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SubscriptionsSection: Argument
Honestly held opinions and provocative argument based on current events or our recent reports.
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‘Who or What to Blame? Education, Education, Education’
Too many voters are insufficiently informed and reflective to vote other than tribally or self-interestedly in exploitable ways due to failings in how we conceive of ‘education’, writes AC Grayling
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‘We Must Defend Our Democratic Space Before It’s Too Late’
Caroline Slocock – director of think tank Civil Exchange – explores how politicians’ respect for our democratic institutions has shifted since she was the first female private secretary at No. 10 under Margaret Thatcher
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As a Diminished Wagner Regroups, the Greater Threat to the West from Prigozhin’s Troll Farms Remains Unscathed
Putin is quite likely to silence Prigozhin, but he’s equally likely to let him retain control of the notorious St Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency which specialises in influencing foreign elections, writes Brian Latham
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Teaching into the Void: How COVID-19 Broke the Education Sector
The current spate of industrial action is the symptom of a deeper malaise revealed by the pandemic: a Government apathetic to the plight of teachers
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‘The World Burns as Our Dangerous Age of Unreason Fuels the Flames’
The Conservative Party may well be on the wrong side of public opinion – as well as history – when it comes to its lack of commitment to tackling the climate emergency
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‘Unacceptable’ Jewish Chronicle Puts Sham Press Watchdog IPSO on the Spot
A softly-softly approach to the newspaper’s reckless journalism has failed – now the ‘regulator’ has been challenged to make a landmark choice, writes Brian Cathcart
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Starmer’s Real Test is Not the Next Election, But the One After That
Despite the next Government being presented with a task every bit as daunting as in 1945, Chris Painter argues that it will face qualitatively different constraints and challenges.
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Three Sensible, Non-Radical Things Labour Could Do to Reform our News Media
Nothing drastic is required if a new government is to tackle the obvious crisis in the way we get our news, while the benefits of change could be enormous
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‘A Burning World Shows Net Zero is Not Enough’
Current UK Government policy seems aimed at continuing to pollute for as long as we can and then switching it all off at the last minute, writes Charlie Gardner
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‘The Climate Emergency is Too Important to be a Party-Political Battle’
The Co-Leader of the Green Party sets out the importance of maintaining a political consensus on climate change
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The Government’s Blacklisting Policy: ‘My Partial Victory for Freedom and Transparency’
Renowned weapons expert Dan Kaszeta, who was blacklisted by the Government over his tweets, explores why we have not heard the last of the scandal of the Government ‘cancelling’ expert speakers
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Banking Bias: The Glaring Hypocrisy of the Press Over Farage’s Account Closure
There is a stark contrast in the response to the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts account – and bank account closures of progressive organisations in 2015
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Farage and Coutts: It’s Not McCarthyism – It’s Customer Due Diligence
But was the bank’s research into Farage diligent enough? asks Tom Scott.
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Failing Learning Disabled People: The Contradictions of 1945
We should celebrate the birth of the NHS and the welfare state – but also acknowledge it has too often let learning disabled people down in the worst way imaginable, writes Stephen Unwin
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‘We Shouldn’t Be Surprised at China’s Complicity in Russia’s War in Ukraine – the Countries are Joined at the Hip’
The head of MI6 was right when he recently declared that China was ‘absolutely complicit’ in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writes Brian Latham
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‘Labour Must Be Bold on Political Reform Beyond It’s Own Self-Interest if we are to have a Properly Functioning Democracy’
A big problem facing UK politics is that both main political parties see the status quo as in their narrow self-interest, writes former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
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The Conservatives are Not Telling the Truth About their Opposition to London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone
Sadiq Khan has faced relentless flak for the Ultra Low Emissions Zone. But it wasn’t his idea.
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When Will the Government Listen to the Disabled Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority People Worst Hit by COVID?
