No tracking. No cookies
Subscriptions
SubscriptionsSection: Argument
Honestly held opinions and provocative argument based on current events or our recent reports.
-
How Can We Guard Against the Climate Crisis When Defence is Our Biggest Carbon Emitter?
Iain Overton examines the Ministry of Defence’s carbon footprint, and asks whether plans to boost military spending are compatible with the Government’s net zero targets
-
What a New Polish Textbook Tells Us About Education’s Culture Wars
A bizarre history book is set to be introduced to Poland’s secondary schools – with its reactionary content symbolic of a wider battle for values in global education
-
This Septic Isle
Brexit is compounding, not relieving, the UK’s slurry of economic and environmental problems, says Rachel Morris
-
Boris Johnson’s Malignant Legacy
Paul Connew reflects on the Prime Minister’s long, scandal-ridden rise to the top of British politics
-
The New Mass Movement Rallying Against the Failures of Westminster
Taj Ali reports on the ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign, that is attempting to give a voice to those suffering from the worst excesses of the cost of living crisis
-
Truss’ Attitude to Workers is a Medieval Mindset With a Modern Day Makeover
AV Deggar argues that the Conservative Party’s beliefs about a work-shy population echo a bygone age
-
The Conservative Leadership Contest has Exposed the Big Lie About Brexit
Voters were promised better-funded public services and stronger employment rights after Brexit – Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are now offering us the opposite, reports Adam Bienkov
-
Things Can Only Get Worse: The Dangers of a Truss Premiership
With Boris Johnson’s demise, the true believers of the Brexit revolution have sensed their opportunity, writes Jon Bloomfield
-
A Small Step for Women’s Safety in Policing is Not One Giant Leap
Sascha Lavin reflects on the news that the College of Policing will introduce harsher sanctions for police accused of abusing women
-
The Shock of the Fatwa – What it was Like Back Then
Anthony Barnett remembers the political and social circumstances around the response to Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’
-
Where is Britain’s Liz Cheney?
Alexandra Hall Hall explores the worrying trajectories of the US Republicans and the UK’s Conservative Party
-
Liz Truss’ Claim About Productivity of Workers Outside London is Economically Illiterate
The Conservative frontrunner’s belief that Londoners simply “graft” harder than people outside the capital does not stand up against evidence on regional inequalities, says Sam Bright
-
Liz Truss’ ‘Lazy Brits’ Comments Expose her Own ‘Plastic Patriotism’
A leaked recording of the Tory leadership frontrunner deriding UK workers for lacking “graft” gives the game away about her real views of the British people, reports Adam Bienkov
-
Werleman’s Worldview: The New Age of Political Violence in America
The reaction of Donald Trump, Republican politicians and right-wing commentators to the FBI’s recent raid on the former president’s Florida home signals a crisis for the US, says CJ Werleman
-
How Ukraine’s Southern Offensive Could Lead to the End of the War
Brian Frydenborg looks at the routes open to the Ukrainian Army if they succeed against Russian forces on the Kherson front, leading to an isolated Crimea and pushback in the Donbas
-
The Government’s ‘Jet Zero’ Plan Won’t Reduce Airline Emissions
Thomas Perrett unpicks the proposal to achieve ‘net zero aviation’ by 2050 – and the gap it falls into between rhetoric and reality
-
Salman Rushdie: the Offence Defence is Not Enough
Rushdie has consistently argued that people should not be harmed for the words they write. But, as Graham Williamson points out, this is not the same thing as believing words are harmless.
-
Beware the Charter Cities Conspiracy Theory
Chris Grey explores the various claims around Freeports and Charter Cities – and whether they are an extreme manifestation of a libertarian Brexit
-
Why Rwanda’s Refusal to Let Me Report on its Treatment of Refugees Should be a Warning Call to the UK
Twelve refugees were killed by Rwandan police in 2018 and the country is attempting to shield itself from scrutiny – this should concern us all, writes Iain Overton
-
Russia’s War Addiction
Kyiv-based Paul Niland explores the recurring feature of Vladimir Putin’s 22-year rule
-
Pluralism versus Populism – The Battle Rages On
In his editorial from the August 2022 print edition of Byline Times, Peter Jukes explores the big new political battle shaping the world
-
The Identity Trap: Race, Representation and the Rise of Conservative Diversity
Rishi Sunak is in the running to be Britain’s first prime minister of colour – but the debate around whether this will be a good thing for ethnic minorities has laid bare conflicting ideas about the ‘individual’ and the ‘collective’, writes Hardeep Matharu
-
In the Hands of Sunak and Truss, Freeports are a Threat to Democracy
Richard Murphy argues that freeports may benefit businesses through reduced taxes and regulation, but not employees or the economy of the local area
-
Kenya Elections: Have Social Media Companies Learnt from Past Mistakes?
