Politics

Harvey Milk was elected as an official for California in 1978. He was the first openly gay man to achieve this and, as a result, Milk encouraged people to come out and be proud of their sexuality. He was a pioneer for equal rights, but was assassinated in the same year he was elected. And […]

History textbooks are full of men, completely ignoring the courageous actions of countless women. Here, we have managed to whittle down this seemingly never-ending list of forgotten women to just five who have been robbed of a legacy. 1.  Mary Seacole Mary Seacole was a British-Jamaican nurse who did outstanding work during the Crimean War. […]

Winston Churchill had two terms as British Prime Minister between 1940 and 1945, and between 1951 and 1955. He is known for leading the Allies to victory during the Second World War and encouraging speeches which inspired public during wartime. But should he be remembered for anything else? Churchill had a very controversial relationship with […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared war on the eastern European country of Ukraine. Here is everything you need to know about the situation so far. Why Ukraine? Putin has referred to Ukraine as “ancient Russian lands”. He also says the invasion is about the “de-Nazification” of the country, accusing it of committing genocide against […]

After the heartbreaking news that 27 people were killed following a failed crossing of the Channel, asylum seekers coming in boats are fresh our minds. But what can be done to prevent such devastating events from happening again? It’s hard not to immediately reflect on recent comments from Home Secretary Priti Patel who said she […]

COP26 is underway now, and as a Glasgow resident, I can see firsthand the impact this conference is having on the city. Police squads roam frequently, many famous buildings have protective measures being put around them, and transport is completely compromised. Clearly, this is an event that brings unprecedented attention to the city. Many of […]

The Secretary of State for Media and Data John Whittingdale has thrown out another dog whistle in the Conservative Party’s culture war. He is helping draw up plans which will see the UK’s public service broadcasters have a legal requirement to produce “distinctively British” programmes. Mr Whittingdale admitted that Britishness is a “difficult concept to […]

The Cold War was one of the most significant events of modern history. Although both World Wars were vastly more terrible and on a much larger scale, the Cold War shaped society in a way that keeps the entire planet in a status quo we still see today. It is the decades-long saga of two […]

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is continuing her push for an independence referendum. This has come after the Green Party and the SNP have solidified their partnership, meaning the Scottish Parliament has a strong independence majority. The First Minister has set out a plan and timeline for the vote, as well as many good […]

Statistics show that one in five children are now eligible for free school meals in the UK, impacted by the pandemic.  Since 2010, food poverty has increased drastically. Brutal Tory cuts have contributed to the rise, evidencing systemic disadvantage for poorer and vulnerable families. Now, over 1.74 million children are in need. During the pandemic, […]

Post-9/11 we all know the story. The Western world was at a heightened sense of insecurity, anger, paranoia – the lot. We ended up invading Iraq with America – and we also all know how that ended. Tony Blair, Prime Minister at the time, can not do anything now without being labelled – rightly or […]

Keir Starmer assumed office as Leader of the Opposition on 4 April 2020, after a tight leadership contested by Lisa Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey. This is one of the most crucial leadership contests in British political history, considering Labour’s defeat in the 2019 General Election and the general distrust in the previous Party leader, Jeremy […]

The UK Ministry of Culture really sounds like something straight out of The Thick of It. For those not in the loop, the show is set around the running of a fictional government department. It’s the worst department of the lot, and something similar to the reputation of the real-world Culture Ministry. Except in the real […]

Earlier this week, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that the government would give “advance notice” if it was decided that having a complete Covid-19 vaccine would be mandatory for students to attend lectures or live in halls of residence. The UCU, who had previously written a letter asking the government to make students a priority […]

Many have been in uproar at the announcement that the government will be prioritising funding for Latin teaching in state schools in a bid to reduce elitism.  Boris Johnson, an Eton-educated and Oxford Classics graduate, might think this as a great way of ensuring social mobility, but unfortunately for him, this move almost worsens the […]

Boris Johnson told Parliament recently that “fewer households are living in poverty compared to ten years ago”. This is a drastically incorrect statement given the reality that poverty has actually risen in the past ten years. This isn’t the first time that Johnson has been used misleading statistics in political debates, and considering his government’s […]

A National Audit Office report has found that school funding for the most disadvantaged areas of England has fallen, while funding for the most affluent areas has increased. The report found that the average per pupil funding in the most deprived fifth of schools fell by 1.2% between 2017-18 and 2020-21. In contrast, this funding […]

The Home Office’s annual report and accounts for the year 2020 to 2021 confirm that the department spent over £370,000 to settle a top civil servant’s claim against Home Secretary Priti Patel. Sir Philip Rutman served as permanent secretary before quitting in February last year, citing Ms Patel’s behaviour as the reason behind his exit. […]

Last week, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family were deployed on a tour of Scotland, dubbed ‘Holyrood Week’. She and the Duke of Cambridge visited an Iron Bru factory and later in the week, the Queen went to a car factory with Princess Anne. Whilst this seems like the usual fluff that […]

Ever since elected leader Aun Sang Suu Kyi was overthrown by the Myanmar military junta in February, protests have swarmed streets and state-sanctioned violence has been amplified in cities. But on Wednesday, Myanmar freed over 2,000 of its detainees held since the beginning of the coup. Of those released were journalists and others who the […]

