scholarly journals RELIGION AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Author(s):  
Michael P. Hornsby-Smith

This paper offers a review of religion and politics in the United Kingdom shortly after the Scottish Referendum in September 2014 and the UK General Election in May 2015. It first provides a brief historical outline of the emergence of the four separate parts of the current United Kingdom, their different experiences of Anglo-Saxon and Viking invasions and responses to the Reformation in the fifteenth century after a millennium of Roman Catholicism. It then briefly reviews data from recent censuses and social attitude surveys about religious identities, beliefs and commitment and political party preferences which generally indicate a preference for Conservative Party support by Anglicans and Labour by Roman Catholics. Recent Church of England leaders have suggested that religion is now a major player on the public stage. This is strongly rejected. Firstly, census and survey data point unambiguously to the declining salience of religion and the public’s strong belief that religion is a private and personal matter and that religious leaders should not meddle in politics. Secondly, three examples are given where it is argued that critical interventions by religious leaders in recent years have not led to any serious changes in government policies.

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Clements ◽  
Peter Gries

AbstractThe decline in religious identification and corresponding increase in the unaffiliated has been one of the most important religious changes in the United Kingdom (UK). The emergence of the “religious nones” is the most obvious sign of continuing secularization and the declining social and cultural relevance of religion. Yet while the religiously-unaffiliated often form the plurality — if not sometimes the majority — in many surveys, there has been little scholarly investigation into atheists, agnostics, and others who do not identify with a particular religion. This article uses a 2014 survey of UK adults to examine how those who identify as atheist or agnostic differ from the religiously-affiliated in terms of religiosity, ideology, and policy preferences. Findings reveal secular groups in the UK to be more to the ideological left than the religiously affiliated, and that atheists and agnostics differ from each other and especially the religiously affiliated on public policy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 413-435
Author(s):  
Ewan Sutherland

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the promises of the various political party in the 2019 general election in the United Kingdom (UK) concerning the provision of broadband, especially in remote and rural areas. Design/methodology/approach This is an analysis of the party manifestos, some interviews and speeches involving party leaders. It identified the various commitments, any costs for those and the reasoning given. Findings The UK lags badly on fibre to the premises, both homes and offices. Without analysing the reasons, the two dominant parties proposed to borrow large amounts of money to fund fibre deployment, the Conservative Party without explaining how it would be disbursed. The Labour Party produced a confused proposal to nationalise BT Openreach and probably other operators, without explaining how this transition would work. Nor did they explain why the service was to be free to users. Practical implications The UK political parties need to improve their understanding of broadband and digital policies, including means to simplify the governance of markets. Originality/value This is the first analysis of the broadband commitments of a UK general election and one of the very few analyses of political offers in an election.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 74-84
Author(s):  
O. Skomorohina

The article analyzes the development of populism in the UK. It is found that, in general, the European Union has experienced three «trust crisis» in the EU institutions over the past ten years, which have also had an impact on the emergence of populism in the United Kingdom. The British vote in the brexit referendum in favor of leaving the European Union was an important manifestation of established populist forces in Europe. Using the methods of comparison and case study, the essence and dynamics of the development of populism in the UK are determined, and the degree of influence of populism on modern British domestic policy is determined. The author concludes that the main support for populist politicians comes from people who are «losers from globalization», who are the key electorate of the Conservative party of Great Britain. The current state of development of populist forces in the United Kingdom is based on the appeal of the Conservative party to the key problems of British society: health, climate change, etc. The conclusion about the continuing triumph of populist forces in the UK is based on the victory of the Conservative party in the parliamentary elections in 2019, when the party's leader B. Johnson actively used the populist narrative in the election campaign. The author also concludes that the electorate is shifting away from the populist forces represented by the United Kingdom Independence Party in favor of the Conservative party. This research adds to the previous knowledge about the development of legal populism in the European Union and, in particular, in the UK, and also allows you to form an idea of the role and place of legal populism in modern domestic politics in the UK.


