A recent article by Sonia Sodha in The Guardian bemoans the suggestion by pensions minister Guy Opperman that young people could be allowed to dip into their pension pots to raise the necessary capital for a deposit on a house. …
The government seems to think ‘cancel culture’ infringes on freedom of speech. The Department for Education’s amendments to the September curriculum places this issue as a forefront in the relationships and sex education (RSE) module, indiscriminately condemning it as a…
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…
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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
Barbados has decided to remove the Queen as its head of state and become a republic by the end of 2021. No revolution, just a declaration from Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, as a step towards sovereignty to celebrate their…
You’ve probably seen Dettol’s most recent adverts for TfL. Photos of them have spread like wildfire on social media, and they have been discussed endlessly in the advertising industry and beyond. And all for the wrong reasons. For anyone who…