Category Archives: Writing

Today the 70 year-old National Health Service finds itself in a world radically different to that in which it was born. Compulsory health insurance had only arrived in 1911, part of a reformist welfare agenda spurred by concerns over working class conditions and the revolutionary urges they engendered. As in all ages, the nature andContinue reading “The NHS proves there’s always been an alternative”

We are currently living through an era of global environmental collapse. Resources are being consumed at around 1.5 times the Earth’s ability to regenerate them. The continued reliance on carbon to power our economies means that we are highly unlikely to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, increasing the chance of severe climateContinue reading “Time for politicians to get real about the Anthropocene”

Studies on the benefits of tackling climate change abound. In The Lancet Planetary Health, the study by Martin L Williams and colleagues1 has the great merit of using large datasets to illuminate the possible health benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the UK, the necessity to reduce emissions is enshrined in law through the 2008 ClimateContinue reading “The Lancet Countdown UK case study”

The Millennial generation will be the first to grapple with the full force of climate change. Until now, the outcomes of human damage to the environment have largely been associated with the distant future—the burden of generations yet unborn—and the far away, impacting low lying island states, if anyone at all. By October, these viewsContinue reading “Leadership on climate change is leadership on health”

That Cambridge Analytica used millions of Facebook profiles to create tools to target and manipulate US voters comes as no surprise to those who watch and work in large digital firms. This is for two main reasons. Firstly, many simply already knew. Secondly, activity of this kind – data accumulation and analysis to build toolsContinue reading “The oldest sins in the newest ways”

Before headline statistics were developed, governments had little idea of what was going on in the economy. In the 1930s, American presidents Hoover and Roosevelt grasped at a range of statistics in an attempt to understand the functioning of the economy, from the number and value of freight train loadings to stock price indices.  AsContinue reading “Lies, damn lies, and GDP”

Ours is the age of global environmental collapse. Resources are being consumed at around 1.5 times the Earth’s ability to regenerate them. We are living through the sixth mass extinction and nearly two-thirds of all vertebral life has died since 1970. The stubborn entrenchment of carbon into our economies means that we are highly unlikelyContinue reading “The Road to Ruin: Making Sense of the Anthropocene (editorial)”

Britain has often led the world in understanding and responding to global environmental change. IPPR Progressive Review’s Laurie Laybourn-Langton talks to former Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett about what made Britain a leader and if it remains one today.  Laurie Laybourn-Langton:   Margaret Beckett, you are a former Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for the DepartmentContinue reading “British leadership in the Anthropocene: an interview with Margaret Beckett”

The most important story in this year’s Budget is the downward revision of both productivity and GDP growth. In March, the Office of Budget Responsibility expected growth in productivity per hour to come in at 1.6% in 2017 and by at least 1.5% in the years thereafter. Now, they do not expect productivity to have increasedContinue reading “A gloomy economic outlook reflects the failures of the last two chancellors”

Ten years after the crash, the movement to replace neoliberalism is in the ascendency. Well organised campaigns cover everything from the promotion of pluralism in economic curricula to the application of new economic principles in local communities. Academics and campaigners, who prior to the crash were lone voices in the wind, have been joined by a growing chorusContinue reading “The movement to replace neoliberalism is on the ascendency – where should it go next?”