Policy in Practice

When moving to Brighton three years ago I hoped the political landscape of Green, Labour and Conservative would bear insightful and progressive conversation. The reality has been a mixture of ideological entrenchment and partisan positioning. The Green party and Caroline Lucas - their only Member of Parliament (MP) - are formidable in Brighton and Hove. This local influence and national recognition has not only sustained their only MP throughout many swing elections but locally, the Green's spent 2011-2015 in minority control of Brighton and Hove council. As the voice of the green sector, their contribution is vital to political discourse. I (like most) share many values with the Green party but all too often we differ on the approach to sustainable delivery. In this piece I wanted to explore their ardent support of the diesel scrappage scheme and comment on why deeper policy thinking should always come before protest. The background and consequences of 2009 The 2009 ...

The Brexit debate has given me a new focus on what’s important for Britain, and I believe it’s the local and regional economy. Small and medium business (SME) employs over 50% of the UK workforce but they appear fairly hampered by EU regulation. These concerns have also been expressed by leaders of other EU nations, with one being somewhat comparable to Britain. Poland has one of the largest populations in Europe, almost 40 million. Their population increase mirrors the UK until three years ago where the UK spiked. House prices are rising every year in part fuelled by foreign investment. Supply has been constrained and demand has been stoked by Government programmes. Proportionate to population they have similar numbers of MP’s, with similar statistics of female representation. Both nations share similar GDP growth and income equality ratings. Interest rates are at historic lows in both nations and like Britain, keeping their own currency has meant responsible integration. Lik...

Struck am I at the lack of direction the Home and Communities Agency (HCA) places on communities; it seems best economic value is the direction of play and community cohesion is very much off the agenda. It exists, but only when it’s needed to exemplify a responsibility to communities in a context that already exists, such as the 92 hectares transferred to the Parks Trust in Milton Keynes. But what about cities that are already squashed and face issues of social exclusion such as Bradford or Birmingham; how do the HCA deal with their needs? Best economic use is very much at play here; it is the deciding factor in establishing ‘site value’ and plays a huge part in the redevelopment of the local climate. In Bradford the question of demolishing the landmark Odeon cinema has been raging for a while, Yorkshire Forward (a government QUANGO) purchased the site to redevelop/demolish in 2003 and in 2012 nothing has changed with the HCA now responbile. Campaigns and local efforts hav...

As I listen to members of the Labour party being interviewed during their conference I cannot help but hear echoes of party politics and sound-byte rebuffing of their misjudgements. The Liberal Democrat conference was one of substance, or so it seemed from my perspective, Labour however seem to be enjoying the typical sparring match played out by media savvy politicians who thrive on reminding everyone how evil the Tories really are. But what of polcy? So far all I have heard is vague descriptions and emphatic emptiness; 'things are like this, the current policy can't work, this study says it should be this way; we are going to support their findings!' What about your own findings? Even discussions on crime are riddled with confusion, perhaps there were 7million less crimes but this was a proportionate figure in respect to a national trend established in 1995; and certainly doesn't exemplify Labours commitment to tackling serious and organised crime. It also fai...