Significance Cameron is gauging his counterparts' positions before presenting his reform agenda at the June 25-26 EU summit. He seeks the other EU states' support for a package of reforms that will enable him to claim that he has secured a better deal for the United Kingdom in the EU, and thus campaign for an 'in' vote in the EU membership referendum he has promised by end-2017. Cameron is seeking to build backing for some reforms that would apply across the EU, rather than only seek special treatment for the United Kingdom. However, some of the reforms he has mooted are unacceptable to many other EU states. Impacts The greatest impact of the reforms that Cameron secures could be on the scale of the split in the Conservative Party over EU membership. Some of Cameron's reforms could bring important changes across the bloc, as well as set precedents for other member states. The UK renegotiation will generate bargaining between member states that will affect their negotiation of other issues.


2011 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Barrett

A new statutory right for Parliament to control the ratification of treaties for the United Kingdom has recently entered into force.1 The topic of ‘Ratification of Treaties’ may have attracted fewer headlines than some others originally proposed for inclusion in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (the CRaG Act),2 but reform in this area succeeded, with cross-party support, and is now in operation.3 These new statutory provisions replace the ‘Ponsonby Rule’ in the UK.


Until 2019, TBE was considered only to be an imported disease to the United Kingdom. In that year, evidence became available that the TBEV is likely circulating in the country1,2 and a first “probable case” of TBE originating in the UK was reported.3 In addition to TBEV, louping ill virus (LIV), a member of the TBEV-serocomplex, is also endemic in parts of the UK. Reports of clinical disease caused by LIV in livestock are mainly from Scotland, parts of North and South West England and Wales.4


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Nooriha Abdullah ◽  
Darinka Asenova ◽  
Stephen J. Bailey

The aim of this paper is to analyse the risk transfer issue in Public Private Partnership/Private Finance Initiative (PPP/PFI) procurement documents in the United Kingdom (UK) and Malaysia. It utilises qualitative research methods using documentation and interviews for data collection. The UK documents (guidelines and contracts) identify the risks related to this form of public procurement of services and makeexplicittheappropriateallocation of those risks between the public and the private sector PPP/PFI partners and so the types of risks each party should bear. However, in Malaysia, such allocation of risks was not mentioned in PPP/PFI guidelines. Hence, a question arises regarding whether risk transfer exists in Malaysian PPP/PFI projects, whether in contracts or by other means. This research question is the rationale for the comparative analysis ofdocumentsand practicesrelatingtorisk transfer in the PPP/PFI procurements in both countries. The results clarify risk-related issues that arise in implementing PPP/PFI procurement in Malaysia, in particular how risk is conceptualised, recognised and allocated (whether explicitly or implicitly), whether or not that allocation is intended to achieve optimum risk transfer, and so the implications forachievement ofvalue for moneyor other such objectivesinPPP/PFI.


2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (48) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  

The Health Protection Agency Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre for England and Wales and others have reported that the number of people living with HIV in the UK has increased


1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 709-715
Author(s):  
M. J. Rouse

This paper covers the approach taken by WRc to the practical application of research results. WRc works on an annual programme of research paid for collectively by the UK water utilities totalling ₤15m. In addition contract research is carried out for government largely on environmental matters and for utilities and others on a confidential basis. The approach to the implementation described here deals with the application of results across the whole of the United Kingdom where there are a large number of users of the results but with varying degrees of interest in any particular topic. The requirement is to inform all of the outcome of the work and then to provide the facility of rapid implementation for those who have an immediate requirement to apply the new knowledge and technology.


Author(s):  
Ros Scott

This chapter explores the history of volunteers in the founding and development of United Kingdom (UK) hospice services. It considers the changing role and influences of volunteering on services at different stages of development. Evidence suggests that voluntary sector hospice and palliative care services are dependent on volunteers for the range and quality of services delivered. Within such services, volunteer trustees carry significant responsibility for the strategic direction of the organiszation. Others are engaged in diverse roles ranging from the direct support of patient and families to public education and fundraising. The scope of these different roles is explored before considering the range of management models and approaches to training. This chapter also considers the direct and indirect impact on volunteering of changing palliative care, societal, political, and legislative contexts. It concludes by exploring how and why the sector is changing in the UK and considering the growing autonomy of volunteers within the sector.


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