I believe that the recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) offer immense opportunities for the field of education. The recent developments in artificial intelligence have created a wave of fear-based responses in the education sector. Many schools and policymakers have reacted to the rise of AI by creating software that can detect AI-generated content and...Read More

In September 2022 a new Conservative government led by Liz Truss embarked on a new path for economic policy, ostensibly challenging “Treasury orthodoxy”, leaving aside the fact that they never defined what Treasury orthodoxy was. The initiative did not start well! Chancellor Kwarteng’s statement in the UK parliament on Friday, September 23rd led to a...Read More

Rationale for change and reform: Britain is one of the most centralized democracies in the OECD. Resource allocation decisions are centralized in London, and instructions are handed down ‘vertically’ to the devolved nations and English regions. For over five decades differences in income and wealth between London and the South East on the one hand,...Read More

In 1978, Vaclac Havel wrote an essay, “The Power of the Powerless”. It followed the publication of “Charter 77” in 1977. In the essay Havel attempted to explain his view of what it meant to be a dissident in Czechoslovakia at that time, but the essay also described the nature of the all-pervasive ideology prevalent...Read More

This New Year the UK is entering into an unfamiliar, post-Brexit, hopefully post-pandemic, world, and is facing many challenges. To succeed we need a flourishing economy, and a business sector working closely with the government to strengthen the domestic economy, and international trade. The current Conservative government, however, is disunited and unclear about its recovery...Read More

The unveiling of Japan’s US$490 billion fiscal stimulus package in November coincided with the announcement by the UK Department of International Trade of a new export strategy. This is committed to boosting exports to an annual £1 trillion ($1.35 trillion) by 2030, from the current yearly £600 billion. While the two policy measures were wholly separate events, their...Read More

According to the Economist, “English nationalism is the most disruptive force in British politics” (Bagehot 2021). While in a recent article in the Guardian, Peter Walker cites a report by the  Constitutional Society which concludes that  “an increased concentration of support for the two main parties into defined geographical areas means there was less and...Read More

The UK’s successful rolling out of its vaccination programme, the attendant government and media hype, not least with respect to how our ‘world beating’ science, technology and enterprise culture ‘beat the virus’, should not be allowed to gloss over the UK’s extremely high Covid death rate and the extent to which this reflects the government’s...Read More

The AUKUS (Australia-UK-US) alliance announced on 14 September 2021 will facilitate Australia building at least eight nuclear powered, but not nuclear armed submarines, collaboration and technology sharing on AI, cyber warfare,. With overall closer alignment of regional security policies. While there was no mention of China in the announcement, AUKUS is without doubt the latest...Read More

Since leaving the European Union, the government of the United Kingdom has pivoted toward Southeast Asia and its regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), recognizing it as one of the key dynamic economic regions of the world. The U.K.’s new partnership with ASEAN fosters an environment supportive of increased trade flows, secure...Read More