A critique of net zero
23 February 2022Ed Hoskins has produced another insightful summary of net-zero arguments and how they have been criticised.
The Blog
What are we to make of the Law Commission’s proposals on hate crime?
24 January 2022The House of Lords vote to make misogyny a hate crime The House of Lords recently voted to make ‘misogyny a hate crime’. This would entail two things: (1) that police record ‘crimes motivated by hostility towards the victim’s sex or gender’, and (2) require courts to treat such hostility as an ‘aggravating factor’, meaning… [Read More]
‘Non-Crime Hate Incidents’: Is the impartiality of the police undermined by identity politics?
23 December 2021The Court of Appeal has ruled that the definition of a ‘hate incident’ in police guidelines is unlawful. Moreover, the police practice of recording non-crime hate incidents was ‘plainly an interference with free speech’. These non-crimes are disclosed when employers make ‘enhanced’ checks on the suitability of individuals to work with young or vulnerable people.… [Read More]
New Civitas CEO From January 1st 2022
6 October 2021On 1st January 2022 Jim McConalogue (currently the editorial director) will become the chief executive of Civitas. The current CEO, David Green, will become a trustee and continue to be actively involved in guiding the research and publications programme.
The new planners
21 September 2021The Arts Council cannot ignore its responsibility for the fiasco surrounding the English Touring Opera The English Touring Opera’s recent decision to, in effect, sack half its orchestra in favour of ‘prioritised increased diversity’ has rightly been condemned. What this entailed was not renewing the contracts of 14 white musicians, many of whom have been… [Read More]
Civitas, Chief Executive Officer
8 July 2021WE’RE HIRING! We have a vacancy for Chief Executive Officer. Click here for the job description + details on how to apply.
Tim Ambler: How Government Housing Plans Can Succeed
22 June 2021A guest post by Tim Ambler Views may differ on how many additional houses we need, and where they should be, but almost everyone agrees that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) should make its mind up and get on with it, and that planning should be streamlined and speeded up. The… [Read More]
A Proper Level-Up
16 May 202140 YEARS OF POSITIVE CHANGE IN TYNE AND WEAR: A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE AND INVEST – BUT A “LEVEL UP” STILL REQUIRED Much has changed in Tyne and Wear in the last 40 years. The region had been badly affected by the collapse of the coal, shipbuilding and iron and steel/heavy industries which had… [Read More]
Tim Ambler: What is Parliament for?
16 April 2021A guest post by Tim Ambler Parliament passes and revises legislation, of course, but it also should give teeth to democracy by holding government to account. Ministers make decisions but they are shielded from the public by their civil servants. Anyone who has written to a government minister, and been lucky enough to get a… [Read More]
President Biden and Identity Politics
29 January 2021President Biden’s inaugural address used the word unity a dozen times but his first actions as President did not match the rhetoric. Among the batch of Executive Orders he signed that day, one was inspired by the exact opposite of national unity. It signalled that he is a fully-signed up member of the divisive identity-politics… [Read More]