Student politics barely matter to most students and really shouldn’t matter to anyone more than two years out of university or college. Anyone who thinks too much about the complex voting system of a student organisation they've long since left is not the kind of person you want to be stuck with at a party.
Read MoreAs I sit down with Kamila Siwinska there is glorious late summer sunshine outside the Teatr Polski in Poznan it is the last day of the Close Strangers festival. Actors nearby are rehearsing lines for their last show while drinking strong black coffee. The theatre is a bustle of activity and preparation for their last show and most ambitious production as well as preparing for their critically acclaimed Hamlet which starts as soon as the festival ends. No rest for Teatr Polski – not sleep nor chance to dream.
Read Moremeet Agata Siwiak in the glamorous downstairs bar and cabaret space at Teatr Polski in Poznan. It is the second day of the festival for which she is the artistic director, The ‘Close Strangers’ festival – which is putting on plays every night for a week either about the Ukrainian experience in Poland or by Ukrainian artists – in their own language and translated into Polish through subtitles.
Read MoreIs Amber Rudd a hero—or villain? There has been a lot of friction recently between FBPE-types who think Rudd is a hero for resigning the Tory whip, and her cabinet job, over Johnson’s extremist behaviour, and those to their left who blame her for a series of wider societal issues—in particular, the Windrush scandal over which she had to resign after misleading the house of commons (what a long time ago that seems).
Read MoreIf you ever got bored of seeing Ed Miliband eat a bacon sandwich, just wait until you see the mileage people get out of this one
Read MoreAs a size 14 I’m the typical shape of an average British woman. In fact, if you walked past me on the street you’d be more likely to notice my frizzy red curls than my figure. Yes, I’m nobody’s idea of skinny, but you wouldn’t think I was fat either - so why do I?
Read MoreThe National Union of Journalists (NUJ) have called for a reversal of changes to the way Companies House list Director’s details. After a recent change, the full date of birth and home address of company directors is no longer listed. This can make it harder to verify who they are – especially for journalists for whom this information can be vital to confirm a story.
Read MoreI used to weigh 25 and a half stone. Thanks to weight loss surgery and the Slimming World programme, I am now around 13 stone – and aiming to make it to 10 and a half.
In my old life, I couldn’t walk 100 metres without crippling back pain. Last month I hiked 25km for charity, and up some pretty steep hills too. I have gone from being morbidly obese to obese. Soon, I hope, I will just be overweight.
And then, one day I will be a healthy weight.
Read MoreMeetings are our most important tool of persuasion. It is through these face-to-face interactions that we are most likely to persuade decision makers. Here we lay out a number of ways to make the most of meetings.
Read MoreRory Stewart’s bid for Conservative leadership, and to be this country’s next prime minister, is causing quite a buzz. Not among his Tory selectorate or among his colleagues in the wider Conservative Party – the Conservative Home website has him backed by only seven of his fellow MPs this morning. And the voting public doesn’t seem to be particularly impressed with him either: a Com Res poll has him only winning 51 seats for the Conservatives, while the leading candidate Boris Johnson is projected to win 395. I think Johnson’s numbers are inflated and Stewart’s depressed by their relative name recognition, but even so that’s not great for someone who wants to be chosen to fight the next general election.
Read MorePolicy makers at all levels know what it’s like to watch a scheme that’s have done well at pilot stage fail to succeed when scaled up. What works for 30 children in Loughborough may not work for 1000 in Lagos. Or even London.
That’s not because the ideas were poor in the first place, or because the pilots themselves were poorly run, but because scale affects projects in different ways and as such needs a different evaluative approach.
Read MoreChange UK’s all-but-demise is hardly unexpected. It was a poorly conceived and inadequately run outfit from the start. Given that it was apparently planned for months in advance, that it was so shambolic throughout its short life was even more telling of the failures of those who ran it. Yet even though I didn’t expect it to succeed, I never expected it to fail that badly, that quickly.
I was never going to vote Change and I would never have suggested anyone else do so. I want a socialist government and I vote for a socialist party. But I want that socialist government to be internationalist in its outlook, and an essential part of that for me is campaigning to keep us in the EU.
Read MoreThere’s no spinning this – these elections were a disaster for Labour. We bled votes almost entirely to Parties who supported Remain and halved our representation in the European Parliament. That’s ten excellent Socialists who will no longer be fighting on the international stage for Labour values.
Read MoreSpending time with a newborn child is usually a privilege and a pleasure for new parents. But it is also one of the most difficult and stressful times of their lives.
Mothers and fathers who take this time away from work to learn and grow with their children generally report that it has made them more confident — better parents and partners. And increasingly equal involvement for both parents is showing huge dividends in homes and workplaces.
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