A new report by a national commission has found that ‘systemic racism embedded in the Government’s responses to the pandemic may have worsened outcomes’
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The Failing ‘Forty New Hospitals’ Programme is a Perfect Illustration of Our Broken Politics
An official report reveals why the Conservative Party is unfit to be in charge of the NHS
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‘The “Independent” Reviews on Race and Ethnic Minorities that Simply Mirror the Conservatives’ Divisive Party Line’
The strategy being employed by the Government seems to be clear: using the veil of impartiality provided by ‘independent’ reviews to legitimise its agenda, Adeeb Ayton argues
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‘While “the Government” is a Thing Political Parties Fight to Own and Control, Real Government Will Remain a Dream’
Governments are run by political parties and for political interests – but they shouldn’t be, argues philosopher AC Grayling
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‘The BBC Presenter Scandal: Every Editor and Reporter who Helped Promote the Sun’s Story Should Feel Shame’
How did they allow a threadbare tale from a totally discredited news source to swamp the airwaves and the news pages, asks Brian Cathcart
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The Twelfth: ‘Celebrating One’s Own Culture Should Not Require the Oppression of Another’s’
Bonfires to mark the day in Northern Ireland are often used not as a symbol of one’s national identity but as a marker of territory, writes Emma deSouza
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‘Cluster Bombs and the Ethics of War Show How Difficult Decisions are Made’
Russia’s use of cluster bombs is leaving Ukraine fighting sub-optimally against a weapon it doesn’t have, writes Brian Latham
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How Britain Can Help Ukraine and Secure Europe: By Extending its Joint Expeditionary Force
As there is no consensus yet to invite Ukraine into NATO, an interim security deal would be guaranteed by including it and Poland in the JEF
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Come Clean, Keir! Did You Really Disparage ‘Tree-Huggers?’
Tree Hugging has a long venerated past of protest and environmental protection. Is the Labour Leader completely ignorant of it?
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Blatant Lies and Subtle Untruths about Russia’s War in Ukraine
What are tankies, vatniks, and ‘useful idiots’, and why do they deride traumatised Ukrainians as warmongers and Nazis?
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The Water Industry is Environmentally Insolvent: So Where is Future Investment Going to Come From?
Polluting privatised water companies have been hollowed out by dividend stripping and reckless borrowing. But there is a way out
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An Empire of Lies: Prigozhin’s Absence Won’t End Russian Meddling in Western Politics
Tyrannies have to act, constantly. Thinking comes later. So Russian disinformation will not end with the demise of one oligarch
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Discrimination in Cricket: Cheat-Chat Cannot be Allowed to Drown-Out Calls for Change
With a damning report finding that racism is entrenched in cricket, Shamik Das explores how it is impossible to separate sport from society and what is required for transformative change
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Hypocrisy and Tribalism: The Dangers of Our ‘So What?’ Political Culture
Renowned weapons expert Dan Kaszeta, who was blacklisted by the Government over his tweets, explores how ‘amoral familism’ has come to penetrate our public life
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The NHS at 75: A Celebration Gate-Crashed by Market Enthusiasts Wanting the Cake Sliced-Up
Today’s landmark anniversary for the NHS has also sparked a wave of party-pooping by those using the occasion to argue for its end as we know it, writes NHS doctor David Oliver
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Shadow Secretaries: The Aftershow Party
Boris Johnson’s regular trips to Ukraine, Liz Truss’ recent visit to Taiwan… Rachel Morris would rather see our former PMs lumber around the Blackpool ballroom or eating reproductive organs in the jungle
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‘A Fully-Elected House of Lords Is Not the Answer to Much-Needed Reform’
Boris Johnson’s controversial appointments to the upper chamber show change is required – but Labour may not be on the right track
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Oil and Gas Firms Profit as the World Burns
With Europe facing a summer of heatwaves, sceptics and deniers are ramping up their dangerous disinformation
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Deep-Sea Mining: A Threat to Wildlife, People and the Planet
Deep-sea mining will mean vast destruction we can’t predict – to produce minerals we don’t need, according to the CEO of the Environmental Justice Foundation
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Sham Press Regulator Bows to Public Pressure and Condemns the Sun over Clarkson’s Attack on Meghan Markle
With complaints about the notorious column on the grounds of harassment, inaccuracy and racial discrimination dismissed by IPSO, this ruling will have no effect on the conduct of the press, writes Brian Cathcart
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‘The Case for PR Rests on Arguments Around Socio-Economic and Political Justice’
Changing the voting system would be a driver of achieving greater equality of income and wealth, argues a Labour peer
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‘I Vote, Therefore I Am’: The Psychology of Belief and Brexit
There remains on both sides of the political divide an entrenched minority whose belief system serves as an extension of their identity
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‘Not a Safe Country’: The Court of Appeal’s Decision in the Rwanda Case
With the Government’s flagship policy in legal disarray, will the Conservative leadership finally stand up for the rule of law or continue stoking their culture wars?
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‘In a World Without Sea Ice, What Next for Nature?’
We can no longer prevent the extinction of many species – but will this provide the wake-up call we need?
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The Lecturers’ Union and the Betrayal of the Intellectuals
Many academics in both Ukraine and the UK are horrified by the Putin-enabling posturing of far-left factions within the UCU
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The Wagner ‘Musicians’ and Circus Tanks
Prigozhin’s mercenary force is not a private military company but a sub-division of the Russian Ministry of Defence. So what is really going on with the short lived mutiny?
