"Bright Blue and its contributors have been tireless in bringing forward new ideas and fresh thinking to the conservative cause."
The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP
Centre Write
Wednesday, 08 March 2017 17:57
Sam Hall: Rebels with a cause
Young people were always the true anti-establishment rebels. Kicking against the authority of their parents. Questioning the norms of earlier generations. Challenging vested interests. But in the era of Brexit and Trump, this has changed. Anti-establishment sentiment is now associated with older, working class voters. Young people, instead, seem to be choosing the status quo options: Remain and Hillary Clinton. So what has happened to the anti-establishment activism of the young? With climate change, young people still reveal their rebellious…
Tuesday, 07 March 2017 14:59
Charlotte Henry: And the winner is… intersectionality
Liberals have long loudly and proudly advocated for diversity. It should probably please us then that during the awards season just gone that the issue was high on the agenda once again. At the Grammys, Adele saw off Beyoncé for some the major awards, including Best Album, with a large number of people citing the controversial and racial issues raised by the latter as one of the reasons she did not triumph. Speaking to CNN.com, Kevin Powell, who is the…
Monday, 06 March 2017 10:04
Elisabeth Laird: Building European Identity in the UK: Is It Too Late?
The most basic classroom lesson on the European Union in Britain usually begins as such: following two World Wars, France wanted to contain Germany’s military power. In the name of creating solidarity between the two countries, France tied Germany’s economy to its own by establishing the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952. With Germany’s market incorporated with France, it would make little economic sense for Germany to wage war against France or any of its other European neighbours again.…
Sunday, 05 March 2017 00:00
James Dobson: Female genital mutilation in the UK
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the ritual removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The abhorrent practice is mostly found in North-West and North-East Africa and parts of the Middle East (such as Yemen and Iraq), and within migrant communities from those countries. In the UK, the practise largely appeared during the 1970s and 1980s following increased immigration from countries in North Africa, in particular. FGM has become a significant policy priority for government in the last…
Friday, 03 March 2017 00:10
Charlotte Smith: America faces a third Red Scare
For the second time in nearly as many weeks, Trump’s administration has been rocked by allegations of fraternisation with Russia. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been caught in a lie by omission, after stating in his swearing-in ceremony that he had not met with Russians. In fact he met with ambassador Kislyak twice during the election. Although Sessions states that he did not lie, as he met with the ambassador in his Senate capacity, rather than as a member of…
Thursday, 02 March 2017 10:45
Robert Flint: London's housing crisis is the country’s opportunity
Time to get real: the Government cannot fix the housing crisis. It is the housing market itself, dilapidated fixer-upper that it is, which will have the last word. But that does not have to be a bad thing. First, the housing market is not one market selling one product: renting is different from buying and buying an investment is different from buying a home. Domestic buyers want somewhere to live, overseas buyers want somewhere to park their cash. London, as…
Wednesday, 01 March 2017 13:18
James Bickerton: Conservatives have a moral duty to stand up to Donald Trump
Liberal democracies are rarely overthrown, but frequently corrupted. Vanquishing a democracy outright is difficult, and is likely to provoke fervent opposition. But you don’t need to end free elections if you can create a playing field so un-level that your opponents are highly unlikely to win. This model has become so common, in states such as Hungary, Poland and Turkey, that it has a name – ‘illiberal democracy’. It’s becoming increasingly clear that President Trump, and some of those around…
Friday, 24 February 2017 17:35
Elisabeth Laird: International Students are more than walking pocketbooks
Several weeks ago, I found myself at an event held at the European Parliament Office in the United Kingdom, cornered by a half-Indian, half-Finnish member of UKIP who was brainstorming different ways I could extend my visa after graduation. It’s an odd time to be an American student in Britain. Born and raised in Washington, D.C. and a product of the American public school system, I have been delighted to undertake a master’s degree in the London School of Economics…
Tuesday, 21 February 2017 13:21
Adam Kearns: What we want from Higher Education
The last year has been a thoroughly challenging one for Britain’s higher education sector. Not only was the very notion of expertise challenged by the Brexit campaign, but the Higher Education and Research Bill is set to enter the statute book, thrusting deep reforms on our institutions. Worse still, International students have been threatened with stricter immigration rules, and applications from this vital group are down. Further compounding an already bleak situation, the latest Research Excellence Framework consultation is seeking…
Wednesday, 15 February 2017 15:51
Charlotte Smith: All the other politicians want to play ball like Trump
Theresa May has finally taken a spanner to the stabilising wheels of her premiership, graduating from a tricycle to a fully- fledged two-wheeler. At present it is a bodged garage job; stable but lacking fine-tuning and a lack of gears. However, the basics are there and if her tool box continues to grow in light of the complexity of dealing with President Trump, who is to say it might not one day resemble a Raleigh. Other bike brands are available.…