The Chemist Warehouse deal is a sideshow: pharmacies are ripe for bigger disruption There’s something curious about the proposed merger between Chemist Warehouse and Sigma Healthcare. The Conversation · Jun 18, 2024
Southern Baptists may have rejected a constitutional amendment opposing female pastors, but that does not mean they are changing their views on women’s leadership in church The recent annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention saw a number of motions related to women. The Conversation asked Susan Shaw, a gender and sexuality studies scholar who studies Southern Baptist women, to explain the votes and other developments in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. The Conversation · Jun 17, 2024
Another election, another round of Nigel Farage hype, with no lessons learned Nigel Farage, a man who has never been elected to the House of Commons despite years of trying, has again been allowed to set the agenda in the UK. The Conversation · Jun 17, 2024
Three ways politicians always promise to raise money without increasing taxes – and why they rarely deliver After weeks of controversy over Labour and Conservative costings – in which each side accused the other of dishonesty – the manifestos show that both parties had wildly exaggerated their rival’s plans. The Conversation · Jun 17, 2024
Three practical ways to address climate anxiety Climate anxiety is becoming more and more widespread. Taking direct positive action can help you cope with your eco-anxiety while helping to address the climate emergency. The Conversation · Jun 17, 2024
Ambitious Tory hopefuls could learn from Lady Macbeth’s fate ahead of leadership battle Grant Shapps is running. The Tory MP has held what seems like every ministerial post possible and is famous in Westminster for his command of spreadsheets and data – in other words, for tracking the views and intentions of his fellow Tory MPs. He is ready for the battle ahead. The Conversation · Jun 17, 2024
Business basics: how do companies pay tax? This article is part of The Conversation’s “Business Basics” series where we ask leading experts to discuss key concepts in business, economics and finance. The Conversation · Jun 17, 2024
Ghana’s economic crisis was caused by government borrowing - the central bank did the best it could: economist Ghana is going through its worst economic crisis in a generation. The past two years have seen record high inflation in the country. Ghana’s central bank (the Bank of Ghana) has been criticised in some quarters for its role in the country’s economic malaise, which has hit the profitability of… The Conversation · Jun 16, 2024
Research nation: Birmingham hosts BISA 2024 “So, this is your first time in the UK and you’ve come to Birmingham? Poor you,” went the conversation on the train. Earwigging from down the carriage, I winced, and I have no connection to the vast conurbation that is often proudly referred to by inhabitants as England’s “second city”.… The Conversation · Jun 14, 2024
Has Reform really overtaken the Tories in the polls? And does that mean it could beat them on July 4? A YouGov poll has put Reform UK ahead of the Conservatives for the first time. After a terrible few weeks of election campaigning, the Tories are on 18% while Reform has edged ahead to 19%. The same poll gave Labour 37% and the Liberal Democrats 14%. The Conversation · Jun 14, 2024
What will Labour actually do in government? Manifesto clues point to a surprisingly radical agenda Since the first polls of the official election campaign came out earlier this month, there has been talk of Labour repeating its 1997 landslide. The Conversation · Jun 14, 2024
Labour pledges to recruit 6,500 new teachers – but research shows the ones we already have need a better deal Labour has promised in its manifesto to recruit 6,500 new teachers. As part of a plan to boost education standards, the party intends to pay for these new teachers, in key subjects and hard-to-staff areas, by ending some tax breaks for private schools. The Conversation · Jun 13, 2024
Scientists can’t agree on how fast the universe is expanding – why this matters so much for our understanding of the cosmos It’s one of the biggest puzzles in cosmology. Why two different methods used to calculate the rate at which the universe is expanding don’t produce the same result. Known as the Hubble tension, the enigma suggests that there could be something wrong with the standard model of cosmology used to… The Conversation · Jun 13, 2024
Sunak and Starmer grilled in election interviews – four key issues assessed by experts We’re at around the midway point of the 2024 election campaign and the two main party leaders have undergone a grilling by Sky News. This was not a head-to-head debate but two separate interviews with Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby, followed by questions from the public. The Conversation · Jun 13, 2024
The Conversation · Jun 12, 2024 Fossil fuel ads work on you too – here’s how If countries cannot keep fossil fuels in the ground then they should at least keep their ads off the air.
The Conversation · Jun 12, 2024 Could Labour’s massive poll lead affect, as well as reflect, how it performs at the election? Three things the evidence tells us The 2024 election is shaping up to be the most opinion-poll-heavy ever in the UK. And when so many polls are flying around, it can start to feel like they are setting the agenda as much as measuring the mood. It is often claimed that being routinely reminded that lots…
The Conversation · Jun 12, 2024 Youth activists are now real agents of change at global climate summits Standing in the middle of the UN climate change conference in Bonn, Germany, a young undergraduate student asks to learn more about the conversations that were shaping the negotiations. She’s attending discussions around the global goal on adaptation, one of the many key themes in these latest climate negotiations.
The Conversation · Jun 12, 2024 Conservative manifesto puts home ownership up top – but ignores housing affordability At the first UK general election debate between the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer, Sunak claimed his government had “delivered 1 million new homes”.
The Conversation · Jun 11, 2024 The Coalition wants to dump our 2030 emissions target, yet somehow hit 2050’s. Behavioural economics has a name for that If you are anything like me, the nearer you get to a deadline, the more desperately you want to postpone it, no matter how much harder that makes things down the track.
The Conversation · Jun 11, 2024 Lib Dem proposals take social care reform seriously – but doubts remain over how they’d pay for it Despite the fact that it is central to so many people’s lives, too often, social care is an afterthought for UK political parties. In the first TV debate of the 2024 general election, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer devoted only 36 seconds to this issue.
The Conversation · Jun 11, 2024 Why spending time and money creating TikToks probably won’t pay off for Labour and Conservatives In a few short years, TikTok has moved from being an app for teens doing dance routines in their bedroom to a key part of political campaigning. Both Labour and the Conservatives are on the app (with 191,000 and 58,000 followers respectively) attempting to win over younger voters.
The Conversation · Jun 11, 2024 How 14 years of Conservative rule has made council bankruptcy commonplace A growing number of councils in England have declared bankruptcy since 2018, most recently Nottingham, Woking, Thurrock and Birmingham. With the situation in the devolved nations of the UK looking similarly precarious, the question of quite what has happened to local government finances in the UK is an urgent one.
The Conversation · Jun 11, 2024 The last ozone-layer damaging chemicals to be phased out are finally falling in the atmosphere Since the 1985 discovery of a hole in the ozone layer countries have agreed and amended treaties to aid its recovery. The most notable of these is the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, which is widely regarded as the most successful environmental agreement ever devised.
The Conversation · Jun 11, 2024 8 fun questions about The Conversation A special quiz to see how familiar you are with what we do here at The Conversation.
The Conversation · Jun 10, 2024 ‘I feel more like a professional gambler’: British farmers reveal their twin struggles with climate change and mental health Climate change has made the UK wetter, and farmers have paid the price.