Too late for GE2017 – but now universities will have to play a role in registering students to vote
It came too late for this general election – but Parliament has passed legislation that will mean that universities will again have to play a role in registering their students to vote. Toby S James, Chris Rennard and Josh Dell explain why this is likely to have a profound effect…
Warning signs for Labour-Data from the British Election Study suggest Conservatives are piling up votes in Labour-held seats
Chris Hanretty notes that there are some warning signs for Labour as data suggests Conservatives are piling up votes in Labour-held seats. On Friday, the British Election Study team released data from the tenth wave of their study, conducted in December of last year. This release, like those that preceded…
The 2017 General Election is “mission impossible for Labour”, says UEA’s Chris Hanretty
Dr Chris Hanretty, a reader at the School of Politics in the University of East Anglia, England, looks at the grim prospects (if polls can be believed) facing Labour, the official opposition, in the upcoming UK general election.
The UEA Student’s TEDx Mental-Health Talk: An Overdose of Apathy
Jack Ashton, a first year student studying Culture, Literature and Politics decided to do something different for “Do Different Week”. He took some classes in Public Speaking. Then he entered our Public Speaking competition (which we organised as part of World Speech Day). It was judged by an expert from…
‘Speech! Speech! : The Campaign Rhetoric of Theresa May
As the country prepares for an unexpected barrage of campaign rhetoric Professor Alan Finlayson analyses Theresa May's opening shot and speculates on what might come next. Theresa May’s surprise speech announcing a General Election, is rhetorically rather clever. She uses language to position herself favorably in the campaign to come.…
From Understanding to Intervention – UEA’s new module in activist campaigning
Rowan Gavin interviews Ben Little about UEA's new Activist Campaigning module. I was recently excited to hear of a new module being run in the Politics department at UEA next academic year entitled ‘Activist Campaigning’. Module convenor Dr Ben Little was good enough to let me interview him about the…
Why a row over military bases on Okinawa spells trouble for US-Japan relations
Ra Mason, University of East Anglia on why a row over military bases on Okinawa spells trouble for US-Japan relations The beautiful subtropical island chain of Okinawa is officially Japan’s 47th prefecture, but it’s also home to thousands of US marines. Many are stationed at Futenma Airbase, which some have…
Do Brexit and Trump show that we’re living in a computer simulation?
Michael Frazer, from the University of East Anglia considers whether the world is just an illusion after all. Recent political events have turned the world upside down. The UK voting for Brexit and the US electing Donald Trump as president were unthinkable 18 months ago. In fact, they’re so extraordinary…
Ofcom should review Sky deal also because it’s a broadband supplier
In December 2016, Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox reached an agreement in principle to buy UK satellite broadcaster Sky. After Fox formally notified the European Commission of its bid on 3 March, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Karen Bradley has said that she is ‘minded to’ refer the deal to…
Exploring religion in Britain today: a new lecture series
Exploring religion in Britain today Free speech, hate speech, faith speech 9 March, 6.30pm, Thomas Paine Study Centre Lecture Theatre Dr Alex Brown, Prof Lee Marsden, Prof Rachel Potter Free speech is a cornerstone of modern democracy, but what happens when an individual's right to free speech impinges on the…