Harvey Pitt looks at the role social media has played in Kenya’s 2022 election and finds that the social media giants are failing to learn from the errors of the past
-
The ‘Culture War’ Continues to Radicalise on Both Sides of the Atlantic
Sam Bright and Sian Norris track the evolution of pro-Trump, pro-Brexit ideologies in the UK and US
-
Why Wages Should Keep up with Inflation: The Economic Case for Getting a Pay Rise
Economics professors Muhammad Ali Nasir and David Spencer explain why wage hikes do not herald economic disaster
-
Turning the Chapter on the Johnson Years: My Wish List for our Next Prime Minister
Former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall explores how the UK could start rebuilding public trust in its institutions and our democracy following a turbulent few years
-
Truss and Sunak’s Hard-Right Economic Plans Will Only Deepen Cost of Living Crisis
With the UK heading for recession, the two remaining candidates to become Britain’s next Prime Minister are committed to the same failed economic theories that created the current crisis, writes Thomas Perrett
-
There Can Be No Concessions or Negotiations with Vladimir Putin
Kyiv-based Paul Niland explores why recent calls for Ukraine to come to a ‘peaceful compromise’ with Russia – despite its unprovoked invasion of the country continuing – cannot be adhered to
-
Werleman’s Worldview: Nancy Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan will have Little Bearing on China’s Longstanding Imperialist Dreams
China has long determined to use whatever means necessary to attain total dominance over the Western Pacific, writes CJ Werleman
-
Why Boycotting Turkey should be a Feminist Demand
The feminist movement must show sisterhood with the Rojava Women’s Revolution against Turkish repression, argues Rahila Gupta
-
Undiplomatic Dispatches: An Exclusive New Column by Alexandra Hall Hall for Byline Times
Byline Times is thrilled to announce a new column by former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall only in its monthly print edition. Here she explains what readers can expect
-
Warning Signs for Climate Action: The Environmental Records of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss
Neither of the candidates in the running to become the next Prime Minister can back up their rhetoric with actions on the climate emergency
-
Is Johnson’s Plan for the House of Lords the Greatest Attack on British Democracy?
Britain’s parliamentary democracy cannot allow one-party dominance in the way the Prime Minister intends for the upper chamber, says barrister Gareth Roberts
-
A Lack of Oversight in the Tory Leadership Contest Damages Democracy
Rachel Morris responds to our recent reports on how people living abroad can pay to vote in the Conservative leadership contest, and install the next Prime Minister
-
Johnson’s Visit to the Lebedevs: A Dire State Not A ‘Deep State’
There is no such thing as ‘private business’ when you’re Foreign Secretary, writes former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
-
‘Do the Right Thing’: Trump Under Criminal Investigation
After months of public outcry, reports confirm Donald Trump is being investigated by the US Department of Justice for his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election, reports Heidi Siegmund Cuda
-
Content Creating Over Policy Making: The Next Instagram Prime Minister
Sascha Lavin explores how branding beats ideas in the Tory leadership election
-
Truss’ Plans for EU Laws Follow a Pattern of Attacks on Women’s Economic Security
12 years of austerity, a lack of investment in care, and the rising cost of living have harmed women’s economic security – now Truss’ Brexit plans risk continuing that trend, argues Sian Norris
-
A Bridge to Nowhere: Thatcherism Trumps Levelling Up
Despite the warm words of Truss and Sunak, Boris Johnson’s flagship policy is set for the scrapheap, contends Sam Bright
-
Cruel Britannia and the ‘Global Britain’ Fallacy
The rhetoric and the reality of post-Brexit Britain are more distant than ever, notes Rachel Morris
-
High Water Mark? 2012 Was No Utopian Wonderland
10 years after the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, Sian Norris reflects on its position in our cultural imagination
-
Julian Assange’s Extradition: An Open Letter
Iain Overton writes to Jane Hartley, US Ambassador to the UK, after Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder to America
