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Picture this; You have made the perilous journey of thousands of miles across several countries, avoiding a war, death and trafficking, only to be turned back by what you thought was a safe haven. Rishi Sunak’s plan for migrants trying to cross the channel is a complete and utter disaster, not to mention violating several […]

For a lot of people, politics is a very confusing topic. There are so many words to remember, so many parties and government positions and it’s not easy to know what it all means. But there is no shame in not knowing. After all, it’s not like the news explains the definition of all of […]

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 […]

I find the American healthcare system frankly disgusting. Life-saving drugs are marked up by hundreds, sometimes thousands or even tens of thousands, of dollars to exploit incredibly vulnerable people out of every penny they’ve got.  Even the average American spends a ludicrous amount on prescription drugs, averaging $1,200 per year since 2018, and this sum […]

We are six days into the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. While a lot of effort is being made to help Ukraine – from economic sanctions to aid – some efforts have been rather unhelpful. The British Home Office is not waiving visa requirements for all Ukrainians fleeing the conflict, which isn’t surprising. But they […]

Recently, social media influencer Molly-Mae Hague has come under fire for her beliefs on hard work and material wealth. In a podcast episode of Diary of a CEO, Hague shares shares that she believes “we all have the same 24 hours in a day” and, therefore, the onus of how our lives shape up to be […]

It comes as no surprise to anyone but the 20th century was one of the most horrific and cruel periods of time in world history. Part of that comes due to the rise of the modern dictator. What is a dictator? An individual who rules a country or countries with absolute power, where nobody comes […]

Black women have been shaping Britain for years, but have often been overlooked and ignored due to racism and sexism. Here are five black women who have made history and tried to change Britain for the better. Diane Abbott (1953-) A true trailblazer of British politics. Abbott was the first black female MP, elected in […]

According to reports from the United Nations, Madagascar is on the brink of the world’s first ever climate-induced famine after suffering severe droughts due to a lack of rain across the country for four years. There are at least 1.14 million individuals in desperate need of food and water in southern Madagascar, with harvests destroyed […]

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 […]

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 […]

Home Secretary Priti Patel is to introduce laws next week that will allow the government to send asylum seekers abroad for processing. An asylum seeker is an individual who has been forced to leave their home country but their application to live in another country has not yet been concluded. People often seek asylum due […]

The new GB News platform has stirred up plenty of criticism in its early days. While much of this criticism was contained to public opinion of the show, recent events have led to companies distancing themselves from the show. As the current situation surrounding advertising on the platform continues to develop, it’s useful to understand […]

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 […]

Following the Corbyn era, the position of Labour leader was going to be difficult to fill. Low and behold Sir Keir Starmer. Starmer has noticeably reached out to former Labour voters who turned their backs on the party in 2019 by wrapping himself in a union jack. When making a speech, he will often emphasise […]

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 […]

This week, a study was released by Sheffield council suggesting that the working poor has been the worst hit by Coronavirus. The study shows people in low-paid jobs, with insecure contracts and thus unable to afford to take time off work to isolate, have been hardest hit by the disease in the city. The council […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

BY FLAMINIA LUCK A report published by the University of Warwick, has calculated which areas of the country have won or lost out economically as a result of the Brexit vote. The report, titled Measuring the Regional Economic Cost of Brexit, has used data and statistics from 2018 to construct a predictive modelling which estimates […]

For years now you may have been reading the writing of myself and Bronwen Lowery on Beep quite happily, without disruption. I have written about the perhaps more boring, serious stuff, like the experience of northern students at Durham, while Bronwen has lightened the mood and brought the laughs. Most notably, she wrote a viral […]

Twitter is a place for the people who don’t really fit the Insta gang or the Facebook mothers, so they pile in on the blue bird and share 280 characters of thoughts on literally anything. It’s a place for fangirls, it’s a place for politicos and it’s a place for diaries. And memes. So who […]

The Crown returned to Netflix last weekend after months of anticipation from fans around the globe. Knowing that series four would cover the years of Thatcher and Princess Diana, the series has been trending on Twitter for most of the past two days. But is it any good? Well, the previous series of The Crown […]

1/5 1984 is always cited as one of the best books ever written. It’s supposed to be intelligent, sharp and profound. Instead, I found it to be dull, rambling and unremarkable. Oh, and rampantly sexist. George Orwell was clever – I’ve read his essays and I like them. But 1984? It was hard to believe […]

Social housing is housing provided by the government to people with low income or particular needs. These houses, also known as council houses, have much lower rent than regular houses, and usually provide long-term tenancy to help tenants focus on improving their lives. However, in recent years, there has been nowhere near enough social housing […]

