Sean Lang, Anglia Ruskin University The death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh marks the end of a chapter not just for the British royal family – but for European monarchy itself. Philip belonged to that cosmopolitan world of interrelated royals that had ruled Europe before the first world […]

It’s grim when you walk around to find cigarette ends flicked on the ground. A late friend of mine was a heavy smoker. Her local authority gave her a pouch type item to put her cigarette ends in and the local authority fined anyone they caught throwing tab ends on […]

Ink Drop/Shutterstock Nick Bearman, UCL In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, everyone should have received either a letter with a 16-digit code or a paper form for the 2021 census. There are lots of great reasons why we should respond to the census, aside from it being a legal requirement. […]

Editorial comment: I do not follow the Royal Family, and nor have I seen this interview. My interest level is pretty low, but I know many people are interested so thought I’d share this academic approach. Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese Laura Clancy, Lancaster University The Sussexes’ interview with Oprah Winfrey is […]

Neil Hall/EPA-EFE Andrew Lee, University of Sheffield; Peter Sivey, University of York, and Zania Stamataki, University of Birmingham UK prime minister Boris Johnson has announced the steps his government will take to end England’s lockdown over the coming months. Lifting restrictions will be split into four stages, with a minimum […]

Michael Ball, University of Reading The UK housing market has been affected by the pandemic, but in ways that were not anticipated at the outset. Initially, forecasters thought that the sharp reduction in economic activity could lead to a housing market crash. That didn’t happen. Parts of the market have […]

Courtyard of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, circa 1670, (Job Adriaenszoon Berckheyde). Wikimedia Edward Thomas Jones, Bangor University and James Bowden, University of Strathclyde Amsterdam has usurped London to become Europe’s biggest hub for trading shares. It is quite a shift for a city that was fifth behind Paris, Frankfurt and […]

From the Government: Tough new enforcement measures – from fixed penalty notices to imprisonment – have been introduced, as the Health and Social Care Secretary set out details of the government’s new quarantine measures. Under the changes announced, from 15 February all arrivals at English ports will be required to undertake […]

From the Government: The UK Government has today (Monday 1 February) signed a deal for a further 40 million doses of Valneva’s promising vaccine candidate. The latest deal will bolster long-term vaccine production in Scotland and brings the total UK vaccine portfolio to 407 million doses over the next two […]

From the Government: A massive public information campaign will run across TV, radio, out of home and on social media from tonight. Everyone in England is being urged to stay at home and “act like you’ve got it” as part of a major advertising campaign encouraging the public to control […]