The ubiquitous brown envelope stuffed with cash exchanged for favours comes to mind when we think about corruption.  We might think of companies bribing government officials in order to win lucrative contracts.  We might think of bankers being generously rewarded for market rigging.  We might remember occasions where politicians were …

In recent years it has become fashionable for governments to declare war on things that simply cannot be defeated.  First we had the “War on Want” (i.e. poverty).  Then came the “War on Drugs”.  And in 2001 we had the start of the “War on Terror”.  In each case, the …

Victoria Honeyman, University of Leeds In the days of empire, Britain was a force to be reckoned with. Coalitions of the willing were an unnecessary nicety. Britain’s opinion mattered, both in Europe and further afield. The current situation in Syria shows how far Britain has moved from that position. David …

UK Energy Secretary Amber Rudd’s decision to gamble Britain’s future on gas has shocked energy experts and climate campaigners alike.  The decision to replace the UK’s coal-fired power stations with 25 new gas-fired power stations is the latest in a string of environmentally-destructive policies rolled out by the Conservatives since …

Steffen Böhm, University of Essex Even if the world celebrates a Paris climate deal on December 11, the process will still have to be regarded as failure. Let me explain why. The basic reason is that the unequal distribution of carbon emissions is not even on its agenda. The historical …

Scottish independence might be one of the less obvious victims of the US fracking boom if figures included in the UK government’s Autumn Statement prove accurate. In the run up to last year’s independence referendum, much of the economic case for independence revolved around the belief that the Scottish oil …

How do you make money?  If you are in the majority, then you sell your time over and over to the same employer in exchange for wages.  Some of you will be self-employed, which means that you not only have to sell your time but you must also spend additional …

Hardly anyone under 50 can remember the last time the UK had less energy than it needed.  Power cuts in the 1970s, were the result of the dispute between the miners and the Heath government.  And while disruptive, the introduction of the “three-day-week” gave a degree of stability, allowing businesses …

We tend to view events through the personalities of those involved.  Is George Osborne a bumbling economic illiterate or an evil genius?  Is Iain Duncan Smith a scrounger, a sadist or a full-blown psychopath?  Did Labour elect the wrong Miliband? In truth, public personas are more often shaped by events and circumstances.  …

If you are someone who believes that climate change is some kind of liberal conspiracy, you will be delighted by the energy policies being pursued by Britain’s Tory government.  Not only have they decided to abolish the subsidies on wind and solar power (as well as tightening the planning laws to …