Ousting Keir Starmer is harder than it looks – party rules mean he can choose to keep fighting
Between 2016 and 2024 the UK saw four changes of prime minister by way of a party leadership contest. In that time, even casual observers became familiar with the dramatic process that the Conservative Party uses to topple one leader and select another. Secret letters to the 1922 Committee, the dramatic confidence votes, and then […]
Conserving 30% of the planet will only succeed if people are part of the plan
Masai herders in Kenya. JWCohen/Shutterstock What do you see when you imagine a conservation area? Perhaps a remote rainforest, a towering mountain range or a coral reef teeming with life. But do you expect to see any people? It would be understandable if you answered no. Most media coverage of nature ignores people. Many protected […]
Andy Burnham’s big challenge: the route to succeeding Starmer is littered with obstacles
The polls indicate that of all the candidates vying to succeed Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the most popular is Andy Burnham. But before the current mayor of Greater Manchester can even throw his hat into the ring, there are a series of hurdles he has to overcome. For a start, a leadership contender has to […]
Amazon is making drone deliveries in the UK – here’s why nimbyism could hamper a wider rollout
Amazon’s MK30 drone is now being used to deliver packages in Darlington, County Durham. Photograph: Amazon Prime Air There is a new buzz around Darlington: the sound of delivery drones. This northern English town is now the only place outside the US where retail giant Amazon offers airborne delivery to people’s homes via its Prime […]
The Welsh Conservatives survived the Senedd election – now they must decide what they stand for
The 2026 Senedd (Welsh parliament) election has transformed Welsh politics. Much of the attention has focused on the rise of Plaid Cymru and Reform UK, and on Welsh Labour’s dramatic losses. But another political story has unfolded more quietly in the background. The Welsh Conservatives achieved 10.7% of the vote, giving them seven seats in […]
How big oil companies can slow the green transition by suing governments that ban fossil fuels
Pakhnyushchy/Shutterstock The UN’s climate summit in Brazil did not produce a fossil fuel roadmap last November, as had been expected. Now the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed the fragility of global dependence on fossil fuels. The push and pull of nations with respect to coal, oil and gas was once again in […]
Osteoarthritis: how stimulating the muscles with electricity may help manage the condition
EMS training could be particularly beneficial for people with osteoarthritis who have limited mobility or pain. roibu/ Shutterstock An estimated 595 million people globally are living with osteoarthritis. This makes it one of the leading causes of pain and disability. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease, in which tissues in the joint break down over […]
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease develops over decades – and we are missing the window to prevent it
CI Photos/Shutterstock Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is one of the world’s leading causes of death, responsible for 3.5 million deaths in 2021 alone. It is often thought of as a disease of older smokers. But that picture is too simple. COPD usually develops slowly over many years, often long before symptoms become obvious. […]
What it would have been like to experience the dinosaur-killing asteroid armageddon: a blow-by-blow account
serpeblu/Shutterstock A great Tyrannosaurus rex strides through the conifer trees of her territory, sniffing the air. She picks up the scent from the carcass of a dead horned dinosaur, Triceratops, that she was feeding on yesterday. She walks over and strips off some more shreds of meat, but the smell is foul even for her. […]
Nudge theory was all about taking responsibility – but it allowed big business to look the other way
Piyaset/Shutterstock Feelings of despair at the state of the world can be overwhelming. Social and environmental problems persist, but political discourse is polarised, divisive and often ineffective. A couple of decades ago, some behavioural scientists – ourselves included – began to think there might be a better way of addressing these challenges. Instead of relying […]