European Politics – Pertinent Problems

The election, deselection, and Corbyn’s redemption: what’s next for Labour?

With the Conservatives reeling from an election shock and rumours continuing to swirl over Theresa May’s frail premiership, the Labour party comparatively seems to be at ease, a comment that would have provoked laughter only a few months ago. Gaining 30 seats, winning 40% of the national vote, and depriving the Tories of a majority…

The Westminster game has failed. So let’s change the rules.

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…

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…

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…

The Pernicious Tendencies of the Referendum

Hi everyone – I’m Sahil from theforeignmonde.wordpress.com and I’m guest posting today – if you’re interested in the EU and foreign affairs etc. be sure to visit my blog. Hugo Rifkind’s article in the Times a while ago summed up my sentiment on the EU issue in a way – all conversations are bound…

Style, not substance, is the new politics

From Jeremy Corbyn on the left to Donald Trump on the right, from Bernie Sanders in America to Pablo Iglesias in Spain and Marine Le Pen in France, outsider candidates continue to make waves across the western world. And while these politicians are certainly proposing radical (if not always new) ideas, their different policies only…

In defence of Euroscepticism

The last time the public had a vote on our relationship with the rest of Europe was in 1975. At the time this was a vote simply over whether or not we should join a ‘common market’ which is quite difficult to vehemently oppose. However, not only has the EU evolved into a political federation, but no-one…

France is on a slippery slope

I find it very disconcerting that the far-right National Front (FN) has won the first round in France’s regional elections. While the second and third rounds have not yet commenced, the likelihood of the party winning the election appears now to be quite likely unless Francois Hollande’s incumbent Socialists and the Republicans led by former…

Does the House of Lords need reform?

For those of you that haven’t been keeping up with UK politics over the last few days here’s an update on recent events. David Cameron’s announcement to cut tax credits for working families was seen as controversial for two reasons: Firstly, Mr Cameron had definitively promised not to do so in the election campaign last year….

There will be no referendum for the time being

Last year after the Scottish National Party won a surge of seats north of the border, their former leader Alex Salmond bellowed “the Scottish lion has roared this morning across the country”. And yet in a BBC interview after Thursday’s SNP party conference their current leader, and First Minister for Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon announced that…

The Tories have been presented with a unique opportunity

From George Osborne’s peculiar stance to Boris Johnson’s humour laden speech, this week’s Conservative party conference has undoubtedly had many memorable moments. Most importantly, and also most fascinating of all was David Cameron’s speech. One of his passages went as such: And today, that means entering those no-go zones, where politicians often don’t dare to venture….

Immigration arguments for leaving the EU are not credible

Hello readers, I’m Oscar, a friend of Aditya’s and I’ve recently accepted an offer to submit for the website. I’ll be writing similar articles to his, and I look forward to some lively and interesting discussions on politics and current affairs. Below is an article I wrote a while ago about the immigration based arguments…