Pandemics and populists: democracy’s ancient enemies
Illustrations by Felix Pawlyn The 2010s saw various pillars of global liberal democracy being swept away by a wave of international populism. America and Britain both fell prey to populist…
We must save lives – by lifting restrictions
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, there have been suggestions that a new “profound culture war” is erupting; pitting your money against your life; or at least somebody’s life….
The Bullingdon Brand: is it really electable?
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Jeremy Hunt, Boris Johnson, David Cameron, George Osborne, Jo Johnson, Rory Stewart. All, public schooled. All politicians that are leading or ex-leading members of the Conservative party….
What does COVID-19 mean for Europe’s refugees?
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson A great deal has changed in the world of late, yet our tendency to ignore the suffering endured by Europe’s refugees has held fast. It never takes…
How can we rediscover the value of learning after lockdown?
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson The closure of schools across the country was met by some with jubilation, and others with a sense of loss of direction. The news of cancellation of…
Project Restart is a mockery of football
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson It is without question that football is thoroughly missed during these unprecedented times. The balls crashing into the net, the silky footwork from talented individuals and the…
COVID-19 is set to deepen the global North/South divide
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson For many, the idea of a COVID-19 vaccine being on the horizon is a lifeline; a gleaming beacon in what has been an inarguably bleak few months….
Normal People can open the conversation on men’s mental health
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson ‘Normal People’ is the latest hit drama of lockdown, and after watching it I can understand why. Through a compelling and authentic storyline, the two lead actors,…
We’ve never been in the same boat, COVID-19 won’t change that
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson I’m fed up of people saying things like ‘we’re all in the same boat’; COVID-19 has not suddenly caused inequalities to disappear. We have never been in…
Why has COVID-19 brought a return of Yellow Peril?
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Last week Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused “a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering”. This effect of the…
Spinsters like Cummings are undermining democracy
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Sunday’s COVID-19 press briefing was a heinous moment for Boris Johnson. Since March, the country has been under lockdown in order to slow the spread of COVID-19….
Beware the age of the Political Fool
Illustration by Hannah Robinson It is fashionable to label political eras. The last 60 years of American Presidency, for instance, is normally divided into imperial, imperilled and post-imperial segments. David Runciman,…
Why does the end of lockdown seem as daunting as lockdown itself?
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson There are many reasons to look forward to the return of normalcy. The idea of being hemmed in around a pub table amongst my friends, elbows jostling,…
Are online examinations just another unnecessary burden for students?
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the education sector has metamorphised into a huge digital operation with a sizable challenge on its hand. Considering the rapidly…
The Best of Both Worlds: How COVID-19 highlights the strength of devolution
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson For better or worse, our family of nations remains united. We squabble. We bicker. And we would probably describe ourselves as dysfunctional. But what has so far…
The management of COVID-19 is a matter of leadership not gender
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Amongst the chaos of press coverage of COVID-19 – misinformation, a lack of honest facts and fear-mongering – one line of argument stands out. A distinct preoccupation…
Is COVID-19 the last nail in the coffin for Putin’s Russia?
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson The COVID-19 pandemic has been a litmus test for regimes across the world. Governments have been both criticised and praised for their response to the outbreak, proving…
The Transnational Politician
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson In this day and age, we are all too used to transnational corporations. Transnational politicians, however, are a rare occurrence. Domestic politics is something we hold very…
COVID-19: The End of the American Century
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Donald Trump’s petulance on the global stage during this crisis has provided an open door for others to take control of global hegemony. The 45th President of…
COVID-19 presents an opportunity to reshape our economy for the better
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson The COVID-19 pandemic has created the biggest upheaval that many of us have lived through. Freedoms we have taken for granted throughout our University years, such as…
COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on the LGBTQ+ community
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson While the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic has many believing that ‘we’re all in the same boat’, for minority communities the virus does, in fact, discriminate. Not…
Johnson’s use of language has distracted from his failure to act on COVID-19
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Language has been a significant factor in the coronavirus pandemic. There has been a rapid change in global discourse as a new and resurgent vocabulary of terms…
Calling Normal People ‘basic’ reveals underlying sexism
Illustration by Hannah Robinson Everyone is talking about Normal People. Rightly so, the programme conjures such richness and complexity with deft, subtle strokes. It also seems breathtakingly new and it has…
For Stormont’s sake, end the Brexit dawdle and grant that extension
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Brexit is still happening – however low it is on the Whitehall agenda – and it deserves our utmost attention. The government, is now focused on responding…
Ahmaud Arbery’s story is more sombre proof of the reality of rights before lives
Illustration by Hannah Robinson On April 22nd, 1993, 18-year-old Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death by white supremacists whilst waiting at a bus stop in South-East London. On the 28th April…
Are Jews destined to feel invisible in popular culture?
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson It was nearly a year ago that William Finn’s musical Falsettos made its debut in UK theatres. The protagonist’s self-deprecating humour and sporadic neuroticism were clearly very…
Lockdown and Brexit present a challenge of conflicting ideals for Johnson
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson The UK economy is currently facing several severe challenges. Pre- COVID-19, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced that public spending would have to increase in…
The 21st Century’s continued struggle with experts versus populism
Illustration by Felix Pawlyn Technocracy versus populism: the new Scylla and Charybdis There are many clefts which divide political tribes, and at the risk of introducing another, I wish to…
Britain’s obsession with Royal news has gone too far
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson The one certainty that Britain can rely on in any national crisis, is the swift rise of Royal coverage. While it can’t be denied that the Royal…
What can we learn about COVID-19 from the 430BC Athenian Plague?
