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Empty Shops and the Housing Crisis: a Perspective from the Second World War
By David Cowan Britain lacks enough affordable housing. The problem is clear: too few houses are being built to meet the needs of an ageing population. One estimate suggests that about 300,000 new houses are needed each year, whilst about half of that are actually constructed. With the demand for new housing exceeding availability, renting…
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‘Experience doesn’t pay the bills’: a lesson from medieval England
By Rhiannon Sandy (@RhiannonSandy) A few weeks ago, in my daily perusal of Twitter, I came across a retweet which made me angry enough to write a blogpost. Questioned as to why interns should be paid if they’re ‘getting experience for their résumé’, US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a short video answer – ‘experience doesn’t…
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Levelling, enclosure, and coronavirus
By Max Ashby Holme The law doth punish man or woman That steals the goose from off the common, But lets the greater felon loose That steals the common from the goose. – Excerpt from “The Goose and the Commons” (c. 17th cent.) [1] As lockdown measures in the UK are eased, we must consider…
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What is legitimate political power?
By Zoë Jackson (@ZoeMJackson1) The events of the past few months have foregrounded the issue of political legitimacy in global politics, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom. The US presidential election has featured false claims of mass voter fraud from President Trump and his supporters. The House of Lords recently voted against parts of the UK…
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11. A Knotted Cord
By Nico Bell-Romero (@NicoBellRomero) Receiving a knotted cord – a strand made from yucca leaves – might seem like a strange gift for Christmas, but in August 1680, during their revolt against the Spanish, the Pueblo peoples of present-day Mexico placed great importance on them.
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