Michael Conrad/Shutterstock The UK’s farming landscape has changed dramatically since Brexit. Agricultural policy has been adjusted, and EU subsidies, which funded UK farming for decades, are no more. Before the split, those subsidies helped British farmers to the tune of nearly £3 billion a year, which for some, made up 90% of their annual income. That system is now being phased out, in a move which the UK government claims will be more environmentally sustainable. Central to this new approach are “environmental land management schemes”, designed to encourage farmers to produce what are known ..read more

The division between right and left around the world has rarely felt more polarised. Of course there have always been differences between people on the different ends of the political spectrum, but now it seems they are living in different worlds entirely. This is perhaps related to the tendency for those on the right to focus on the past and to strive for a world that once was and the tendency for those on the left to do the opposite. Take two of the most famous political slogans of recent times: Barack Obama’s “Yes we can” and Donald Trump’s “Make America great again”. While Obama’s message ..read more

Twenty-five years ago, when new institutions of national government were created in Scotland and Wales, they reflected the widely held view that the Welsh and Scots should have more control over their economies, aspects of welfare provision and key public services. Yet at that time, hardly anyone thought devolution might be applied to England – despite it being the largest, wealthiest and most populated part of the UK. Today, things look rather different. The notion of English devolution has morphed from being of interest only to constitutional experts to being a preoccupation of Britain’s pol ..read more

Democracy faces challenges around the globe in 2024: at least 64 countries will ask their citizens to elect a government this year. One of the most keenly observed will be the United Kingdom general election, likely to be held in November. The British Labour party has not won an election since 2005, and has lost the last four elections. At the last election in 2019, it was beaten handsomely. The 2019 result saw the Conservatives win 365 seats of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, while Labour limped in with 202 seats. At that point, Boris Johnson was an immensely popular political leader ..read more

Democracy faces challenges around the globe in 2024: at least 64 countries will ask their citizens to elect a government this year. One of the most keenly observed will be the United Kingdom general election, likely to be held in November. The British Labour party has not won an election since 2010, and has lost the last four elections. At the last election in 2019, it was beaten handsomely. The 2019 result saw the Conservatives win 365 seats of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, while Labour limped in with 202 seats. At that point, Boris Johnson was an immensely popular political leader ..read more

The Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales was set up in 2021 and has been gathering evidence since then. vladm/Shutterstock A commission set up to consider the constitutional future of Wales has published its final report. The Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales, co-chaired by former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams and Cardiff University’s Professor Laura McAllister, maps three different “viable” options. First, they suggest “enhancing” devolution. This would see Wales operating similarly to how it does now, only with more powers for j ..read more

Twenty-five years ago, when new institutions of national government were created in Scotland and Wales, they reflected the widely held view that the Welsh and Scots should have more control over their economies, aspects of welfare provision and key public services. Yet at that time, hardly anyone thought devolution might be applied to England – despite it being the largest, wealthiest and most populated part of the UK. Today, things look rather different. The notion of English devolution has morphed from being of interest only to constitutional experts to being a preoccupation of Britain’s pol ..read more

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, while not explicitly advocating for outright independence, A shift from a theoretical discussion to actively pursuing an independence referendum by Smith or her successors could have dramatic economic consequences for Alberta and Canada similar to the impact separatist movements have had in other parts of the world, including in Spain and the United Kingdom. In Canada, western alienation has persisted for more than a century, and polls show that 27 per cent of Albertans aged 18 to 34 support the concept of an independent Alberta. Conventional wisdom holds that A ..read more

What would you do if everyday life was suddenly turned upside down? Thanks to recent Hollywood blockbusters, the increasing popularity of everyday survivalism and a climate of volatile, uncertain times (war, weather, accelerating technology), visions of the apocalypse seem to be having a moment. Preppers – those who store food, water and supplies to survive impending disaster – have a bit of an image problem. Ridiculed for their delusional end-of-the world outlook, they are caricatured as “tin foil hat-wearing loons”. But is their approach to self-sufficiency so extreme? Recently, we’ve seen e ..read more

Number 10/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND Former prime minister David Cameron’s return as foreign secretary in Rishi Sunak’s government was surprising, to say the least. Only four former prime ministers have gone on to serve again in government, and none since Alec Douglas-Home returned as foreign secretary under Edward Heath in 1970. Sunak surely has more in mind than some shocked headlines, but working out the strategic thinking behind the move is perplexing for two reasons. First because Cameron is not a particularly popular politician. Second because, even setting that aside, he is the wrong kind of p ..read more