Upon making even the most cursory of glances at the US election, it swiftly becomes apparent that neither candidate appears to understand that the purpose of an election is to garner as many votes as possible. Both candidates seem to be solely focused on appealing…
The UK has entered a state of Stockholm syndrome. According to Google, this refers to when ‘hostages bond with their captors’ after facing abuse. The public has been quite literally in a state of captivity for months. Told to remain indoors from March, restrictions on…
Since they were emboldened by a large majority in the 2019 election, the Tories have made considerable pains to move the goalposts for what constitutes strong, patriotic nationhood in the UK, and have redefined the role of the state in the face of new global…
This article is a response to our ‘Making History’ campaign for Black History Month. If you would also like to submit a piece for this, please get in touch at editor@bbench.co.uk. The history of Great Britain is like Great Britain itself – diverse, but fraught…
This article is part of a series from Backbench’s editorial team which examines this year’s Black History Month from the angle of ‘making history’. The opinions expressed in these pieces are those of the editors themselves, and do not necessarily reflect Backbench’s stance as a…
Labour’s MP for Canterbury, Rosie Duffield, locked her Twitter account on October 15 2020, in response to the backlash she began to receive after a spat with LGBT+ site PinkNews. The site criticised the elected official over comments made concerning her views on trans rights…
Predictably, everyone has been pretty outraged by the new (and now deleted) advert encouraging people to retrain and get a job in ‘cyber’. If you haven’t seen it, the ad (which features both HM government and CyberFirst logos) depicts a ballet dancer tying her shoes.…
In September 2017, the news of “re-education centres” in the Xinjiang province of China was first reported. In due course, it became clear that the Chinese government was working to brainwash the Uyghur people of Xinjiang. China maintains that the “students” at these camps reside…
To protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the United States organised a boycott, involving 65 nations, of the 1980 Summer Olympics due to be held in Moscow. Looking forward to the present day, the World Uyghur Congress has asked the International Olympic Committee to reconsider…
This article is part of a series from Backbench’s editorial team which examines this year’s Black History Month from the angle of ‘making history’. The opinions expressed in these pieces are those of the editors’ themselves, and do not necessarily reflect Backbench’s stance as a…
Currently, it is rare for politicians to talk straight and admit when they and their country have a problem. That is why it was so surprising to hear Emmanuel Macron not only talk about the problem of radical Islamists within France, but also admit that…
They say that money makes the world go round. After the government’s recent ban on schools teaching material associated with anti-capitalist organisations, I don’t think anyone will be saying different anytime soon. Although the minutiae of the ban are not quite apparent, it seems that…
The 23rd of March feels like such a long time ago, doesn’t it? Now we’re living through October, a strange time where we await our next orders from politicians, and exist in a minefield of testing capacities, R-rates, excess deaths and government fiascos that many…
This article is a response to our ‘Making History’ campaign for Black History Month. If you would also like to submit a piece for this, please get in touch at editor@bbench.co.uk. Former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott is someone who has divided opinion throughout her…
“Stand back and stand by” was President Trump’s message to the Proud Boys at last week’s presidential debate. What followed was a feeling of ecstasy amongst the extreme far-right group, who interpreted Trump’s words as encouragement. Trump seemed to shift his stance a few days…
This article is part of a series from Backbench’s editorial team which examines this year’s Black History Month from the angle of ‘making history’. The opinions expressed in these pieces are those of the editors themselves, and do not necessarily reflect Backbench’s stance as a…
The recent Government update announced a range of new restrictions that have the potential to last six months, including the announcement that plans to start allowing limited amounts of supporters in to large sporting events are to be postponed. Should then the UK Government start…
The avenues through which we, particularly young people, receive our news and keep up with current affairs are changing and evolving. Mostly, they are becoming increasingly digitised, fast and varied. A recent Ofcom poll showed that just 35% of young people read a newspaper regularly, vs the…
As coronavirus began its sweep across the world there was a call of urgency to keep people safe and precautions were put in place to keep entire populations in their homes, away from work, education and loved ones. Concerns over the health and well-being of…
Those of us who have the dubious honour of involvement in ‘left-wing twitter’ will be aware of the recent drama instigated by the official account of Scottish Labour Students. The short of it is that they tweeted ‘ACAB’, meaning “All cops are bastards”, in response…