
May 05, 2017 14:45 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
In UK general elections, England matters. It accounts for 82% or 533 out of 650 constituencies in the national parliament. At the 2015 general election, 318 (or 96%) of the Conservatives 330 seats were won in England, as...
Why biased budget forecasts make poor politics
May 05, 2017 07:41 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
For the last eight years, budget outcomes have consistently been much lower than previous budget forecasts. But in each year, the treasurer has again forecast a happy return to balance over the next four years....
May 05, 2017 02:10 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Who counts as a hero in the 21st century? How is heroism adapting to an age of nonstop news, hyper-partisanship and intense political scrutiny? Research I recently conducted with my colleague Krista Jenkins focuses...
Helping student activists move past 'us vs. them'
May 05, 2017 02:04 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Protest turned violent on the Berkeley and Middlebury campuses; students shouted down speakers at MacMaster University and UCLA and blocked entry to a talk at Claremont McKenna: These are among the many recent incidents...
Le Pen vs Macron: after an acrimonious debate, the French will now choose their next president
May 05, 2017 01:26 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
As the much-anticipated, key policy square-off ahead of Sundays French election, the presidential debate was a riveting two-and-a-half hours of cantankerous insult trading, in which neither centrist Emmanuel Macron nor the...
Prince Philip retires ... with a final masterclass in media manipulation
May 05, 2017 00:52 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Buckingham Palaces announcement that Prince Philip is retiring in the autumn is a masterclass in triggering media spectacle. Media industries around the world instantly went into meltdown over what is actually a fairly...
Strong and stable leadership: inside the Conservatives' election slogan
May 05, 2017 00:47 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
If youve heard an interview with any Conservative politician during the current election campaign, youve probably heard the phrase strong and stable leadership. Theresa May used the phrase three times in seven minutes on...