By Thomas Lockwood, PhD Researcher in Politics, York St John University
Within just a few hours of being publicly sacked from the shadow cabinet by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, , Robert Jenrick held a press conference to announce he was joining Reform. Badenoch cited “clear, irrefutable evidence” the Jenrick had been plotting to defect to Reform in a maximally damaging way.
In his press conference, Jenrick attacked his former party, painted a bleak view of the state of Britain and declared that Nigel Farage was the…
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By Parveen Akhtar, Senior Lecturer: Politics, History and International Relations, Aston University
Tahir Abbas, Professor of Criminilogy and Global Justice and Director of the Centre for Radicalisation, Inclusion, and Social Equity at Aston University in Birmingham, Aston University
A core function of political parties is to nurture talent and, in some cases, provide a credible path to power for ambitious politicians. In this fraught climate, Reform UK increasingly appears to be an alternative route for those who see no such path via the Conservative party.
Before Robert Jenrick’s sacking (over his own supposed plan to defect), Nadhim Zahawi was the latest, and arguably the most high-profile, Conservative to throw his lot in with…
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By Jack McNamara, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology, University of East London
Your fitness tracker might be telling you that you need 10,000 steps, 30 minutes of cardio or even an hour at the gym every day. But what if you could improve your health in just a few minutes a day? A growing body of research suggests you can.
“Exercise snacks” are brief bursts of vigorous exercise, typically lasting one minute or less, scattered throughout your day. Think climbing a few flights of stairs, doing some squats during a work break or a quick burst of jumping jacks before lunch.
Unlike…
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By Michele Testoni, Professor of International Relations, IE University
A “fundamental disagreement” persists. This was the only concrete outcome of the meeting at the White House between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials on January 14, as each side maintained its original position on Greenland’s sovereignty. The Trump Administration argued that the US has to take direct control of the island, while both Danish and Greenlandic officials firmly rejected the idea.
This was perhaps to be expected. The recently released…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Fires are lit as protesters demonstrate in Tehran, Iran, on January 8, 2026. © 2026 Anonymous via Getty Images Iran’s security forces have carried out mass killings of protesters after nationwide protests escalated on January 8, 2026.The mass killings by Iranian security forces are a stark reminder that rulers who massacre their own people will keep committing atrocities until they are held to account.UN member states should urgently convene a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to put human rights and accountability in Iran front and center of the international…
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By Zulker Naeen
Since the August 2024 political upheaval in Bangladesh, India has restricted most visas for Bangladeshis, weakening people-to-people ties between the two countries and causing broader economic consequences.
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By Marcus Mayers, Visiting Research Fellow, Manchester Metropolitan University
David Bamford, Professor of Operations Management, Manchester Metropolitan University
The UK government says it has learned valuable lessons from the expense, delays and political embarrassment of HS2. And now it has laid out detailed plans for train passengers in northern England who have been so badly “let down” in the past.
Northern Powerhouse Rail will apparently bring new and upgraded routes from east to west of the region, linking Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield and Hull. Major capacity and journey time improvements have been promised.
Away from the actual tracks though, the scheme could come to represent a welcome change in the…
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By David Larkin, Senior Lecturer in Musicology, University of Sydney
Opera Australia’s new production of Turandot has elements of staging and singing to commend – but nothing quite comes up to the level of Young Woo Kim.
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By Hammond Pearce, Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Science & Engineering, UNSW Sydney
Alexandra Vassar, Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW Sydney
Rahat Masood, Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Science & Engineering, UNSW Sydney
From Bondi to Venezuela, Gaza to Ukraine, AI supercharges online misinformation. But understanding exactly how it impacts voters is a challenge.
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By Rory Nathan, Honorary Professor Hydrology and Water Resources, The University of Melbourne
We must get used to the idea such events will become more common as the climate changes, and adapt accordingly.
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