Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Europe Publication Year within 1 Year

701. Polling: what is it, and how does it work?

Author:
Zain Mohyuddin and Rob Ford
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
If you’re on Twitter, listening to the radio or watching the news at any point this year, there’s one thing you’re sure to hear a lot about: polls. In the run up to a general election, commentators, politicians, indeed voters in general, are keen to know who the public is planning to vote for and why. Public opinion polling is generally accepted as the best way to find out. But as polling has become more popular – not to mention cheaper and easier to conduct – the amount of data available to us has ballooned. Numerous polling companies, all with their own methods and questions, run thousands of surveys a year, producing numbers that can sometimes be very different. But how can we tell which results to trust, and which to disregard? How are polls even conducted in the first place? And what’s this ‘MRP’ thing that I keep hearing people bang on about? These are all questions that this guide aims to answer.
Topic:
Politics, Public Opinion, Society, and Polls
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

702. UK-EU Divergence Tracker Q1 2024

Author:
Joël Reland
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
This edition of UK in a Changing Europe’s UK-EU Regulatory Divergence Tracker covers developments from January to March 2024. The Divergence Tracker provides an overview of where and how the UK has diverged from EU regulation. It identifies and analyses the most significant cases of divergence between the UK and EU during the period. It explains what the changes are, what impact they are having, and likely further consequences. In the Q1 2024 edition, the tracker finds five cases of active divergence (where the UK, or some part of it, changes its rules); fifteen of passive divergence (where the EU changes its rules and the UK, or some part of it, does not follow); one of ‘NI divergence’ (a new category covering cases where action is taken on the potential application of new or updated EU legislation in Northern Ireland); one of procedural divergence (where new processes are introduced to change how pre-existing divergence is managed); and three of active alignment (where the UK takes steps to align more closely with EU rules, systems or programmes). The standout trend in this tracker is the large volume of EU-led divergence, due to the rush to complete files before the parliamentary elections in June. In contrast to the EU, the pace of UK legislation has slowed in the run-up to the general election.
Topic:
European Union, Regulation, Legislation, and Divergence
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

703. UK Trade Tracker Q1 2024

Author:
Stephen Hunsaker
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
The UK in a Changing Europe trade tracker focuses on three key areas: UK trade and its performance relative to historical data; UK trade in a global context and how it compares to the G7; and finally, newsworthy developments which have occurred within trade. Typically, it is a quarterly snapshot. However, with data for the last quarter of 2023 now out this edition of the tracker will look at 2023 as a whole and how trade performed over the course of the year. The tracker examines how UK trade measures compare to 2019 as well as the proportion of total UK trade with the EU. It also looks at a breakdown of UK total trade by country and region. In addition, the tracker looks at the UK’s trade balance and trade openness compared to the G7.
Topic:
Economy, Trade, and G7
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

704. UK-EU foreign, security and defence co-operation

Author:
Joelle Grogan, Jannike Wachowiak, and Richard Whitman
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
With an election looming in the UK, war raging in Ukraine, and the prospect of another Trump presidency in the United States, the possible evolution of the foreign and security policy relationship between the UK and EU has taken on additional salience. The response to Russia’s war on Ukraine has shown that global events can increase UK-EU cooperation on foreign policy. However, while such major events could in future reinforce the sense of the shared challenges faced by the EU and the UK, they may not be sufficient to propel the EU and the UK towards a truly bespoke security and defence agreement. This new report highlights how Labour and the Conservatives differ in their approach to foreign policy with the EU, and what this could mean for the future relationship. It finds that the EU has well-established models for relationships with third countries for cooperation on foreign and security policy. None of these, however, seem appropriate for a country with the foreign policy and military heft of the UK. This in-depth study of UK-EU relations finds that there is scope for a new relationship, but the EU sees the ball as being ‘in the UK’s court’ to push for closer cooperation. It finds that while the EU is likely to welcome further cooperation on foreign policy and crisis management, it is developing a defence industrial strategy focussed on single market members and Ukraine. A bespoke deal involving UK and EU defence industries therefore will encounter significant hurdles.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, International Cooperation, Bilateral Relations, European Union, and Brexit
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

705. Brexit and the state

Author:
Jill Rutter and Joël Reland
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
In 2019 Boris Johnson won an election promising to ‘get Brexit done’. Yet while the broad outlines of the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU may have been settled, ministers and officials are still grappling with the new demands Brexit has placed on the British state. This report assesses how, and how far, the UK state has adapted to Brexit. It examines how Brexit has changed the size and shape of the state, the new tasks, functions and policies it has to manage, and the impact on its relationships with key stakeholders. The report considers the degree to which policies and practice are now settled, with the right resources in place, and with the policy direction clear and roles and responsibilities well understood. It is based in part on interviews with people inside and outside government. The report finds a lack of strategic vision of what post-Brexit policymaking should look like, and that creating the post-Brexit state is still very much a work in progress.
Topic:
Government, Governance, Brexit, and Devolution
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

706. The state of the UK economy 2024

Author:
UK in a Changing Europe
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
The state of the UK economy is always an important matter, but it is all the more so in what looks likely to be an election year. This UK in a Changing Europe report takes stock of the UK economy in order to assess how it can break from the current economic and political ‘doom loop’. The report provides a constructive framework to address the need for a longer-term, joined up approach in policy areas, ranging from education to immigration, to public services and artificial intelligence. It shows that there is no single silver bullet for the problems facing the UK economy, however a number of themes have emerged. The UK has long been plagued by short-termism and political instability which needs to be addressed. Edited by Senior Fellow Professor Jonathan Portes, it brings together leading UK academics on the economy from universities across the UK, the Migration Observatory, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and other research institutions.
Topic:
Education, Industrial Policy, Migration, Economy, Tax Systems, Macroeconomics, Trade, Artificial Intelligence, Housing, Labor Market, Public Service, Productivity, and Net Zero
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

