By Professor Scott Lucas, Professor of American Studies Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham It is less than six months until the UK’s departure from the European Union. The party conferences have ended with the May Government clinging to a compromise “Chequers Plan” – but with the Prime Minister so embattled … Continue reading “All bets are off: What’s the deal with Brexit?”
A lion in the jungle or a dancing queen? Theresa May at the Conservative Party conference
By Dr Matt Cole, Teaching Fellow Department of History, University of Birmingham The annual conference of the UK Conservative Party is an intriguing conundrum: it determines much more than it decides. This year, facing Brexit and the future of Prime Minister Theresa May, was no different. There was no vote over the UK departure from … Continue reading “A lion in the jungle or a dancing queen? Theresa May at the Conservative Party conference”
Brexit’s Effect on the National Health Service and immigration
By Professor Mark Exworthy, Professor Jean McHale and Dr Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham The impact of Brexit on the NHS With six months until Brexit, the UK’s National Health Service is beset by uncertainty over staffing, patients, medicines, devices and public health, especially if there is No Deal. As 30% of NHS staff come … Continue reading “Brexit’s Effect on the National Health Service and immigration”
Brexit: The Prospect of Deal or No Deal
By Professor John Fender, Professor of Macroeconomics Department of Economics, University of Birmingham With six months to go before the UK’s Brexit departure from the European Union, we still do not know what arrangement will follow. But we can anticipate some of the consequences. No Deal The UK will find its trade relations deteriorating immediately … Continue reading “Brexit: The Prospect of Deal or No Deal”
Five Tips for International Students
By Dr Idlan Zakaria, Lecturer in Accounting Department of Accounting, University of Birmingham It wasn’t technically my first time in the UK when I arrived here almost two decades ago as a postgraduate student – my family and I spent a few years in the North of England (where my dad was a postgraduate student … Continue reading “Five Tips for International Students”
Presidential Precedents
By Anoushka Raval, Department of Political Science and International Studies School of Government, University of Birmingham With terms like impeachment, collusion, and hush money on everyone’s lips it’s hard not to look to the past for guidance on where current developments in ‘Trumpland’ are heading. While there is not a simple equation to predict what … Continue reading “Presidential Precedents”
Back to the future of poverty alleviation: Holiday hunger and collective feeding
By Andrew Jolly, Doctoral Researcher School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham Food banks have been a constant item in the news of late, most recently after the Trussell Trust (the biggest food parcels provider in the UK) called on the general public to give extra donations of food for children over the school summer … Continue reading “Back to the future of poverty alleviation: Holiday hunger and collective feeding”
HMP Birmingham – the challenge of privatisation within a struggling prison system
By Dr Anna Kotova, Lecturer in Criminology Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology The recent revelation of the issues in HMP Birmingham, which was run by G4S, and the consequent takeover of the prison by the government raise a range of questions about both privatisation of prisons, and deeper endemic problems faced by our … Continue reading “HMP Birmingham – the challenge of privatisation within a struggling prison system”
Saudi-Canadian Diplomatic Spat: An intersection of Twitter Diplomacy and Political Optics
By Umer Karim, Doctoral Researcher School of Government and Society, University of Birmingham The Saudi-Canadian tensions that started from a string of tweets from the Canadian foreign minister and subsequently by the Canadian Embassy in Saudi Arabia has now developed into a full fledged diplomatic spat. With Saudi Arabia declaring Canadian Ambassador to the Kingdom … Continue reading “Saudi-Canadian Diplomatic Spat: An intersection of Twitter Diplomacy and Political Optics”
Opinion: Remembering Srebrenica
By Gareth Jonas, History and Political Science Alumnus University of Birmingham This year marks the twenty-third anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide, described by the International Criminal Tribunal of Yugoslavia as “scenes from hell, written on the darkest pages of human history”. A seminal moment in international security, commemoration of this massacre is especially relevant for … Continue reading “Opinion: Remembering Srebrenica”