Levels of support for the EU
This week saw the launch of a new group Conservatives for Britain which will lobby for withdrawal from the EU if renegotiation does not secure a better relationship. See the website of its key member Steve Baker and a recent podcast from a Bruges Group event featuring John Redwood for further insight. However, a recent […]
Is the electoral system broken?
According to the Electoral Reform Society the UK electoral system is in crisis as the first-past-the-post system does not reflect votes cast. For full results see the Electoral Commission website and the House of Commons Library Briefing.
Quality of Life in the EU
Eurostat has just released a new series of statistics which present a multi-dimensional measure of well-being, considering social as well as economic factors. This follows the development of recent ONS publications to measure UK national well-being. Better Living Index developed by the OECD Social Progress Index from Deloitte which measures social and environmental conditions in […]
Work and pay
Find out how pay compares in different sectors using this quiz from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. For contrast see the Low Pay 2014 report from the Resolution Foundation
Poor UK managers are rewarded with bonuses
According to the National Management Salary Survey from CMI, 45% of under-performing managers received a bonus. The average is over £8,000.
Students, debt and standard of living
The Sutton Trust estimated in 2014 that students graduate with £44,000 debt and this week the Centre for Policy Studies reported that generation Y (born 1980-2000) will have a lower economic standard of living than their parents.
Can social media predict election results?
A recent SSRN paper from Cardiff University developed a model using Twitter and considers how it could be applied to the UK 2015 general election. Compare this with the latest analysis from the Oxford Internet Institute. UK Election Analysis 2015: Media, Voters and the Campaign which contains 73 contributions from UK academics issued just 10 […]
International students aid UK economic growth
According to the latest report from London First, foreign students in London add a total of £2.3 billion to the economy. However many find current immigration rules onerous. This echoes a Universities UK 2014 analysis which also highlighted the positive economic impact. A number of organisations have emphasised that the benefits of foreign students are […]
UK Elections: voter’s regret
Voter’s regret An interesting fact has been the surge in LibDem membership applications since the election. The Conversation discusses the psychology of voter regret. VoteBee is a fascinating app from Loughborough University which aims to extract the emotions in tweets. Find out what voters felt about the parties.
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