GDP has historically been the lens through which we viewed our success: high GDP growth meant that the economy was booming and that lives were improving, while a drop in GDP in real terms meant that the economy was in a bad state and lives…
2021 has barely begun and it has already become a year that won’t be easily forgotten. Though a cliche, it is something fundamentally correct. A third national lockdown in the UK. The US Capitol being stormed by Trump supporters refusing to accept the election. Elon…
For decades, we have been conditioned into believing that the contentious debate around abortion comes down to a binary decision. Pro-life, or pro-choice? It’s a seemingly obvious demarcation to separate views on apparently opposing ends of the political spectrum. But what if we realised that…
As we start 2021 and explore what could happen in financial markets over the coming months, it seems sensible to quickly look back and review what happened in 2020, a year of contradictions. It started off with markets reaching record highs, an initial optimism that…
In south London, residents call on Sadiq Khan to challenge Texan billionaire’s plans to build a 20-storey tower block over the famous Electric Avenue. A group of residents in Brixton, south London, are in the midst of a fierce battle for their neighbourhood’s future. Taylor…
There is something remarkably bewildering about living through a pandemic, which, at its very heart, encompasses a jarring juxtaposition of dichotomous realities too facile to formulate. Yet, it is through one profound simplicity, the line between life and death, that a virus-gripped nascent actuality has…
Amidst all the rather more harrowing news of recent days, a somewhat quieter argument has been playing out. Well, the argument was fairly quiet and not really much of an argument until Richard Littlejohn of the Daily Mail stormed in with some sensationalised inaccuracies. I’m…
The cost-cutting mechanism of the market, extended to institutions of learning, has proved disastrous when combined with the pressures of the pandemic. Universities, whose funding is contingent upon raw student numbers, have presided over a wellbeing and financial crisis of an unprecedented scale. Our institutions…
As our generation becomes unbalanced, impacted by events beyond our control, our lives become more technological. We now rely on a multitude of applications on our phones and laptops to keep us entertained and to connect with loved ones. Structuring our daily lives through technology,…
At the risk of sounding cliché, 2020 was pretty unusual as far as years go. A few days after leaving the European Union, the COVID-19 death toll in Britain has exceeded 75,000. The Conservative government must take responsibility for both, and which one they manage…
At the beginning of the pandemic, it seemed like the government’s clear failure to manage COVID-19 would make former supporters realise that voting Conservative in the last general election was a big mistake. However, even though we have one of the highest death rates in…
With blasé buffoonery, Boris Johnson appeared on the Andrew Marr show, ordering all parents to send their children back to school from Monday. This comes ahead of SAGE warnings (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) that sending children back to school would be a disaster…
Since becoming Labour leader, Keir Starmer’s approach to Brexit had been deafening in its silence. This was understandable. The vulnerability of the “Chief Remain Cheerleader” to Tory taunts of keeping the red wall blue is only too evident. The Prime Minister securing a trade beal,…
Brexit has divided our country – there are no two ways about it. Ever since that historic referendum on 23rd June 2016, certainty has eluded us, even when Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement was passed shortly after last year’s general election. At that point though, the…
This end of year review is part of a series from Backbench’s editorial team as they consider some of the themes that have dominated 2020. The views expressed in these reviews are those of the editors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the standpoint of…
This end of year review is part of a series from Backbench’s editorial team as they consider some of the themes that have dominated 2020. The views expressed in these reviews are those of the editors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the standpoint of…
This end of year review is part of a series from Backbench’s editorial team as they consider some of the themes that have dominated 2020. The views expressed in these reviews are those of the editors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the standpoint of…
This end of year review is part of a series from Backbench’s editorial team as they consider some of the themes that have dominated 2020. The views expressed in these reviews are those of the editors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the standpoint of…
In a year like no other, we’ve seen a US presidential election like no other. When he first announced his plan to run for the presidency, few took the businessman-cum-reality TV star seriously. But Donald Trump has since had a seismic effect on American politics…
This end of year review is part of a series from Backbench’s editorial team as they consider some of the themes that have dominated 2020. The views expressed in these reviews are those of the editors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the standpoint of…