Positive thinking

For decades, UK governments have had little interest in improving health and safety legislation. But this week, Number 10 found itself in the unexpected position of drafting new guidelines for workplaces.  The government is considering a number of health and safety measures to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus after easing lockdown restrictions including limits on the time colleagues spend in close proximity and personal protective equipment (PPE). As yet, there has been no detail on what PPE would be required and with shortages already forcing 40% of doctors to source their own , questions remain over how feasible the plans are. PPE has never made the headlines quite like this. For years, personal protection wear was mentioned only in the media as evidence of health and safety “gone mad”. A classic from the Cameron years was the story of schoolchildren being forced to wear safety goggles while playing conkers. Despite the school’s headmaster later revealing it was a...

This week the long-awaited second stage of Brexit finally gets started, as the UK begins its formal trade negotiations with the EU. Tensions are already evident. The UK government made clear in its negotiating mandate published last week that it is refusing to lock in any minimum standards on labour rights, food quality or environmental protection, claiming the UK leads the way in these areas and will not accept “the compulsion of a treaty ”. Campaigners are concerned that these could be eroded after Brexit, especially if the UK bends to lower US standards through a free trade deal. Meanwhile, the EU considers these minimum standards (known as the ‘level playing field) to be a vital pre-condition for an agreement. If the UK won’t sign up to them, the EU insists it will not grant the UK tariff-free, quota-free trade with the bloc. The stand-off is intense and could lead to no trade deal at all if neither side backs down. The picture is no less complex at the national level, as...

According to new research by openDemocracy, almost half a million pounds of highly targeted donations from secretive Tory funding clubs bankrolled the Conservatives’ historic gains in Labour-held constituencies in the Midlands and northern England. Although this ‘dark money’ funding is technically legal under UK law, transparency campaigners and opposition parties have demanded a review of British election laws and called on the Conservatives to end the secrecy and publish the names of all those who bankrolled the party’s victory.   Dozens of victorious Conservative candidates in so-called ‘red wall’ seats received significant cash injections from secretive Tory funding clubs, much of it without any need to identify the donors.  Many of the same winning ‘red wall’ candidates also received cash from individual billionaires and obscure companies based in London, far from the constituencies where the money was spent.   The Conservative Pa...

Ian Hamilton, University of York and Harry Sumnall, Liverpool John Moores University The Conservative government abruptly and unexpectedly lifted restrictions on medicinal cannabis in 2018. This is viewed by some as a necessary prelude to a more liberal approach to recreational drug use. Certainly, recent opinion polls suggest the British public support legalisation - even if they are unsure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s views on this. Predicting what will happen with drug policy is difficult , but here are three reasons a shift in cannabis policy could well happen. 1. Voter appeal Such a shift would appeal to younger voters, while not necessarily riling traditional (and new) Conservative supporters. Tailoring a message to these differing groups is something Dominic Cummings has proved to be adept at. Health-orientated responses to drugs tend to be better supported by younger people. In contrast, criminal justice is the priority for older people and those who ...

Ian Sinclair A former Research Fellow at Chatham House and the ex-Director of the World Development Movement, British historian Mark Curtis has published several books on UK foreign policy, including 2003’s Web of Deceit: Britain’s Real Role in the World , endorsed by Noam Chomsky and John Pilger. Ian Sinclair asked Curtis about the recently published new edition of his 2010 book Secret Affairs: Britain’s Collusion with Radical Islam . Ian Sinclair: With the so-called ‘war on terror’ the dominant framework for understanding Western foreign policy since 9/11, the central argument of your book – that Britain has been colluding with radical Islam for decades – will be a shock to many people. Can you give some examples? Mark Curtis: UK governments – Conservative and Labour – have been colluding for decades with two sets of Islamist actors which have strong connections with each other. In the first group are the major state sponsors of Islamist terrorism, the two most im...