Brexit has quickly become the bane of pretty much every British person’s life. The news, every TV programme, articles, comedy – you name it, they’re all talking about Brexit. And even though nobody can agree on anything, I propose there’s one thing we should agree on. It’s that no-deal should be ruled out entirely as […]

When it comes to election time, tensions run high. They run high within households, cities, workplaces – and even the highest of companies. A couple of weeks ago, demands were made to have Facebook ban all political ads. And just this week, Google has announced they will ban them. This news comes after the EU […]

It’s unlikely that you or I will ever experience the feeling of being the only person on a plane as it crosses borders 30,000 feet up. Contrastingly, for some, the only way to enter a new country is by privately jetting off in a swanky Bombardier jet. Private jet sustainability has been threatened in the […]

We often hear about how toxic things have become in politics. Be it Brexit, immigration, the NHS – all of these issues are highly emotive and have, without a doubt, caused tensions to run high with those holding public office. However, MP Heidi Allen has announced she is to stand down due to abuse she […]

It was announced today by President Trump that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself during a US-led raid in Syria. The leader of the Islamic State terrorist group detonated a suicide vest as he fled into a tunnel, chased by US military dogs. Speaking from the White House, Mr Trump said Baghdadi was a […]

Student politics is often thought of as a vehicle to make great change at universities up and down the country. It’s viewed as a way for students from all backgrounds to get involved and change things. It’s all about representation. Except it isn’t. Student politics – at least in my experience – is about vanity […]

Roles within politics are not always very well understood. Even the role of the prime minister isn’t very clear to many people looking into the bewildering world of politics. So, you’re forgiven for not really knowing what the chancellor – of all people – does in their job. The job description The primary role of […]

You may have heard his name briefly mentioned in the news really, but only if you were listening closely. Either way, you’ll definitely have heard his slogan: “Take back control”. Dominic Cummings is a very powerful man operating behind the scenes of government right now, so we thought we’d explain who he is and what […]

When it comes to politics, nothing is simple. Let alone the current goings on in Westminster. Recently in the news, there has been lots of talk around the prorogation of Parliament. Of course, any ordinary person has no idea what that means. But don’t worry – that’s why we’re here. Prorogation is the term used […]

British politics at the moment is moving at such a rapid pace it’s hard to keep up. But one particular event has lasted longer than most in the news – and that’s Boris Johnson’s sacking of 21 of his own MPs. Don’t be misled by that statement – the Prime Minister hasn’t just got rid […]

In four days’ time, we will witness the death of democracy in the UK. The British Parliament will shut down for approximately five weeks and during this time, your MPs will be rendered useless. For five weeks the Chamber of the House of Lords will be empty. For five weeks the voices of MPs in […]

It seems dangerous merely daring to use the words ‘capitalism’ and ‘fair’ in the same sentence, doesn’t it? But why? Maybe it’s the pipe dream being sold to the masses – especially today’s youth – that communism will one day swoop in to solve all of our problems. Ah, yes – communism, the ideology-in-shining armour […]

Understanding politics isn’t easy, let alone trying to understand something as complex as communism. With so much opinion clouding this part of politics, you’re forgiven for being clueless. That’s why we’re explaining communism without opinion and in simple terms right here. What is communism? First and foremost, communism is an ideology. This means it’s a […]

Understanding politics isn’t easy – and that’s why we have our own ‘politics put simply’ column, Mastering Politics. This time, we’re explaining the meaning of capitalism. What is capitalism? Capitalism is, first and foremost, an ideology. This means that it’s a system of ideas and beliefs about the economy and social aspects of running a […]

When Boris Johnson was announced as the new Prime Minister, there were no prizes for guessing who’d be sent straight into the Home Office. It was always going to be Priti Patel, the loyal BoJo Brexiteer. Priti Patel, born in London to a Ugandan-Indian family, has been in politics for a while now. Originally, she […]

It was announced this morning that Boris Johnson is to be Britain’s next prime minister. Johnson, who was always tipped to win the Conservative leadership race, beat opponent Jeremy Hunt in a ballot of Tory members. During his campaign, he was endorsed by a number of high-profile Conservative MPs, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, Michael Gove and […]

Understanding specific political terms is not an easy task. It doesn’t help when the Internet is full of people with opinions and overly-long sentences trying to explain stuff either. So, Mastering Politics is back and is here to explain socialism. What is socialism? Socialism is an ideology first and foremost, which means it’s a system […]

b**p is looking for brand new and inspired young writers to join our team. If you’re young, looking for journalism experience, or just have something to say – get in touch with us. We can offer you a platform to express yourself and do what you love. At b**p, you can send us opinion pieces, […]

Far-right, anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson has appeared in a video asking US President Donald Trump for political asylum. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was found guilty of contempt of court for the second time last week and now faces jail. The verdict came after the EDL founder live-streamed himself confronting men accused of […]