The Death of Jo Cox and Our Shared Future
July 20, 2016
By Dr Nick Stevenson Remain lost the vote. It was of course going to be difficult to over turn the impact of the popular press and the nationalist Right. The layers of cultural meaning and resentment that have been implanted over decades were always going to be hard to dislodge. At first I did think …
How radical is Brexit?
July 13, 2016
By Dr Anisa Mustafa The decision by British voters to leave the EU has been described as an act of defiance against political elites by disenfranchised working classes. Gary Younge has referred to this as a ‘piercing cry of alienation’ and Owen Jones calls it a working class revolt. There is little doubt that Brexit …
The Referendum: Out of What?
February 25, 2016
by Dr Simon Roberts and Prof Bruce Stafford Now that Boris Johnson has joined Nigel Farage and others in the out camp and the campaign to remain within or leave the European Union has begun in earnest (PM attacks Johnson over Brexit, 23 February) it would be helpful for voters to know what “out” …
Changing NHS Planning `footprints’ – the re-emergence of the Strategic Health Authority…?
February 24, 2016
by Professor Ian Shaw Since the implementation of the NHS and Social Care Act 2012, the size of the planning area or `footprint’ have largely been decided by the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). This was part of Lansley’s plan to devolve commissioning to groups of GPs. In reality the planning footprints for CCGs have generally been …
Academy schools and the first 100 days of Cameron’s Majority Conservative Government
November 18, 2015
by Jodie Pennacchia The University of Nottingham conference What’s New About ‘Blue-Collar Conservatism’? The First 100 Days of Cameron’s Majority Conservative Government was a thought-provoking start to the new academic year. For those of us with an interest in education policy it provided an opportunity to explore what is unfolding and what we might expect …
Let’s Rephrase the Welfare Debate
by Elena Genova, PhD candidate at the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham The session on Welfare Reform at the 100 Days conference of Cameron’s Majority Government, organised by the International Centre for Public and Social Policy at the School of Sociology was far from a quiet, timid one. Indeed, the …
Thoughts on the “Welfare Reform” session that should be renamed “changes to social security”
by Jenni Cauvain and Bruce Stafford This session, chaired by Simon Roberts, considered two policy areas that are central to the Conservative Party’s blue collar political messaging. Emphasis in the Conservative’s narrative on welfare and housing reforms has been about “making work pay” and “being on the side of working people”, which suggests that …
Fairness and Inequality
October 23, 2015
by: Mark Jago We all want a fair society. But fairness is an inherently contested concept. What one person deems fair is sure to be seen as unfair to others. The high-earner may find it unfair that her income is reduced through top-rate taxation; the willing but unemployed worker finds it unfair that the system …
#100DAYSCONF AT A GLANCE
October 7, 2015
By Rupal Patel & Elena Genova The International Centre for Public and Social Policy organised a conference on the 4th of September at the University of Nottingham entitled ‘What’s New About ‘Blue-Collar Conservatism’? The First 100 Days of Cameron’s Majority Conservative Government’. Dr Simon Roberts’ welcome stressed the fact that ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s …
A `New Deal’ for GPs – 7 day working
June 30, 2015
by Professor Ian Shaw In my blog back in May I predicted that 7 day working for GPs would not happen and outlined the reasons why. The Government have since come up with its `New Deal’ for GPs who agree to 7 day working in which they offer some incentive payments for GPs who agree to …
Silencing Emotional Responses and Neglecting Social Justice: Ethical Dilemmas for Young Female Researchers
June 2, 2015
By Jodie Pennacchia and Rupal Patel I am sitting in an assembly. A female external speaker has come in to discuss post-16 options. In order to ‘sell’ certain options she highlights the money students will get, for example for doing an apprenticeship. She addresses the girls in particular; “imagine how many Primark outfits you …
Thoughts on the NHS Five Year Forward View
Professor Ian Shaw Back in March I blogged about how the Five Year Forward View (FYFW) introduced by NHS Chief Exec Simon Stevens was effectively `Reforming the 2012 NHS Reforms’ . This blueprint for the future of the NHS, to be delivered within one parliament, was signed up to by the Conservative Party and …
GPs and 7 day working
May 21, 2015
by Ian Shaw Cameron’s announcement of 7 day working 8am-8pm for the GPs by 2020 so soon after the Election may have been his way of reassuring the public that the NHS was safe in his hands, but it’s not really going to happen this parliament and there are a number of reasons for that: …
