The Brexit binary of the liberal metropolitan elite versus the Northern white working-class is false and harmful to British politics. Analyses of Brexit have misleadingly pitted the white, Northern working-class against London’s liberal metropolitans. (Photo: Pexels) Mainstream political discourse tell us that Brexit has revealed a divide between London’s “metropolitan liberal elite” and a Northern, white working-class who have “legitimate concerns” about immigration. Yet this false binary is a harmful symptom of lazy analyses of Brexit. Politicians and journalists have often ignored, misrep ..read more

Even after Brexit, elections are still won in the centre-ground. The centre can and does hold – as it has since 1945. Politics is no longer Blairite but the centre is still the place to be. (Photo: PA) For a narcissist, Tony Blair had a remarkable knack for understanding the public. Nobody wins three elections because their image is fetching and their opponents are inept. Nobody wins two landslides despite empty promises. The New Labour ruse was to swap self-indulgence for public outreach. There is a reason the party lost four elections before 1997 and won three from then on. It is also why ..read more

2017 will be a tough year for Labour but they shouldn’t be written off. If they can hold fast to their principles while taking advantage of the turbulent political climate, hope remains. Outgoing Labour MP Jamie Reed swaps the backbench for a position at Sellafield nuclear power plant. Photo: PA The resignation of Jamie Reed and Tristram Hunt could be construed as yet another episode in the ongoing saga of the Labour Party’s decline. Yet Labour have more urgent problems keeping them up at night. Despite this, they should not be underestimated. If they can ride the populist wave while sticki ..read more

From the Olympics to the Tour De France, 2016 was a year full of British sporting success stories. But what can this teach us about national identity, immigration and Brexit? British cyclist and 2016 Tour De France winner, Chris Froome, pictured above with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (Photo: U.S. Department of State @ Flickr ) At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Great Britain took home just one gold medal placing them 36th in the medal table behind countries such as Algeria, Kazakhstan and North Korea. For self-proclaimed “Great” Britain, this was an embarrassment. And so John Major decided ..read more

2016 was an eventful year in politics, though not entirely positive. Yet amidst the chaos and divisiveness of many events last year, we should remember that the politicians are not entirely to blame; we must take some responsibility too. A fake news site created by a teenager is shown in Veles, Macedonia. (Photo: Andrew Byrne.) The Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year 2016 was “post-truth.” This is no surprise in a year where we were shook by fake news. However behind fake news in the end are businesses with a profit motive. These websites generate ad-revenue by receiving clicks, and their ..read more

Questionable cabinet appointments, authoritarian policies, lack of a Brexit strategy – Theresa May’s tenure as Prime Minister has certainly been bumpy. Is she the right person to lead Britain into 2017? Theresa May’s bad handling of Brexit makes her ability as a Prime Minister questionable (Photo: Reuters) As Home Secretary, Theresa May was always the sort of person to push on with a policy even when faced with opposition – just not in a good way. Known for her authoritarian anti-drug stance, in 2014 she tried to doctor the results of a report that showed no clear link between illegal drug u ..read more

Amidst the rapidity of political events in recent months, we must step back and use the results of the 2015 general election to reopen the debate about our voting system. The Houses of Parliament needs repairs, both literally and democratically. It’s time to debate what to do about the UK voting system (Photo: mauricedb @ Flickr) To say a lot has happened in the last few months of British politics would be a huge understatement. Britain voted to leave the European Union. David Cameron resigned and a brutally short Conservative leadership election resulted in a new PM. Jeremy Corbyn was reins ..read more

With figures across the left calling for an electoral pact between “progressive” parties, Antony Tucker says why this isn’t a realistic or worthwhile idea. Many figures across the left have called for a “progressive alliance” between Labour, the Greens, the Liberal Democrats. (Photo: New Statesman) Over the last few months, many figures across the left have called for a “progressive alliance” between Labour, the Greens, the Liberal Democrats and the nationalist parties in Wales and Scotland. Prominent politicians, including Caroline Lucas and Clive Lewis, have come forward and called for suc ..read more

Theresa May’s attitude towards drug policy is backward – the legalisation of cannabis could provide the UK with many economic and social benefits. Let’s end the war on drugs. Legalising cannabis would lead to regulation and a safer product (Photo: Associated Press) More and more countries are becoming open towards the legalisation of cannabis and other drug­s. Germany and Canada are making steps towards it, many American states (most recently California, Massachusetts, and Nevada) have legalised it for recreational use, and the UK… has banned legal highs in the Psychoactive Substances Act. O ..read more

As we have learned from issues surrounding Brexit, the UK’s recent obsession with direct democracy is unhealthy. For the sake of stability, we must return to a strong parliamentary, representative democracy. (Photo: AFP via Getty Images) With recent news that MPs will have a vote on whether to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty,  many on the Brexit side are up in arms. With Nigel Farage planning to lead a march against the Supreme Court and newspapers like the Telegraph calling for the decision to be overturned, it could be said this is the most important Brexit development since t ..read more