A team of celebrity academics, led by philosopher AC Grayling, are launching a new British private university, charging 18k per year. Far from its stated aim of helping save the humanities, the NCH will accelerate the move in the UK towards an educational culture of elites serving the elite
Our universities are under attack, with the Coalition determined to throw them to the mercy of the market. Support is growing for a Manifesto for Higher Education that sets out demands on universities and the government, but will it reignite the student movement?
As Scotland faces the prospect of a vote on independence, the Festival of Britain 2011 is underway in central London. Designed to celebrate the anniversary of the 1951 exhibition and capture the spirit of modern Britain, the festival instead reveals a Union in crisis and denial
The English no longer know who they are. The Scottish do. Labour must learn from the Scots in rediscovering an optimistic Englishness that embraces the future with confidence
The success of the SNP on 5 May has triggered bad tempered and pained responses south of the border and a sense of loss at even the thought of Britain breaking up. England deserves better, can the Scots help?
As the figurehead of 'Blue Labour', Maurice Glasman is being hailed as an intellectual guru for the Labour Party. In this Friday Essay, Alan Finlayson engages with Glasman's vision of the common good
Scottish independence has long been a political fantasy. Before the elections, the SNP allowed for conflicting visions of an independent future. Now, whatever the referendum result, we must listen and engage with each-other's hopes for Scotland
How should we talk about Scotland and the coming referendum on independence? A non-partisan debate is needed that includes all the nations, acknowledges the English question, and exists outside of the Westminster circle. But how will this be achieved?
Professor Wendy Savage argues that the pause in the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, which claims to reform the NHS, is just a cynical PR exercise — but citizens should exploit it and act now to save the NHS
