Opinion

The Labour Party is facing a potential crisis: its Scottish branch has come out in support against the renewal of Trident, the UK’s nuclear weapons system.  In the rest of the UK the maintaining of the programme is largely supported, although its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is in agreement with Scottish Labour in their opposition.  As the Labour Party shows itself to be more and more fragile upon the news of this revelation, the question on the need of nuclear weapons has undoubtedly reared its ugly head once more. ​Many will argue that in this cyber-orientated, interdependent, post-9/11 world that we inhabit, that nuclear weapons are both costly and obsolete, and that they pose a significant threat to us all; a valid argument indeed.  The scale of destruction that we all know nuclear weapon...

Oh, what a surprise! Britain’s most abominable blabber-mouth has enraged the public yet again with a contentious opinion that even your BNP supporting granny wouldn’t dare vociferate. Of course by the time this article is finished, Katie Hopkins will undoubtedly have vomited out some other revolting drivel which sends fingers wagging her way. (more…)

Most of us online will be familiar with the October 31st/November 1st conundrum. One moment everyone is doing their best Jack Skellington impression and dressing up in their coolest totally-un-scary outfits and as soon as the clock strikes 00:00 the Christmas carols fill the air and everything is on sale. Up until the 2010’s the trend has been pretty low-key, and suddenly I’m walking into a Wilko in August where there is a whole section of Halloween decorations and Christmas decorations side-by-side. From August until December the 23rd, for a quarter of the year, retailers are rubbing their hands together and vying for our hard earned money. And that’s without mentioning the catastrophe that is Black Friday. Am I being too cynical? A little – but arguably this wasn’t a trend we ne...

Hundreds of thousands of refugees have made the difficult journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe this year alone, risking their lives to escape widespread poverty and political unrest in their country. Whilst this global event has been widely publicised in the media, the reality that many refugees suffer from mental illness is recognised much less by the general public. (more…)

When I was going through the UCAS process there were two things that lessened the stress and caused me a bit of relief. The first was the obvious news of knowing that my chosen universities saw me as worthy of an offer. But what was perhaps even more reassuring was finding out that I was eligible for a maintenance grant. Like the majority of people, the weeks and months leading up to university were filled with financial discussions – how much allowance you would get, how you would pay for your accommodation, what your budget should be etc. But for those of us who are from lower-income backgrounds, the worry was all that bit more prevalent. After applying for student finance back in the earlier months, I remember thinking of what my plan B would be, should I receive a lower loan than...

And why the strategy doesn't work. The Prevent Strategy is part of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, and allows for ‘specified authorities’ to fulfil their duty of preventing people being drawn into terrorism or so-called terrorist groups. The definitions of extreme ideology and the institutions attached to them remain vague leaving many who act against or disagree with the government being branded as a threat by this new legislation. This strategy includes stopping people join groups which are described as extreme by the government, whether they are non-violent or otherwise. This shows a lack of willingness to allow for diversity within our country, in terms of political opinion, if it disagrees with the stance of the government or threatens radical change. It shows the gover...