Newsletters

Politics + Society

View from behind of a woman sitting in the front top row of a bus on a grey day

The UK’s social security system falls way below international human rights standards: new report

Koldo Casla, University of Essex

Nigel Farage holding a lilo.

MRP poll puts Reform ahead of Labour and the Tories – here’s why the finding should be treated with caution

Paul Whiteley, University of Essex

Entrance to a public restroom showing men's and women's toilets

What will the UK Supreme Court gender ruling mean in practice? A legal expert explains

Alexander Maine, City St George's, University of London

Wide angle, black and white photo of a crowd of journalists facing Boris Johnson, speaking at a podium in front of Number 10

New survey shows the extent of class privilege in UK journalism

Imke Henkel, University of Leeds

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 does the UK Supreme Court’s gender ruling mean for trans men?

Daniel Alge, Brunel University of London

View from behind of a crowd of men walking on a busy street
Young UK journalists lean towards activist roles, away from objectivity – new survey

Imke Henkel, University of Leeds

A camera films a young woman sitting at a desk, the woman is speaking directly to the camera but is out of focus
Is backing Welsh independence the same as being a nationalist? Not necessarily

Robin Mann, Bangor University

A Welsh independence march including a woman holding a sign saying "independence now in a minute".
Why Keir Starmer’s psychological profile is different from other prime ministers – and what it means for his dealings with Donald Trump

Consuelo Thiers, University of Edinburgh

Keir Starmer sitting on a sofa, reading papers.
How Brexit hardened attitudes about the Irish border – and why things might be changing

Catriona Shelly, University of Limerick and Orla Muldoon, Queen's University Belfast

A roadside sign in Northern Ireland reading 'No EU frontier in Ireland, no hard border, respect the remain vote, border communities against Brexit'
View from behind of a young boy in a school uniform with a backpack and sports bag walking up some concrete stairs at a train station

What politicians could actually do about the issues raised in Adolescence

Robert Lawson, Birmingham City University

Hypermasculine influencers can be good role models for boys too

Michael Joseph Richardson, Newcastle University

Muscled man lifting weight in gym
Peers elevated to the House of Lords after a career in the House of Commons are often merely being rewarded for loyalty – new study

Stephen Holden Bates, University of Birmingham; Caroline Bhattacharya, University of Helsinki, and William C.R. Horncastle, University of Bedfordshire

Peers sitting in the House of Lords.
Adolescence in schools: TV show’s portrayal of one boyhood may do more harm than good when used as a teaching tool

Sophie King-Hill, University of Birmingham

Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller and Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller in a prison cell
Child sexual exploitation and abuse is a multibillion-dollar industry – new report shows who benefits

Deborah Fry, University of Edinburgh

black and white photo of a young person sticking their hand out towards the camera in a 'stop' gesture
The anti-Andrew Tate: how youth workers can counteract the impact of masculinity influencers

Amanda Dylina Morse, Queen's University Belfast

Two figures walking through tunnel
What parents need to know to talk to their children about the manosphere

Annabel Hoare, Anglia Ruskin University

A man and his teenage son sitting on a couch having a serious conversation, camera is behind the father so only the son's face is visible
How memes spread conspiracy theories – and what to consider before sharing one

Emily Godwin, University of Bath

Close up of a finger scrolling on a mobile phone, cast in a pink light
Why ChatGPT is a uniquely terrible tool for government ministers

Deepak Padmanabhan, Queen's University Belfast and Muiris MacCarthaigh, Queen's University Belfast

Why ChatGPT is a uniquely terrible tool for government ministers
Banning face coverings, expanding facial recognition – how the UK government and police are eroding protest rights

Daragh Murray, Queen Mary University of London and Pete Fussey, University of Southampton

A protester in an Anonymous Guy Fawkes mask
Cutting welfare goes against Labour’s core values – that’s the point

Tim Bale, Queen Mary University of London

Liz Kendall speaking in the Commons
What Britons and Europeans really think about immigration – new analysis

Claire Kumar, ODI Global

Silhouette of a man with a suitcase watching a plane take off at dusk
Boris Johnson wearing a face mask and waving as he walks outside Number 10

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

View from behind of an employee in a fast food restaurant taking pieces of fried chicken out of a warming oven

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

Alex Balch, University of Liverpool

Sign up to our weekly briefing of all the developments in UK politics

Subscribe now
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

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
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
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
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
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.
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
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 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

Start our Glow-up newsletter course at any time

Join the list

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

Read More

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.