Explainer-in-brief: The infamous Twitter poll on Elon Musk December 21, 2022 This week started with Elon Musk creating a Twitter poll on whether he should step down as Twitter chief, following all the controversy of the past months. The poll closed with 57.5 per cent of users saying “yes”, and 42.5 per cent saying “no”. As one could have expected, Musk subsequently brought the poll into [...]
Explainer-in-brief: High Court gives the green light to the Rwanda asylum plan December 20, 2022 Yesterday, the High Court ruled that the controversial policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was legal. But the judges also said that the Home Office had failed to properly consider the circumstances of the eight people it was trying to deport back in June, and invited the department to consider them once more. The [...]
Inside the psychedelics renaissance making waves in mental health care December 20, 2022 Harley Street has historically been the home of doctors and dentists in London. Today, it hosts an extensive range of health specialists, accessible at usually prohibitive costs. But walking inside the Clerkenwell Health clinic, just around the corner, feels different. The rooms have high ceilings and the walls are painted in a palette of tamed, [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Ambulance strikes add further pressure on a strained system December 19, 2022 Amidst the chaos of the strikes rocking Britain, ambulance workers will join the walkouts this week, in what is expected to be the most disruptive wave of strikes so far. They will take place this Wednesday and again on the 28th of December. Health bosses have defined these strikes as the biggest danger to patients. [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Britain needs to up its game on green jobs December 16, 2022 The UK risks losing out to competitor businesses in Europe, America and Asia, unless it heavily invests in factories for green technology over the next five years, according to analysis by think tank Onward. Nearly 250,000 jobs are at risk in carbon-intensive industries in Red Wall seats. In order to boost renewable energy and electric [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Snowballing homelessness in London December 14, 2022 For some, the snow has brought a layer of white beauty to our capital. For others, it is a menace. When temperatures fall below zero degrees, something called the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol is activated to support people sleeping rough. Mayor Sadiq Khan activated it last week, and councils and charities have been scrambling to [...]
Voter ID reforms are fixing a problem that never existed in UK elections December 13, 2022 Next May, people across England and Northern Ireland will head to the polls for the local elections. But some may find they may not be able to vote, unless they have the right kind of photo identification. It will be the first time new voter ID rules will be put to the test, despite a [...]
A new coal mine in Cumbria won’t save the burning problems for the UK December 9, 2022 After years of political ping-ponging, the decision has been made: we’ll have the first new coal mine in thirty years in the UK. It will be located in Whitehaven, in Cumbria, and it’s meant to bring 500 direct jobs to an impoverished area that has often felt forgotten by central government. The indirect jobs in [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Conservatives’ money problems December 8, 2022 The Conservative Party is hiking its membership fees. Annual membership will go up from the current £25 to £39. The move might prove yet another point of friction in the party, with Conservative MP Justin Tomlinson calling it an “absolutely stupid idea” on Twitter. Yet the party’s headquarters must have felt they didn’t have many [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Who has time for farmers anyway? Not Grant Shapps December 7, 2022 Farmers aren’t always happy with the treatment they receive from government, and it’s fair to say they’re often not among the glossier industries that get prioritised in policy-making. This time though, they are annoyed at someone in particular. Grant Shapps, the business secretary, has apparently told leaders at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) that “there [...]