As we draw towards what we hope will be the end of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is important to reflect upon the relationship economy and profit has had with public health over the past fifteen months. Most importantly, what does it what tells us about that same relationship in normal times? Across the world, governments […]

Just weeks after the Electoral Commision launched an investigation into Boris Johnson and the Downing Street flat refurbishment, he is planning to strip the body of its power to prosecute breaches of law. In May, the Prime Minister found himself at the heart of controversy as details of his expensive flat refurbishment were found to […]

In the news for the past few months have been stories about an ongoing genocide in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. Most of the population living in the north-western region are Uighur Muslims and they are currently the victims of horrific government-sanctioned abuse. Please note: this article features mentions of rape and torture. Who are […]

Since March 2020, the UK has found itself trapped in what seems like a never-ending lockdown. With the recently emerging news that lockdown will be further delayed until the 19 July there have been many questions raised about whether it is necessary to continue the delays. Despite the disappointment surrounding the news, is there solid […]

The government’s Towns Fund is no stranger to controversy – but the revelation that 26 of the 30 towns awarded the shared £725 million budget have Conservative MPs adds fuel to the fire. In March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak was forced to deny favouritism after the previous list of 45 towns receiving a chunk of the […]

Mastering Politics is back with an explanation of the Israeli air strikes currently happening in Gaza City. As a little disclaimer, we know that this issue is far more complex than just what’s happening today. A more in-depth look at the Israel-Palestine conflict will be coming to Beep in the next few weeks. What’s happened? […]

Last night was quite an eventful one for the Labour Party in England at the local elections. By eventful, I mean terrible for their so-called Red Wall. Keir Starmer’s Labour was “under new leadership”, he promised, and it was going to be all about winning back voters who’d turned Tory for the first time at […]

In the past ten years, more than £96 billion worth of health service funding has gone to non-NHS care providers. These include private firms such as Virgin Care – owned by billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Group – and for-profit healthcare providers. For the sake of clarity, the NHS is a not-for-profit service. It is not […]

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reported to have said he would rather “let the bodies pile high in their thousands” than order a third lockdown during a heated exchange with his No 10 advisors. The Daily Mail led its front page today with the exclusive, which is said to have come directly from those who […]

Schools in the North East are set to lose between five and seven million pounds worth of funding after the government changed an administrative rule about how money is allocated, according to figures from Schools North East. The money would have been spent on helping pupils from lower-income families who qualify for the government’s Pupil […]

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth has said that vaccine passports are essentially “a digital ID card” and that Labour cannot support them in their current form. Boris Johnson announced yesterday that vaccine passports – or ‘Covid status certificates’ – will be trialled this month at upcoming events, including the FA Cup final and a range […]

Today marks one year since Prime Minister Boris Johnson took the decision to put the UK into its first lockdown. Since then, we’ve had a tiered system, a summer free-for-all which likely contributed to the increase in cases throughout August and September, and another full-force lockdown. But as we pause today to remember the almost […]

This week the government’s new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was passed in Parliament. It’s referred to sometimes as just the ‘Police Bill’, and has caused some controversy around the country due to its impact on the right to protest. Currently, the bill is delayed until later in the year, but it has not […]

Earlier this month, Gavin Williamson called for a “transformative” reform to the school’s system following the pandemic. What this can be assumed to mean is lengthening the school day and altering holidays to make room for catch up lessons and the missed hours of in-person teaching that has come as a result of the pandemic. […]

Former Conservative MP Amber Rudd has recently stated in an interview with ITV’s Acting Prime Minister Podcast that she would “fire all men” if she was Prime Minister, and instead put in place an all-female Cabinet. This recent comment is part of a plethora of comments Rudd has made regarding the blatant inequality of the […]

Police at Myanmar protests have killed at least 10 demonstrators, medics have said, making Sunday 28 Februrary the deadliest day of rallies since the military removed the nation’s elected government. The killings occurred as social media footage showed protesters running away from police charging at them, using live bullets, rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear […]

It is a dangerous time for England. With the Home Secretary publicly refusing to take the knee for the Black Lives Matter movement, she is also refusing to support the numerous lives who have saved so many in the COVID-19 pandemic. Patel is also not supporting the mental health professionals, or the Black lives that […]

Welcome back to Mastering Politics – the column where we break down complex issues into simple explanations. This time, we’re looking at the India farmers protest, which has been happening since September 2020. What’s going on? At the moment, India is living through its largest agricultural protest in history, with tens of thousands of farmers […]

A high court judge has found that Health Secretary Matt Hancock acted unlawfully by failing to reveal details of contracts his department has signed during the course of the pandemic. Public contract details, once signed, should be published within 30 days. The judge said that Mr Hancock had “breached his legal obligation” to government transparency. […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer announced his roadmap to government today in a speech clearly delivered to re-brand the Party. Speaking on a Facebook live stream this morning, Sir Keir drew strong ties with the post-WW2 appetite for change in politics and the post-pandemic (whenever that may be) “mood in the air” for a different […]