Blogs

The Big Picture's Blog The Big Picture

31st March 2010 - Economy, Mephedrone and the U.K's Relationship with the U.S.

posted 31.03.10 at 5:18pm

This week, the panel will be discussing:

The Budget and the Chancellors' Debate

On Monday night, the prospective Chancellors of the three largest parties met in televised debate. How did they perform, and what (if anything) did they tell us about the future of the British economy?

Mephedrone

The Home Office is moving to ban the 'legal high' Mephedrone following a spate of deaths. But is that appropriate, or the result of a moral panic? What are the implications for the broader U.K. drugs policy?

The "Special Relationship" with the U.S.

The Commons Foreign Affairs committee has said that the term "special relationship" should be dropped as a term to describe diplomacy between the U.K. and the U.S. Is the nature of our relationship with America changing?

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments

24th March 2010 - U.S. Healthcare Reform, Unions and B.A., and Lobbying

posted 24.03.10 at 3:17pm

Today the panel will be covering:

American Healthcare Reform

After much debate, the American healthcare reform bill has finally passed congress and will shortly be signed into law. How significant are the reforms, and do they go far enough?

Unions and BA

The union Unite has begun strikes in protest over cost-cutting plans by BA, despite various negotiation attempts between the two sides. Are the strikes justified? Is there a political aspect to them?

Lobbying

Channel 4 and The Times investigated the practice of lobbying this week and claimed several MPs, some of whom were ex-Ministers, were willing to try to influence policy in exchange for money. This has brought considerable attention to the practice of lobbying, labelled by David Cameron as the next big political scandal. Are the current restrictions on lobbying sufficient?

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

24th February 2010 – Personality in the Election, Mossad, and the Early Release Scheme

posted 22.02.10 at 11:05pm

This week the panel will be covering:

Personality in the Election

Gordon Brown's office has recently been accused of instances of bullying, following the publication of Andrew Rawnsley's book. Earlier, he gave a deliberately non-political interview to Piers Morgan. Can the allegations damage the Labour election campaign, and does personality matter in politics?

Mossad Passport Allegations

Allegations have arisen that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was responsible for the assassination of a senior figure in the Palestinian Hamas movement in Dubai. Further, it has been alleged that the killers were using fake British, Irish, German and French passports. What are the potential international consequences of this, and if the allegations are true what sanctions can or will be imposed?

Early Release Scheme

The government is to phase-out the early release scheme in England and Wales which was designed to deal overcrowding of prisons. The scheme is set to end on 9th April, since the government say that there are now enough spare places in the prison system. Should the scheme have been created in the first place, and should it be ended?

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

17th February 2010 - MI5, Afghanistan, and Greece

posted 16.02.10 at 1:41am

This week the panel will be covering:

MI5 and Binyam Mohamed

MI5 has denied accusations of a cover-up after claims were made that it misled MPs over the treatment of former detainee Binyam Mohamed. Judges released a summary of what MI5 had known about his treatment based on documents secretly shared with London by Washington. Should the summary have been released, or is it damaging to the war on terror? More broadly, is torture justifiable in extreme circumstances for the purposes of interrogation?

Afghanistan

Nato and Afghan forces have begun a major operation in Afghanistan to clear out the Taliban from large areas. Can the assault be effective, and was it wise to forewarn that the operation was going to take place?

Greece

Greece is seeking a financial rescue package from the eurozone in order to reduce its public deficit, and is now considering substantial cost-cutting proposals. Should other countries help-out, and if so how will other countries be affected?

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments

10th February 2010 - Electoral Reform, the Pope and the Equality Bill, and BAE Systems

posted 12.02.10 at 11:53pm

This week the panel discussed

Electoral Reform

Gordon Brown has announced his support for electoral reform as part of an effort to clean-up politics. Can reform achieve this aim, and is it necessary?

The Pope and the Equality Bill

The Pope has criticised the Equality Bill for potentially forcing the Catholic church to employ women and homosexuals and encouraged Bishops to campaign against it with "missionary zeal". Was the Pope justified in making his comments?

BAE Systems

BAE Systems have pleaded guilty to conspiring to mislead U.S. officials investigating the company. Should BAE still have a full trial, and how does this affect the university's relationship with the firm?

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments