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The Conversation

Politics + Society

Keir Starmer standing on top of a submarine with naval officers.

The US has the power to switch off the UK’s nuclear subs – a big problem as Donald Trump becomes an unreliable partner

Becky Alexis-Martin, University of Bradford

Two figures walking through tunnel

The anti-Andrew Tate: how youth workers can counteract the impact of masculinity influencers

Amanda Dylina Morse, Queen's University Belfast

David Blunkett: the world has changed since Liz Truss’s mini budget, so what is Labour still so scared of?

David Blunkett, University of Sheffield

demonstrators protesting against cuts to welfare spending holding signs saying 'care not cuts'
Britons increasingly trust each other – but trust in politicians has slumped since the pandemic

Ben Seyd, University of Kent and James Weinberg, University of Sheffield

Boris Johnson wearing a face mask and waving as he walks outside Number 10
Liz Kendall speaking in the Commons

Cutting welfare goes against Labour’s core values – that’s the point

Tim Bale, Queen Mary University of London

Labour says benefit reforms are a ‘moral mission’ – it looks more like moral panic

James Morrison, University of Stirling

Liz Kendall standing at the dispatch box in the Commons, announcing her reform proposals
Spring statement: defence spending boosted as further disability benefit cuts announced – experts react

Shampa Roy-Mukherjee, University of East London; Jamie Gaskarth, The Open University; Linda Yueh, University of Oxford; Nicky Shaw, University of Leeds; Simon Williams, University of Leeds; Steve Schifferes, City St George's, University of London, and William E. Donald, University of Southampton

Rachel Reeves.
Ten years after the Modern Slavery Act, why has this ‘world-leading’ legislation had so little impact?

Alex Balch, University of Liverpool

View from behind of an employee in a fast food restaurant taking pieces of fried chicken out of a warming oven
The pandemic badly affected young people’s mental health – but also showed what they need now to thrive

Jilly Gibson-Miller, University of Sheffield

Father hugging sad teenage son
Blaming absent dads for the crisis of masculinity is too simplistic – many men want to be more involved

Anna Tarrant, University of Lincoln

Father carrying child on his back
Our research shows the harm the two-child limit on benefits is doing. Only scrapping it can end this

Kate Andersen, University of York and Kitty Stewart, London School of Economics and Political Science

Parents and three children in bed
A woman with her head in her hands, seated at a table in her home

Cuts and caps to benefits have always harmed people, not helped them into work

Ruth Patrick, University of York and Aaron Reeves, London School of Economics and Political Science

An illustration of two people with bullets spewing out of their mouths in.o the other's/

Polarisation: poor countries disagree over the economy, richer countries on social issues – new findings

Francesco Rigoli, City St George's, University of London

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Peter Kyle departs 10 Downing Street carrying a blue folder

Why a journalist could obtain a minister’s ChatGPT prompts – and what it means for transparency

Tom Felle, University of Galway

Keir Starmer’s civil service reforms: what is mission-led government and why is it so hard to achieve?

Patrick Diamond, Queen Mary University of London

Keir Starmer giving a speech.
Britain can still be a bridge between the US and Europe – here’s how Starmer can prove it

Nick Whittaker, University of Sussex

European leaders photographed before an official portrait is taken. Starmer, Macron, Zelensky and Scholz are in the front row.
The paradox of democracy’s success: behavioural science helps explain why we miss autocratic red flags

Ralph Hertwig, Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol

A painting of people watching Mount Vesuvius erupt.
Police struggle to identify the riskiest domestic abuse perpetrators – here’s how they can do better

Barry Godfrey, University of Liverpool and David Gadd, University of Manchester

A police hat, radio and folder sitting on a desk
Parents abused by their children often suffer in silence – specialist therapy is helping them find a voice

Gemma Morgan, Swansea University and Joseph Janes, Swansea University

Black and white photo of woman holding her hand up to the camera
How should Labour and the Tories respond to the populist right? Lessons from Europe

David Jeffery, University of Liverpool

Nigel Farage smiling while walking on a stage, with his name in huge neon letters behind him
The king has a tricky diplomatic role to play in inviting Trump for a state visit

Francesca Jackson, Lancaster University

Trump and the then Prince of Wales inspecting the Guard of Honour during the Ceremonial Welcome at Buckingham Palace
Police in Northern Ireland unlawfully spied on journalists – this is not how covert policing is meant to work

Steve Christopher, De Montfort University

McCaffrey and Birney holding signs reading 'journalism is not a crime' outside the royal courts of justice

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

Listen now
A group of five people holding signs, the biggest of which reads justice for Lucy Letby

Will Lucy Letby get a retrial? Here’s what happens next with her case

Daniel Alge, Brunel University of London

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Most read this week

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.

Editors' picks

Sending nudes but no first kisses: teenagers’ relationships during the pandemic

Emily Setty, University of Surrey

Illustration of hands holding smartphones each with half a heart
How images of knives intended to stop youth knife crime may actually be making things worse

Charlotte Coleman, Sheffield Hallam University and Jess Scott-Lewis, Sheffield Hallam University

View from the street of two teen boys walking and cycling from school in front of a house
Many asylum seekers are persecuted for what they believe in – but what about those who don’t believe?

Lucy Potter, University of Sheffield

Overhead view of a large crowd of Muslim men gathering in a square for prayer, kneeling side by side in rows
Only 6% of gen Z actually favour dictatorship – not half, as some reports would have you believe

Bobby Duffy, King's College London and Paolo Morini, King's College London

An illustration of the outline of people.

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.