Illustration by Felix Pawlyn This time round, will the pandemic be a case of survival of the fitness or the richest? The 430BC Athenian plague is our earliest ever record…
Once upon a time: Boris Johnson’s COVID-19 fairytale
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Perhaps, there has never been a finer time for fairy tales. As a nation in need of solace and certainty, the straight-cut world of heroes and villains…
One epidemic illuminates another – COVID-19 and the Educational Attainment Gap
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson The wealth divide in Britain is entrenched and it is vicious. A monstrous creature, it plunges its tentacles into every crevice of our lives, suffocating social mobility…
Technology can benefit our mental health during COVID-19
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson The infectious pandemic has been a testing time for humanity and has affected individuals in ways scarily imaginable just four months ago. From increased loneliness due to…
Automation is the answer to our struggling agricultural industry
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Despite the globalisation of goods and services, homegrown produce remains a vital component of the United Kingdom’s economy. The agricultural industry is worth over £120 billion, and…
I Would’ve Voted for Trump in 2016 – But I Have Since Changed My Mind
To understand why America voted Trump, you need to understand the climate of 2016. Obama, the man that promised ‘Yes, we can!’ had broken a string of electoral promises. After…
COVID-19 has shown that health must always come first
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson In this global age when often, our worth seems to be based on economic performance and productivity, work is dominating our lives more than ever. It seems…
It is high time for a global de-stigmatisation of periods
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Recently, I was struck by a friend’s refusal to buy a pack of tampons in the supermarket. This show of her embarrassment, reveals the ongoing stigma of…
Can we find some hope during this pandemic?
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson. These are uncertain times. This is probably the first time that young people, myself included, feel that we have no idea what the future holds. We weren’t…
Normal People: A triumphant collaboration of female writing and male directing
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson I have not read Normal People. I have been told how brilliant it is, but I simply never got around to reading it. So when the advert…
Love, virtually: A defence of online dating in time of COVID-19
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson In a culture of prolonged separation, where the prospects of seeing those closest to our hearts remain indefinite, people are showcasing creative ways of coming together –…
COVID-19 has made us act sustainably- but will it last?
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson How sustainable is our new-found sustainability? The tirade of mantras and teachings that COVID-19 has generated have proven almost as tiresome and unrelenting as the virus itself….
The English should reclaim St George’s cross
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson. To many, the 23rd of April – St George’s Day – is viewed as the most apt occasion to forget or denounce one’s Englishness. With the start…
Keir Starmer is shortchanging Scotland with federalism
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson The night of 12th December 2019 was not a good night for Scottish Labour. In the country of Labour’s founding father and (subsequently elected, leader’s namesake) Keir…
COVID-19 highlights the degradation of the degree
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson The bachelor’s degree is traditionally considered the zenith of the majority of people’s higher education and academic achievement: the steppingstone into the jobs market. It is a…
With COVID-19, the Conservatives have realised Labour’s economic vision
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson “Vote Tory, get Labour,” remarked Phillip Cunliffe, professor in International Conflict at the University of Kent and co-founder of The Full Brexit, commentating on the measures put…
The Chinese model is the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, not the solution
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson There has been a noticeable tendency toward praising the Chinese approach to COVID-19 while excessively chastising the response of Western governments. A New York Times opinion piece…
Trump’s handling of this crisis exposes his shocking campaign tactics
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson President Trump’s daily press conferences are incomparable to anything politics has seen before. Topics range from him being number one on Facebook (for what nobody knows) anti-malarial…
When Boris Johnson’s humour returns this crisis will truly be over
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson It feels like a long time ago that the Prime Minister was telling the public that they could ‘bung a bob for a Big Ben bong’ to…
COVID-19 calls for a new approach to how we view sex work
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that now more than ever workers need to be protected. The UK Government’s introduction of the job retention scheme in March, that…
Labour needs a Nandyite foreign policy
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Keir Starmer’s new shadow cabinet was designed to give credence to the word repeated ad infinitum in his campaign: unity. The removal of a handful of Corbyn…
Covid-19 brings another pandemic: domestic abuse
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson Following restrictions on movement in order to try and reduce the impact of Covid-19, people across the world are currently stuck at home. Being confined at home…
In defence of occasional idiocy: how partisan hatred is corrupting our society
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson 175 years of history and you’ve blown it. From a prized free trade journal to this. The Economist’s Europe Editor Chris Lockwood was greeted with utter disdain…
The UK media is failing us in this pandemic
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson There is no way to gloss over what is currently happening all over the world, no way to play it down or over state just how awful…
Dear the left, gays are not your pets
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson I am a young Scottish Conservative studying politics in Aberdeen. I like aviation, sci-fi and, like everyone else, I enjoy going to the pub. I also happen…
Support the British press during the uncertainty of covid-19
Illustrations by Hannah Robinson In the current climate, coherent, reliable and expert reporting is indispensable. The outbreak of Covid-19 and the dissemination of information to the public regarding its status have…