The vaccine rollout has begun. With a third Covid vaccine added to our armoury and over 1,100,000 vaccinated as of the 7th January, we are catching glimpses of normality over the horizon. But as vaccination efforts shift towards the less vulnerable, we could soon begin to see the uptake statistics plunge. If complacent or less-vulnerable […]Read More
Smart cities present a sustainable way to rebuild after coronavirus Read More
Last week, I watched President Bill Clinton’s speech in Londonderry in 1995 for the first time. In 2020, the bittersweet words of Clinton and John Hume, words of peace, unity, and shared humanity, seemed to come from another planet. It is nauseating that Boris Johnson’s government has chosen to endanger this hard won peace for […]Read More
Throwing a dead cat onto the table in any situation is bound to cause much attention and disgust. Even at the most serious of times, when the world seems to be plummeting into despair, chucking a dead cat on the table can ensure, even momentarily, that attention will be diverted. For Boris Johnson, it is […]Read More
The government has confirmed indoor theatre performances can go ahead from today, as long as social distancing is adhered to. Although the news comes later than planned, the return of indoor performances is stage four of the Culture Secretary’s plan. As we continue to move through the phased theatre reopening, Boris Johnson has said the […]Read More
After only one year in office, Boris Johnson feels under no pressure to hide his complete contempt for the British people by openly rewarding anyone who has done him a favour. How else can you justify a list of peerage nominations that include: his chief strategist, owner of two major newspapers, countless pro-Brexit politicians, and […]Read More
I’m not sure whether it comes from a place of abject stupidity or performative bureaucracy, but Boris Johnson, even by his own standards, has really reached a new low. His new ‘Obesity Strategy’ to combat COVID-19 is a ridiculous mess that is at best just pointless, authoritarian government intervention and at worst damaging to the […]Read More
Keir Starmer’s First 100 Days: Things Can (And Did) Only Get Better For anyone who is aware of the Labour Party’s campaigning strategies, you will be no stranger to the words above. The infamous D:Rream lyrics were used during Tony Blair’s successful 1997 general election campaign, and continue to be referenced in relation to centre-left […]Read More
Will introducing the rule making face coverings mandatory in public save the UK from COVID-19? The short answer is, no, of course it won’t ‘save us’, because the issue is much more complex and multi-layered than that. In the initial stages of the pandemic we were told that if we washed our hands frequently, we […]Read More
Yesterday, the UK government revealed that a support package of £1.57 billion has been planned to fund the arts, culture and heritage industries to help them “weather the impact of the Coronavirus”. Emergency loans and grants will be given to theatres, museums, galleries, music venues, independent cinemas and heritage sites across the UK, in a […]Read More
On 25th June, Boris Johnson announced that England would see the effective ‘end’ of lockdown. From 4th July, pubs will be open, hairdressers will be open and the previous 2 meter social distancing rule will be replaced with what is tentatively called the ‘1 meter plus’ rule. As a response to the news, it seemed […]Read More
Last December, a gang of thugs waltzed into No.10 under the cover of an Orwellian mist. They had spoken the right words in convenient soundbites, said yes to the right interviews and crucially, no to others. The victorious party is now run by ‘Dom’ who’s groomed himself into the ominous Machiavellian villain lurking in the […]Read More
The latest release from Sleaford Mods stands as a voice for independent music in a sea of chaos. Released on Rough Trade Records, All That Glue spans across the entire 7-year career of electronic punks Sleaford Mods. The collection containing both known and unknown songs delves into the depths of political anger, frustration, poverty, honesty, […]Read More
Boris Johnson had what alcoholics call a ‘moment of clarity’ whilst on his sickbed, announcing, “there is such a thing as society”; a superficial contradiction of Thatcherism. Where Thatcher may have little in common, rhetorically speaking, with Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, the outcome of her policies illustrates some similarity. The Russian-American author’s novels, The […]Read More
As Keir Starmer writes, “the Prime Minister’s statement raises more questions than it answers.” Though frequently ambiguous, the thirteen-minute address yesterday evening is an important step towards asking how we tackle vital underfunding and a lack of support for ‘non-essential’ workers. Palpable solutions, however, are still few and far between. The main takeaway from yesterday’s […]Read More
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