Our democratic deficit is deeper than anyone wants to admit. Governments are elected with less than 37% of the vote and just 24% of all registered voters, whilst voter turnout peaks at 66%. Our upper chamber is the largest in Europe, unelected and unrepresentative of the general public. It’s no wonder why we’ve come up…
Owen Smith cannot be the Labour Leader
Is it not better for a country to have two clearly distinct political parties, or is better for one party to attempt to resemble the other in a bid to get elected? Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith are the physical manifestations of these two ideas, with the former having vigorously opposed the Conservative Party for…
What is Obama’s Legacy?
This week’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia was about much more then Hilary Clinton officially becoming the party’s nominee, it was about the passing of the torch from Barack Obama to his former secretary of state. It was about celebrating the successes of Obama’s presidency and highlighting his substantial legacy. He will now attempt to safeguard…
Can Tim Kaine win the game for Hillary?
Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro and Cory Booker are some of the high profile names that were touted as being potential Democratic vice presidential nominees, yet it appears that Hillary Clinton has confounded many by selecting Tim Kaine, a little known Senator from Virginia. While this may be perplexing to many at face value, it’s evident…
Abdul Sattar Edhi – A Tribute
It was a week of mourning for us Pakistanis. I, personally, often remark my disdain for the useless lifestyles and fathomless cruelty that humanity frequently exhibits. But, now and then, even I look upon someone and wonder if perhaps there is more to humanity than I think. The one from whom that thought is more…
The Cruel Circle of Brexit
Several areas of the UK with high percentages of ethnic minorities voted in favour of Brexit. They certainly influenced the vote greatly, but is the result now impacting them more than anyone else? 73% of black voters, 67% of Asian voters and 70% of Muslim voters all supported to remain in the EU. Despite this, as country…
Scandinavia is not a socialist triumph
Sorry, socialists; Scandinavian success isn’t your trump card. While Scandinavia has emerged as one of the world’s leaders in terms of how to run an economy, many advocates of socialism claim that its success is down to large numbers of socialist economic principles. This fanciful perception could not be any more untrue; in fact, the Scandinavian…
Ousting Corbyn won’t solve Labour’s core problems
Though the Labour party is in desperate need of a new leader, its real problem is that since Blair it hasn’t known what it is as a party. For Labour supporters or just anyone left of centre, the current state of the party is enough to make you weep. It has a leader wildly out of…
Theresa May offers nothing new
The whirlwind of events that transpired on Thursday morning will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark on British politics. Boris Johnson, a man who many considered to be heir apparent to the premiership, made the remarkable announcement that he would not run for Prime Minister in the wake of Michael Gove’s announcement that he would, branding…
Editorial: The EU Referendum
Here at Pertinent Problems, we strive to promote free and open debate, and inquiry at the very highest of levels on the global issues that matter. In an EU referendum campaign that has been too close to call, we think it would be helpful to those seeking to gain an understanding of the debate to present…
On Hiatus
As of today, all of us here at Pertinent Problems will be taking a break because of looming exams, and so we will only resume as normal by around mid-June. Aditya, on behalf of the Pertinent Problems team.
Is the ‘Bern’ waning?
Hillary Clinton’s most recent victories in the Democratic primaries have left most analysts resigning Bernie Sanders to an inevitable defeat to the former New York senator for the Democratic nomination. While he plans to run his campaign all the way til the Democratic convention in July, his decision to lay off hundreds of his campaign…
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