707. UK-EU Divergence Tracker Q4 2023

Author:
Joël Reland
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
This edition of UK in a Changing Europe’s UK-EU Regulatory Divergence Tracker, covers developments from October 2023 to January 2024. The Regulatory Divergence Trackers provide an overview of where and how the UK has used its regulatory freedoms to diverge from EU regulation. It identifies and analyses the most significant cases of divergence between the UK and EU which have taken place since Brexit. It explains what the changes are, what impact they are having, and likely further consequences. In the Q4 2023 edition, the tracker finds nine cases of active divergence (where the UK, or some part of it, changes its rules); ten of passive divergence (where the EU changes its rules and the UK, or some part of it, does not follow); two of procedural divergence (where policy does not diverge but the processes for managing it do); and four of active alignment (where the UK takes steps to align more closely with EU rules, systems or programmes). Key developments on the UK-side include bills to ban the export of live animals and amend the UK’s GDPR regime; a new financial services agreement with Switzerland; and the use of secondary legislation to amend the EU-derived working time regulations and cap on bankers’ bonuses. The EU has brought forward some notable measures to increase the burden on businesses in the name of upholding labour and environmental protections.
Topic:
Bilateral Relations, European Union, Regulation, and Brexit
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

708. UK Trade Tracker Q4 2023

Author:
Stephen Hunsaker
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
The UK in a Changing Europe trade tracker is now being produced quarterly and in a new format. The new format trade tracker will focus on three key areas: UK trade and its performance relative to historical data; UK trade in a global context and how it compares to the G7; and finally, newsworthy developments which have occurred within trade in the last quarter. In the Q4 2023 edition, the trade tracker looks at how UK trade measures compare to 2019 as well as the proportion of total UK trade with the EU. In addition, the tracker looks at the UK’s trade balance and trade openness compared to the G7. Lastly, the tracker summarises the proposal for an independent UK Board of Trade, and explores what impact it could have and how likely we are to see its creation in the next year.
Topic:
European Union, Economy, Trade, and G7
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

709. UK-EU Divergence Tracker Q2-Q3 2024

Author:
Joël Reland
Publication Date:
11-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
This is the twelfth edition of UK in a Changing Europe’s Regulatory Divergence Tracker, outlining how UK and EU regulations have diverged from one another in the period April-October 2024. Unusually, this tracker covers two quarters, accounting for the fact that UK and EU legislative activity was paused over the summer during their respective election periods. This tracker is therefore the first since the new Labour government took office, and there are already signs of a markedly changed approach to managing divergence. The pursuit of active divergence (where the UK moves away from the EU rulebook) has all but dried up, with just one case of active divergence in this tracker having been first initiated by the Labour government. Instead, the new government’s focus has been on delaying existing divergence (five cases) and laying the groundwork for active alignment with EU rules (two cases). The centrepiece of this new alignment agenda is the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. It would allow the government to mirror a wide range of EU regulations, related to the environmental impacts of products, in UK law. These powers could be used to avoid new GB-EU and GB-NI trade frictions, and to stop Britain becoming a home for goods (e.g. toys, textiles or cars) no longer considered safe enough for the EU market. The tracker also finds twelve cases of ‘passive’ divergence (where the EU changes its rules and the UK does not follow), as the EU continues to regulate very actively on product and environmental standards, with new standards on vehicle emissions and safety; a new regulation on product safety; new restrictions on PFAS chemicals; and new requirements for airlines to monitor non-CO2 emissions.
Topic:
European Union, Regulation, and Divergence
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

710. Minorities report: the attitudes of Britain’s ethnic minority population

Author:
Zain Mohyuddin, James Kanagasooriam, and Sophie Stowers
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
Research suggests that ethnic minority voters often have political and social views at variance with those held by the population as a whole, and indeed by other ethnic groups. Yet we often lack the data to examine these attitudes and how they differ. This report aims to set that right. It attempts to look at the diversity of political opinion, social values and economic preferences not just between Britain’s white and non-white population, but between different ethnic and religious groups. The report looks not just at voting and elections, but more broadly at questions of identity, tolerance, and experiences of race and discrimination. It covers political views and values at both the 2019 and 2024 elections, questions of identity, being ‘British’, discrimination and prejudice, and economic preferences and social values. Report co-author James Kanagasooriam identifies 10 key takeaways: We are at an inflection point in terms of how ethnic minorities vote. We should not overstate how poorly the right performs, and how well the left does, amongst ethnic minority Britons. The demography of right and left is vastly different between white and non-white voters. There is a large degree of disagreement between ethnic minorities- to some degree larger than that between the white and non-white population- on the role of the state. There are a clutch of issues – immigration and multiculturalism – where ethnic minorities are much more positive than the rest of Britain. At future elections, Labour cannot rely on ethnic minority voters as a ‘bloc’ of support. There is evidence of some prejudice among certain ethnic minority voters toward other minority groups. The degree of importance placed amongst minority respondents on their personal religion is out of step with the growing secularism of white Britain. There is a wide difference between minority groups on their experience of racism and of representation. Ethnic minority and white Britons share common diagnoses about what is politically important, what they want out of a government, which cultural institutions are important, what British culture is, and what it means to be British.
Topic:
Public Opinion, Minorities, Elections, Ethnicity, Discrimination, and Voting
Political Geography:
Britain, United Kingdom, and Europe