Politics

By Samuel Fawcett Voter turnout will be a hot topic in the run up to the General Election in May 2015. Disillusionment seems to be the word of the day amongst the politically active in the UK and with public figures such as Russell Brand championing revolution through political inaction, it's clear that something must be done to re-engage the electorate. In his first vlog for The London Economic, Samuel Fawcett discusses whether a Democracy Day could help prompt more people turn...

Vlog from Ellis Palmer  Ellis Palmer's new vlog on Spanish politics for The London Economic this week focuses on the latest insurrectionary force in Spanish politics, the Podemos or 'We Can' party. In this edition of the vlog, he analyses: 1) Who Podemos are? 2) How they came about? 3) The different explanations behind their rise to prominence. 4) What effect they will have on on the future of Spanish politics? He'll be back next week, with an analysis of...

By Philip Benton @paolobento Edward Snowden and his revelations about the NSA’s surveillance activities were one of (if not the) stories of 2013. The first meeting in Snowden’s Hong Kong hotel room with The Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald was documented by filmmaker Laura Poitras, which provides the main backdrop for the film. The title ‘Citizenfour’ comes from the username chosen by Snowden to contact Poitras when he raises his initial concerns over what he perceives as the US government spying on...

By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic  Wealth in a capitalist economy knows no bounds. Nor does inequality, which is why when you hear the top one per cent of earners will pay almost third of all income tax you think, well so they should. It’s one of those things you assume to be an axiomatic component of a fair society. Your contributions in tax should be proportional to what you earn, which means that those who are lucky...

By Callum Hunter of Write it Quick  Homosexuality is inconsistent with African values - it threatens children, endangers society and destroys the family. This is what we were told back in 2009 by the MP David Bahati – the author of the Anti-Homosexuality Act. It’s what we continue to be told by many prominent Ugandan lawmakers and religious leaders as a new wave of LGBTI persecution spreads throughout Uganda. Indeed, following the introduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, sexual minorities inside and outside of...

By Nicholas Figgis The world of politics can be confusing. Fortunately we have liberal media commentators to make sense of things. In his recent piece on the 'Green Surge' John Rentoul of The Independent on Sunday points out that, despite relatively low media coverage, the Green Party has recently experienced an unprecedented boost in opinion polls and membership which shows no sign of abating. Could it be that people like their ideas? Have we become distrustful of the three cheeks...

By J T Coombes    www.globalmagnacarta.com    @GMagnaCarta Many years ago I had a bank manager as a next door neighbour. He was a lovely man, a bit like Captain Mainwaring in Dad’s Army, who cared about people but without the pomposity. After he retired we began to see the closure of bank branches and the centralisation of banking services. When I asked his view on these changes he said that we were now witnessing the end of banking in...

By Pieter Cranenbroek Last month, protesters against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) carried a Trojan Horse onto a square in Amsterdam. The horse was not nearly as big as the original one that, according to myth, marked the fall of Troy, but its message was clear: the trade deal that is currently being negotiated between the EU and the US is trouble. The public should be allowed to inspect this 'gift' lest it turns out to be a...

(Krishna Athal has received various leadership initiative awards from national and international bodies. Former chairman of the National Youth Council of Mauritius, he authored the 'Ramrajya: An Enigmatic Leader's Rise to Power' book and is currently an executive member of MSM political party. He can be found on Twitter at @athalkrishna.) Mauritius: an island characterised by endless sandy beaches, azure-coloured lagoons and swelteringly appealing sunny days, the revered land of the three s’s: sun, sand and sea. To the outsider,...