Showing papers in "The Political Quarterly in 2006"

The CARMA Report: Western Media Coverage of Humanitarian Disasters

Abstract: This 17-page article shares CARMA International research examining western media coverage of 6 humanitarian disasters: the earthquake in Pakistani Kashmir (October 8 2005), Hurricane Stanley (October 1 2005), Hurricane Katrina (August 23 2005), the Indian Ocean earthquake/Tsunami (December 26 2004), the earthquake in Bam, Iran (December 26 2003), and the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan (since February 2003) The purpose was to ascertain what factors drive western media interest by investigating the relationship between media coverage and national interest to gain a sense of the cultural and economic tenor of relationships between the disaster region and those nations writing about it

Nuclear Futures: Assessing Public Attitudes to New Nuclear Power

Abstract: The nuclear debate has become once again a ‘live’ policy issue in UK national politics, with far-reaching implications for a diverse range of stakeholders. There is now a new policy rationale for the consideration of new-build nuclear power in the context of climate change and a low carbon economy. In a rapidly evolving public policy context there is a strategic need for a clearer picture of public and community perceptions of nuclear power and wider community issues, and for examining whether such insight can be integrated into policy and decision-making processes. The paper explores the state of public and community perceptions of nuclear power in Britain, at several levels, assessing potential factors likely to govern future responses to nuclear power.

Leaps of Faith in the Obesity Debate: a Cautionary Note for Policy Note for Policy‐makers

Abstract: The obesity epidemic has become an issue of major public concern in recent years, with dire predictions of its impact on public health budgets and the long-term health of populations in the developed world. Governments are being urged to act to improve our eating habits and make us more active. Policy proposals range from education campaigns to banning junk food advertising to more extreme measures such as ‘fat taxes’. Although the debate has included discussion of public policy solutions to the problem, there has been little input from public policy specialists. This article explores some of the leaps of faith that are currently being made in the obesity debate and suggests that policy-makers need to be cautious about how they respond to calls for action. It is suggested that public policy research may provide some useful frameworks for considering the nature of the problem and assessing possible solutions.

From the Cycle of Deprivation to Social Exclusion: Five Continues

Abstract: One important aspect of Tony Blair's speech on social exclusion, given to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in York on 5 September 2006, has been ignored-that its content was prefigured by Sir Keith Joseph, in his famous ‘cycle of deprivation’ speech, on 29 June 1972. This article seeks to explore these continuities over the past thirty-four years, tracing similarities and differences between the two speeches. Moreover, it also reflects on the earlier Joseph speech and subsequent Research Programme, to see where government policies on social exclusion might lead. The article argues that while earlier writers have acknowledged the intellectual debt that New Labour owes to Joseph, and noted similarities between current policy approaches to child poverty and earlier debates about transmitted deprivation, recent moves on social exclusion mean that these continuities are now more striking than ever before.

Devolution's Unfinished Business

Abstract: Devolution was a response to a decline in legitimacy in the territorial politics of the UK. To differing extents and in different ways, there was a legitimacy gap in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This has largely been restored in the non-English parts of the UK but has created new problems of legitimacy in England. The West Lothian Question and territorial finance are the unfinished business of devolution. Using Beetham's classic work on The Legitimation of Power, this article argues that the situation today in England resembles that which existed before devolution in the non-English parts of the UK: there is nothing illegal in the current constitutional arrangements; but there are constitutional anomalies and inconsistencies, which may lead to a withdrawal of consent.

PR Man? Cameron's Conservatives and the Symbolic Politics of Electoral Reform

Abstract: Even before David Cameron took the Conservative conference, the Conservative media and eventually the Conservative party by storm, there were clear indications that many high-profile Tories recognised something of the nature and the magnitude of the challenge confronting them. None more so, of course, than the eventual winner. His crushing victory may have owed something to his telegeneity, but also had a lot to do with the credibility of his commitment to 'modernisation' and 'change'.

You can’t always get what you want: populism and the power inquiry

Abstract: The Power Report was published in the spring of 2006 as 'an independent inquiry into Britain's democracy', funded by Joseph Rowntree and carried out by a Commission headed up by Helena Kennedy, QC. The Report is essentially a reaction to what its authors believe is a crisis in British governance. At the heart of this crisis, it suggests, lies a sclerotic system which has failed to keep pace with social change and which is run by elites disconnected from rhose they are supposed to serve, many of whom are therefore turning away from conventional politics altogether. It attempts to be evidence based, even-handed and, above all, accessible. We believe, however, that it is fundamentally flawed. The Report overdoes the seriousness of the symptoms that so concern it. It underplays important elements in its diagnosis. And many of its suggested cures - even those which do seem to follow from that diagnosis - are unconvincing and highly problematic.