Boris Johnson: Britain’s undiplomatic new diplomat-in-chief (The Conversation) (video)


Within hours of taking office, the UK’s new prime minister Theresa May picked one of the most undiplomatic people in modern British politics to serve as the United Kingdom’s diplomat-in-chief. The surprise announcement that former London mayor Boris Johnson is … Continue reading

Andrea Leadsom, personal scrutiny and the pressures of modern British politics (The Conversation) (video)


Andrea Leadsom’s decision to withdraw from the Conservative Party leadership contest dramatically concluded the search for Britain’s next Prime Minister. But as Theresa May prepares to enter 10 Downing Street it’s worth reflecting on the levels of scrutiny now facing … Continue reading

The United States of Jihad (video)


In the wake of the ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in Brussels, European and US media have predictably gone to town with their fear and speculation machines, delivering a 24/7 diet of fear mongering interspersed with occasional facts. Fear and blood sell … Continue reading

Government and ‘independent expertise’: think tanks represent a blind spot for critical analysis


Drawing on recent research about UK think tanks, austerity and social policy, Hartwig Pautz and Elke Heins examine the relationship between government and the world of ‘independent expertise’. Focusing on one example, the Centre for Social Justice’s influence over Conservative ministers’ social policies, they … Continue reading

John Oliver destroys Syrian “terrorists posing as refugees” hypocrisy (video)


Following the Paris attacks, right-wing parties across Europe and in the US used the fact that one of the perpetrator’s appeared to have gained access to France by claiming he was a refugee to argue that all refugees were possible terrorists … Continue reading

John Oliver on the EU’s (and the media’s) racist and inhumane treatment of migrants and refugees (video)


If you’re a regular reader of this blog (yes, there are a few of you) I owe you an apology. I have spent the last couple of months consumed with the media’s outrageously biased and frequently unethical treatment of the … Continue reading

Truthiness: The Telegraph is guilty of lazy and biased journalism but, as ever, it’s all the fault of the BBC (video)


For the second consecutive Sunday (and several days in between) the Telegraph decided to lead it’s news agenda with what it and the Conservative party have decided is BBC liberal bias.  Claims of liberal bias at the BBC have been … Continue reading