They may have been in power for eleven years and yield the party’s biggest parliamentary majority since Margret Thatcher’s days as leader, but the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson is far from indestructible. A delicate balance of factors is holding…
The government has recently pledged to increase some NHS staff’s wages by 3%. The decision took place after facing widespread criticism earlier in the year for pursuing a pitiful pay rise of 1%. The government hoped that the new proposal…
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…
The UK’s decision to cut the foreign aid budget is a symptom of a declining “global Britain”. Currently, the UK spends 0.7% of its budget on foreign aid, which is in line with the recommended percentage proposed by the UN…
Dominic Cummings is a name most in Britain are familiar with. The architect of the Vote Leave campaign and dubbed notoriously by David Cameron as a ‘career psychopath’, Cummings is an unorthodox political operative who has strong views on how the UK…
It has only been five years since Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was murdered by a man who held ‘far-right views’ in the village of Birstall, where she was due to hold a constituency surgery. Cox herself…
The result of the recent by-election in Chesham & Amersham has renewed speculation over a so-called “progressive alliance” – the idea that by co-operating, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens can beat the Tories in an election. There are…
Politics is a funny thing. One day, the Conservative Party winning Hartlepool symbolises Boris Johnson’s continued erosion of Labour support and suggests the Tories will reign supreme for decades to come; weeks later, the Labour victory in Batley and Spen…
The UK’s new Health Secretary Sajid Javid has stated on several occasions that he likes the book The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, telling The Spectator in 2018 he identifies with the book’s protagonist Howard Roak. This, and his calls to…
One of the most striking effects of the pandemic has been rising levels of education inequality. Missed school and slow adoption of virtual learning has meant a significant attainment gap has emerged in schools. Disadvantaged children have suffered most. But…