The state of, and solutions to, Britain’s social housing crisis | Adam James Pollock
An increase in the number of council houses and other social housing is a positive thing towards which the government must aspire, it would furthermore simply not be enough to neglect quality in favour of quantity. Where we live, not just our home, but our street, our neighbourly community, affects everyone around us, having a fundamental impact on the quality of life of everyone whom it comes into first-, second-, and even beyond third-hand contact with.
Imperiled UK prisons require conservative reform | Dan Mikhaylov
For us, prison reform does not constitute a mere economic necessity, motivated by the need to end the squandering of the taxpayers’ money on programmes that neither contribute to the delinquents’ rehabilitation, nor ensure our own security upon their release. Conversely, we advocate for it from the perspective of the common weal: it presupposes a system that simultaneously uproots those who endanger order and tranquillity, and improves and educates wrongdoers. Our system must be undergirded by the Christian principle of forgiveness.
British security in a heating world | Dominic Lawson
The global economic system relies upon an edifice of interconnected networks which are extremely fragile in the face of exogenous shocks, or ‘black swans.’ Any successful British security policy needs to take account of, and fully recognise, how dependent we have become on the various nodes within this greater system along with the dangers this represents. Serious, potentially severe challenges lay ahead for states in the coming decades and Britain’s shall be no exception.
Eastern Europe in British Grand Strategy | Dominic Lawson
A strong and militarily integrated Eastern bloc within the wider NATO apparatus promises to be a capable partner for the British military. The Enhanced Forward Presence already plays a large role in the training of the armies of the region and could be expanded and integrated into the command structure. The grand goal would be a Europe which is buttressed by an integrated Eastern coalition on one end and an independent and militarily capable United Kingdom on the other, all with the support of distant Washington.
Reintroduce the grammar schools: with a few small alterations | Alex Brown
The main selling point of grammar schools is that they promote social mobility and this is certainly true. Evidence from the Education Policy Institute suggests that disadvantaged students who did not attend grammar school in areas of selection achieved 1.2 grades lower than their grammar school-attending counter-parts. This is clear empirical proof of the success of grammar schools at a younger age in terms of education. But looking further to later life in terms of earnings one study has suggested that grammar schools absolutely benefit the earnings of those who attend them, using the lives of students from the 1950’s and later as evidence.
How China uses globalisation as a weapon | Dominic Lawson
It may seem obvious that allowing a ruthless military regime to have dominance of the globe’s most vital goods (including, ironically, the world’s medical supplies) is dangerous. But very often, people require disaster to wake them from their complacency. For too long, economic globalism has been treated like a fact of nature. Instead, we must remember that it is ideology and like all ideologies it can be expunged. Because if it isn’t, we risk this current crisis becoming nothing more than a speed bump in the building of a world ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.
London: what went wrong | Tom Colsy
England’s capital is far from a Hellish dystopia. It is, however, a city that chose the vulgar over the beautiful for economic benefit, spat on its rich array of national tradition and culture, and is day-by-day less representative of the country it represents - in character, culture, architecture, or population. It is for the most part, as Benjamin Disraeli would say, a place of modern ‘aggregation’. A shell of a city. A warm and welcome home for no one, but a mere stopping point for the temporary collection of workers and international capital- with increasingly little underneath. London has chosen its path.
Pornography is a public health crisis | Jack Hadfield
We have to address the widespread sexualisation of society that pushes young women and girls towards those who want to exploit them for quick cash. A society that celebrates “sex-workers” and praises sleeping around is not going to be one that sees pornography for what it is. We cannot ignore the cultural roots behind the problem, but they are far harder to fix. Only by returning to a society that values far more than simple hedonistic pleasures will we ever be truly able to end the pornography epidemic once and for all.
More rights but less happiness: is now really the best time to be a woman? | Nelly Huszcza
While correlation doesn’t necessarily imply causation, married women have been proven to be generally happier than single women statistically. According to a report from the National Marriage Project, 47% of married women describe themselves as “highly satisfied”, as opposed to only 33% of single women. The same organisation also found that married couples enjoy better mental and physical health than singles.