There are many conclusions to draw following the recent Owen Paterson scandal. According to the British public, one obvious one is ‘Tory sleaze’ and it’s back worse than before. As such, there have been more stories in the press surrounding other sleaze scandals, such as…
The current incarnation of the Conservative Party is filled with incredibly toxic people. Arguably one of the worst of Johnson’s cabinet is Dominic Raab. After his failure dealing with Afghanistan as Foreign Secretary, it was decided by Johnson that Raab should be made Deputy Prime…
The spirit of the orange MAGA monster is stirring. Despite Biden’s attempt to “return to normalcy”, with the Republican’s victory in the Virginia Gubernatorial Race, a state Biden won by 10 points last November, and their near-victory in solid-Blue New Jersey, where Biden won by 16 points, it’s clear that…
Over the coming months, Backbench will be partnering with Torrin Wilkins, Director of Centre Think Tank for a series of comment pieces. In his column, Torrin will explore prominent policy issues – some of them related to the latest news and others related to his…
Last month, the government voted in favour of increasing national insurance contributions by 1.25 percentage points. This led to the breaking of their manifesto commitment in 2019 of not increasing national insurance. The main criticism of this decision is that the tax rise will predominantly…
Global Witness’ most recent report has shown that 227 climate activists were killed during 2020, the deadliest year on record. The previous high was set in 2019 and a report in 2009 showed that 1100 activists had been killed in the previous 20 years. Now…
Climategate began on 17th November 2009 after emails from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit were hacked by still unknown assailants. The hacker’s motivation was likely to change the public against climate researchers three weeks before the Copenhagen Summit. Most of the over…
Saving our environment is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, challenge we face. From rising sea levels to the large-scale extinction of different animals; climate change will affect us all. The impact of damaging our environment will have both on our generation and…
What is ISIL doing? ISIL, the so-called Islamic State, has brought nothing but pain and destruction since it emerged in 1999. This terrorist group participated in the Iraqi insurgency following the 2003 invasion by Western forces. As a result, these groups were able to control…
The suggestion of vaccine passports and COVID passes have enraged the anti-vaccine population across Britain. Many feel that these sorts of passes have the potential to infringe on their rights to medical confidentiality. Although, in the post-lockdown age they are considered necessary by some to…
Over the coming months, Backbench will be partnering with Torrin Wilkins, Director of Centre Think Tank for a series of comment pieces. In his column, Torrin will explore prominent policy issues – some of them related to the latest news and others related to his…
Over recent months I have been working a new paper for Centre Think Tank, ‘A second pandemic’, which focuses on dealing with the growing mental health crisis after the pandemic. This crisis has happened not only due to the pandemic but also because of a…
Last week, the sale of Newcastle United was agreed upon between Mike Ashley and the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. Whilst many Newcastle supporters are jubilant, with some proclaiming in the streets “we’ve got our club back”, they could not…
Reconciliation is a painful, challenging and ultimately fraught process. The choice and use of language are critical, and those seeking to help the process must tread with the utmost care. At first glance, the proposed ceremony to be hosted by the four main Christian churches…
The workplace is back like never before. With 831,000 people entering the Tube network on the first Monday of September – the highest level since March 2020 – many employers have no doubt used the end of summer and decline of the pingdemic as an…
Nuclear weapons have been the founding figures amongst many countries’ defences, proving to be an effective defensive mechanism and exists as a somewhat strong deterrent for conflict amongst many nations. Despite the fact many superpowers, including the US and China, heavily invest in it, it…
Over the coming months, Backbench will be partnering with Torrin Wilkins, Director of Centre Think Tank for a series of comment pieces. In his column, Torrin will explore prominent policy issues – some of them related to the latest news and others related to his…
The last time I wrote about GB News I stated that Andrew Neil was looking ‘tired and frustrated’. Well, it turns out I wasn’t wrong. Neil left GB News for good last week, having not presented his show on the channel for months, claiming that…
“Where is Global Britain on the streets of Kabul” exclaimed Theresa May in response to Britain and the US’ humiliating withdrawal from Kabul. Kabul had fallen only a few days earlier on the 15th August and parallels to the 1956 Suez crisis and the fall…
Other than party members and journalists, not many people are particularly interested in the inner workings of political parties. Some Conservatives may like to assume that Labour are dominated by students calling for revolution from relatively affluent university constituencies, whilst some Labour members assume that…