'Why equality needs no justification'

The Political Quarterly is pleased to invite you to our Annual Lecture:

'Why equality needs no justification' 

A defining characteristic of modernity is meant to be that humans recognise each other as fundamentally equal. That’s a nice thought – but is it true?

In this year’s annual lecture, 'Why equality needs no justification', Professor Anne Phillips will argue that basic ideas of human equality are more fragile that meets the eye. Phillips, who is the Graham Wallas Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics, will also explore the dangers of treating equality as conditional upon supposedly shared human characteristics.

Join us on 6 December 2021 at Bush House, London, for what promises to be a stimulating live debate about the true nature of equality. 

Tickets are free, and covid precautions will be in place at the venue. 

We look forward to seeing you in person again. 

Click here for your free ticket!

'Does Keir Starmer Have a Plan?' Live-stream panel discussion podcast

What, if anything, does Sir Keir Starmer stand for? What kind of party is Starmer's? What has changed within Labour since Corbyn? And in what direction is the party heading today? 

This live streamed panel discussion on 1 September 2021 was hosted by the Political Quarterly, where Christine Berry, Patrick Diamond and Jeremy Gilbert discussed these questions and more. The conversation was chaired by the Political Quarterly’s Special Sections Editor, Anna Killick.

You can listen to the full podcast here and read our special issue ‘Corbynism and Its Aftermath’. 

 Part of a Political Quarterly event series 'Special Issues in Focus' where we explore the questions raised in selected Special Issues of the journal.

Issue 92 2 out now!

 The latest issue of PQ is out now! You can see it here with many articles free to view.

Commentary Rolling Out the Pork Barrel by Deborah Mabbett

Corbynism and its Aftermath: Lewis Bassett and Jeremy Gilbert; Eunice Goes; Steven Fielding; Phil Burton-Cartledge; Jeremy Gilbert; Eric Shaw; Tim Bale; Lewis Bassett and Tom Mills; Jonathan Dean and Bice Maiguashca; Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite; Christine Berry; Patrick Diamond; James Meadway 

Articles: David Judge; Françoise Granoulhac; Will Jennings, Lawrence McKay and Gerry Stoker; Jack Newman; Samuel Warner, David Richards, Diane Coyle and Martin J. Smith; Iain McLean and Scot Peterson; Christopher Massey; Mark Hayhurst

Reports & Surveys: Katy Hayward

Book reviews

Digital campaigning: Regulation and oversight 28 January 2021

 

SEE THE WEBINAR HERE!

How can we make sure elections in the UK are free and fair in the digital age? Unaccountable organisations use information about voters’ private lives to target them with messages. Fake 'bots' sow discord on comment pages. As the recent US election showed, it is harder and harder to police misleading fake news and disinformation. And in a digital age, tracking which party is spending what on campaigning becomes ever more complicated. In this webinar we draw on the expertise of academics, regulators and politicians to evaluate concrete proposals for achievable reform. Whether you are student of politics or interested citizen, this webinar contributes to the important work of trying to find a way to safeguard democracy.

Chair:

Dr Katharine Dommett is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on digital campaigning and the role of technology in democracies. She serves as Special Advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on Democracy and Digital Technologies.

Speakers/panellists:

Professor Helen Margetts OBE FBA. Professor Helen Margetts is Professor of Society and the Internet and Professorial Fellow at Mansfield College. She is also Director of the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence.

Louise Edwards is Director of Regulation at the Electoral Commission, the main body charged with overseeing elections. She has expert knowledge of funding and spending at elections and referendums, registering political parties and enforcement work.

Damian Collins MP. As Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in 2017 he published one of the most authoritative reports on disinformation and fake news to date, making detailed recommendations for reform of electoral campaigning.

SEE THE WEBINAR HERE!

Futures in Crisis: The Politics of Work and Capitalism in a Digital Age (Bristol Festival of Ideas)

The world has faced two major crises in 12 years. The aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis are still being felt and the consequences of COVID-19 for economy and society will be with us for a long time. A series of utopian and dystopian visions of the futures of work and capitalism have sprung up alongside these crises, seeking to make sense of an age defined by technological shifts, populist upheaval, digital authoritarianism and global pandemic.

Following a recent special issue on “Postcapitalism and the Politics of Work”, Political Quarterly joined forces with Bristol Festival of Ideas, University of Bristol’s Thinking Futures programme and the Economic & Social Research Council's Festival of Social Science 2020 to pick through these futures and debate their political implications on both the national and international stage. In the immediate wake of the US presidential election, we were joined by Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham and author of The Dignity of Labour (forthcoming, Polity); Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan and Shadow Foreign Secretary; and Paul Mason, commentator and author of How to Stop Fascism (forthcoming, Penguin). The event was chaired by Frederick Harry Pitts(University of Bristol), academic and author of Value (forthcoming, Polity).

You can catch up on the festival here. 

The Political Quarterly Annual Lecture 2020

 

After Windrush, can the Home Office be Fixed?

This special virtual event took place on 2 November 2020 with 

Amelia Gentleman and David Lammy.

You can see the film here.

The Crick Prize for Best Piece. The winner is...

We are delighted to announce the winner of the Crick Prize for Best Piece for 2019 is Martin Loughlin. His winning article entitled "What Would John Griffith have made of Jonathan Sumption's Reith Lectures" appeared in Volume 90, Issue 4 and you can read the article for free here and see the award given here.


The criteria for the Crick Prize are as follows:

The Orwell test: Was the article written in good, clear English?
The scholarship test: Was its knowledge base sound and well grounded?
The Alzheimer test: Could I remember its contents clearly several days after reading it?
The durability test: Is it likely to be read some years later, or was it just good current comment?
The originality test: Did it have something distinctly new to say?
+
The Crick test: Would Bernard have appreciated it? (that doesn’t mean he would necessarily have agreed with it).

The judges felt all of these criteria were met.