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Politics + Society

Nigel Farage in a wool cap at a farmer's protest smiles and speaks to an LBC reporter

New polling: Reform is winning over Britain’s Christian support

Stuart Fox, University of Exeter

Nigel Farage gestures with his hands while speaking at a podium that reads 'britain is lawless'

Fear of crime is a useful political tool, even if the data doesn’t back it up

Emily Gray, University of Warwick and Stephen Farrall, University of Nottingham

A hand holding up an edition of the Daily Telegraph, featuring a front page story about Elon Musk possibly funding Nigel Farage's Reform UK

Why it matters who owns a newspaper

Steven Barnett, University of Westminster

Black and white photo of a group of miners clashing against a wall of police

What was the Battle of Orgreave, and why has the government launched an inquiry into it?

Steven Daniels, Edge Hill University

At sunset, dozens of people board a small inflatable boat in the water off the coast of France

Channel crossings: life in ‘microcamps’ on the French border, and how they are changing crossing attempts

Sophie Watt, University of Sheffield

A mother, father and baby sharing joyful embrace outdoors

How the UK’s immigration system splits families apart – by design

Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham

BBC Verify largely factchecks international stories – what about UK politics?

Stephen Cushion, Cardiff University and Nathan Ritchie, Loughborough University

Front doors of BBC studios in London
Afghan data leak: how selective state secrecy and cover-ups can harm civilians

Victoria Canning, Lancaster University and Sara de Jong, University of York

An Afghan family boarding an aircraft for evacuation from Kabul in 2021
Automatic voter registration: a huge step forward for democracy – and a chance to bring missing millions into elections

Toby James, University of East Anglia

A union flag and the House of Parliament.

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A young straight couple sitting side by side on a bus, the woman looks confused and is looking away from the man, who is speaking sternly to her

Is today’s political climate making dating harder for young people?

Katherine Twamley, UCL and Jenny van Hooff, Manchester Metropolitan University

Sign on the Ministry of Defence

Why did the government hide a data leak about Afghans working with British forces and why did the courts finally reveal it?

Alexandros Antoniou, University of Essex

Starmer’s suspension of ‘rebel’ MPs risks alienating his party in a way he can’t afford

Tony McNulty, Queen Mary University of London

Keir Starmer speaking at the dispatch box in the House of Commons.
Reform spent just £5.5m on the 2024 election, while Labour’s majority cost £30m – new data

Sam Power, University of Bristol and Katharine Dommett, University of Sheffield

A composite of images of Nigel Farage, Ed Davey, Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak during the 2024 election campaign.
UK to lower voting age to 16 – a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure the future health of British democracy

Andrew Mycock, University of Leeds

A young woman holding a sign list things 16-year-olds can do, such as serve in the army and work, but not voting.

Glow-up course

Woman with pen looking at laptop

How to make a change in your life – and stick to it

Abigail Parrish, University of Sheffield

How to argue without falling out – an expert guide

Jessica Robles, Loughborough University

Two people sat on a sofa after an argument.
Feel like you’re in a funk? Here’s what you can do to get out of it – and how you can prevent it from happening in the future

Jolanta Burke, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

A cartoon man and woman looking worn out and sad.
How to get control of your time

Boróka Bó, University College Dublin and Kamila Kolpashnikova, Western University

Illustration of a young, overwhelmed woman leaning over a massive to-do list

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Class and politics

Nigel Farage speaking.

Nigel Farage, AI and the revolt of the squeezed middle: class politics is about to get messier than ever

Laura Hood, The Conversation

The true class divide in British politics is not which party people choose, but whether they vote at all

Oliver Heath, Royal Holloway University of London and Laura Serra, London School of Economics and Political Science

A row of terraced homes above shops and restaurants.
Class identity: why fancy freebies are a bigger political problem for this Labour government than its Tory predecessors

Vladimir Bortun, University of Oxford

Angela Rayner and Keir Starmer
What does class mean today in Britain? Podcast

Laura Hood, The Conversation

A man on his phone in an alleyway, next to two delivery cyclists taking a break on their phones.
Thatcher, Blair and a brief history of class in British politics – podcast

Laura Hood, The Conversation

Tony and Cherie Blair shake hands of supportes outside Downing Street.
Kemi Badenoch dressed in a McDonald's uniform standing at a chip fryer putting chips in a McDonald's box.

Can Kemi Badenoch claim to have ‘become working class’ while working in McDonald’s – and why would she want to?

Michael Rees, Nottingham Trent University

Boris Johnson stands in front of a blow-up version of himself.

When did class stop predicting who people vote for in Britain? Know Your Place podcast

Laura Hood, The Conversation

Check out our new podcast on class and politics in Britain

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Most read this week

Editors' picks

Tories get ghosted: new study shows dating app users are more likely to swipe right on Reform voters

Stuart J. Turnbull-Dugarte, University of Southampton

Nigel Farage kissing a woman on the cheek.
Hyper-individualistic and focused on worth, the manosphere is a product of neoliberalism

Sophie Lively, Newcastle University

Man in hammock on yacht working on laptop
What I’ve learned from teaching philosophy in prisons

Jim Chamberlain, University of Sheffield

Shadow on a concrete wall of a thinking man statue behind locked bars
What interviews with ordinary Germans living under the Nazis can teach us about our current politics

Melissa Butcher, Royal Holloway University of London

A black and white photo of tourists lying on chairs in the sun while two Nazis pass through the crowd

Cities

A young woman walking alone along a lit path in a park at night

Women are three times as likely as men to feel unsafe in parks – here’s how we can design them better

Anna Barker, University of Leeds; Jennie Gray, University of Leeds, and Vikki Houlden, University of Leeds

Five ways you might already encounter AI in cities (and not realise it)

Noortje Marres, University of Warwick

People walking in a crowd, with blue facial recognition squares over their faces
Thirty-five years since the wall fell, Berlin is divided – over what to do with crumbling communist buildings

Katrin Schreiter, King's College London

A historical photo of people standing and sitting on the Berlin wall as it is about to be torn down.

Women

Why thinking about ageing is so complex when you’re a woman in your 20s today

Nadine Shanahan, University of Liverpool

A young woman closely scrutinising her face in a mirror
Men’s concerns are real but backlash is not inevitable – the new rules guiding feminism

Heejung Chung, King's College London

An illustration of men and women following twisting paths.
The Pelicot rape case revealed not a group of monsters but a culture that enables the abuse of women

Vanita Sundaram, University of York

Gisele Pelicot speaking into microphones with a crowd of supporters behind her.
Why are female politicians more often targeted with violence? New findings confirm depressing suspicions

Gianmarco Daniele, Bocconi University

An illustration of a woman standing with her back to a ball of messy squiggles and lightening bolts, suggesting chaos.