perspectives

Matthew Oulton argues in favour of resignation 

Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives. Number 10 was unequivocal in its messaging during the early weeks of the lockdown. What they didn’t mention in the slogan above, apparently, was that the rules don’t apply if you’re the chief adviser to the Prime Minister. Reading from a prepared statement on Monday, Dominic Cummings tried desperately to explain to an irate public why he had gone against the lockdown he helped to implement, and also that it wasn’t technically illegal. Whilst he has so far been backed by Number 10 and the government, it’s time for him to resign.

Firstly, it’s worth addressing the purpose of lockdown in the first place. Before lockdown was instituted, the government was already advising people not to go out, but people mostly di...

Looking forward to your next dose of summer sunshine abroad? An exciting city break caught your eye? It’s time to rethink that reality. With the Covid-19 pandemic upheaving the country’s travel plans, the tourism and hospitality industries are drastically suffering in the current climate. Travel bans worldwide are limiting opportunities for 2020, but what will next year hold? Whilst the tourism industry is predicted to gradually improve from this year's troubles, future travel plans are reliant upon tenuous virus predictions and increasing public trust by convincing investment of hard-earned money into travel. With international travel a while away, domestic travel will begin to take the spotlight. This is not good news if you love the jet-setter lifestyle, but here’s how a ‘staycation’ can tic...

With the global Coronavirus pandemic now in its seventh week, and lockdowns covering a third of the global population having been in place for about as long, it seems obvious to state that the virus has had a huge impact upon people’s everyday lives. From stay at home orders permitting people to go outside only for essential reasons, to economic recessions leaving millions more unemployed and without regular income, the effects of this unprecedented outbreak have intruded into almost every part of modern life.

The United States, unsurprisingly, seems to have become a focal point for how it has responded to the global crisis, with fundamental tensions between States’ rights with those of the Federal Government having been brought to the fore. One of the most obvious and dire consequences of this...

The age of the media politician is well and truly upon us. From hits on social media to constant political interviews, long read profiles to politicians on reality TV shows (or the other way around in Donald Trump’s case), politicians are defined by their personality. It is easy for politics, unfortunately, to turn into a soap opera, where the focus becomes the different characters in the political arena rather than important policy developments. Invariably, this damages both the public understanding of politics and our attitude towards politicians. 

Media organisations too are under increased pressure. With falling advertising revenue and plummeting sales, not least during the coronavirus pandemic, a greater focus has turned towards generating clicks and headlines. Publications, whether online,...

75 years ago, the Allies of World War II formally accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany, putting an end to the war in Europe and marking Victory in Europe day. Since then, we have celebrated the end of the war every year, and it has become a public holiday in many countries, which could have contributed to making it a little banal and void of sense for some. Should we continue to commemorate the end of the war? Is it useful? Also, we have seen many parallels between WWII and the Covid-19 crisis in the media. These analogies can be a little helpful, but are they really relevant?

We may ask ourselves if it is important to celebrate the end of the war. Indeed, most people alive today did not experience it at all, and the number of people who actually took part in the war grows smaller as the years...

Throughout education, we are always told to be as academically successful as possible. Why is this the case? Good qualifications are more likely to guarantee a stable, well paid job, that has a greater impact on the world. This can inevitably mean a better quality of life with more choices and flexibility. The education system then, it could be argued, is creating new generations of children that both accept the existence of an establishment and wish to become part of it. 

This is clearly damaging for children across the world who don’t succeed. Both the education system and society might paint them as failures for taking up lower paid jobs even if, as we have seen during the coronavirus pandemic, their work is vital. There is this concept of an ‘establishment’ above ordinary people, dictating d...

It is hard to argue Donald Trump’s handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic does not present an active danger to the people of America. Even if you do not think he has spent the last three years blundering his way through disaster after disaster, throwing America and the world into chaos, and you agree with most of his policies, you would have to be willingly deluded not to think his comments on injecting disinfectants to stop the virus caused serious harm. Especially after the flood of stories we’ve seen since of people turning up in emergency rooms having injected watered down bleach, or people dying because they trusted the president. Whether he’s malicious or just incredibly stupid, having Donald Trump in the driver’s seat of America is no longer a car crash in the making; the crash has happene...

The recent rejection of four primary tabloid outlets is a bold move by Sussexes, demonstrating the change in tolerance by high profile figures and their dealings with the press. The message is clear. They will not tolerate press exploitation. This is a strong and necessary action signaling for more press accountability, but the misguided timing of such a message poses a risk for the couple’s public support. But how has this impacted the authority of the former royals and will such a sorely needed message prevail? 

There was once a time the British public raved about the new American divorcee, who brought a much-needed sense of modernity to the British Royal Family. However, this previous veil of acceptance has proved to be a flimsy façade as the tabloid press soon began to chase Meghan. Exploita...

Typically, the beginning of April brings the beginning of the tourist season. Yet, this year the skies remain clear of Boeings and Airbuses as up to 80% of commercial flights have come to a halt in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. Already, there is news of airlines asking their staff to take unpaid leave, with WizzAir having fired a thousand employees in the past weeks. The air traffic sector is floundering amidst this pandemic, but what will these flightless months mean for the future of air travel?

Travel restrictions are hitting the aviation industry particularly hard as airlines are required to pay a large maintenance fee regardless of how many tickets they sell or how many of their flights take off. In addition to paying their employees, they also have to calculate with airport rental fe...

On the 8th May, 75 years ago, Germany signed a surrender agreement marking the end of the European theatre of the Second World War. Millions headed to the streets to celebrate ‘Victory in Europe’ Day. Whilst it is often portrayed as a glorious victory for the British forces, Britain’s actions in World War Two were considerably darker than most people realise. From engineering a famine to illegally using corporal punishment, the actions taken by the British armed forces were perhaps not as glorious as the victory is often portrayed.

In September 1939, the German army occupied Poland (a free, democratic state), creating conflict in Europe. However, the British declaration of war on Germany was an act fraught with racist undertones. Colonies (whose sovereignty was denied by the British) were forced...