The Open University

Cameron’s appointment – a party trick or a clever move? Academic comment

20 November 2023

It’s a week since Rishi Sunak made the surprise appointment of former PM David Cameron as foreign secretary, so we spoke to The Open University’s Dr Richard Heffernan, a Reader in Government, who specialises in British politics, to see what he makes of the situation. There were raised eyebrows from political commentators when former prime […]

Image shows four Metropolitan Police Officers with the words 'The Met' written across the middle of the image

OU/BBC Series ‘The Met’ Returns for a fourth series

24 October 2023

A captivating fourth series of The Met, co-produced by The Open University (OU) and the BBC, is set to air on BBC One tonight (Tuesday 24 October) at 9pm. The six-episode series provides insight into the Metropolitan Police in the face of complex cases. Filmed over ten months, the series offers an unfiltered look into […]

New report: raw deal for caregivers in Gateshead needs reform

8 September 2023

A new report published by The Open University has highlighted how the weekly Carers Allowance of £76.75 is worth just 77p per hour to a carer looking after a loved one in Gateshead for up to 100 hours a week. It reveals a list of recommendations for decision makers to ensure unpaid carers are not […]

OU academic says being wrapped again in the fabric of the Horizon Project is great news but it won’t be all warm and cosy… yet

8 September 2023

Professor in Politics and International Studies Simon Usherwood welcomes the deal but says it’s definitely not the same one we had before British researchers might find it hard to play the same leading role they’re used to since their positions in developing new projects have been filled by others Experts here do not enjoy the […]

Why the Bank of England’s interest rate hikes aren’t slowing inflation enough and what that means for mortgages

27 June 2023

Alan Shipman is a senior lecturer in economics at The Open University and here he shares his view on the mechanisms employed to slow down inflation, what the fallout means across a wide spectrum of society and why the Bank of England appears as a convenient scapegoat. Consumer price inflation stuck at 8.7% in May, defying […]

The Open University’s digital treasure trove of philosophy greats launches

3 May 2023

A film archive of some of the mid-to-late 20th Century’s finest minds in philosophy from the western world has been made available to the public through The Open University’s digital archive. The line-up of brilliant deep thinkers, both men and women, from the UK and abroad were filmed being interviewed by the OU from 1969 […]

Putin’s visit to Kherson, electronic call-up papers and the latest dissenter deterrent

20 April 2023

Dr Precious Chatterje-Doody is a politics and international relations academic at The Open University and specialises in communication, misinformation and security, particularly in Russia. Here she talks about what Putin’s latest visit to Kherson means, his new plan for drafting men into the Russian army and how he continues to manage dissent. President Putin’s recent […]

OU academic chosen out of hundreds for a broadcast project

5 April 2023

An OU academic has won one of the nation’s ten coveted places as a “New Generation Thinker” to bring fresh thinking to a range of topics on the world around us. The project is run by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and BBC Radio 3, and Dr Dan taylor, Lecturer in Social and […]

Four ways the UK economy is being hampered by the private sector

27 March 2023

Alan Shipman is a senior lecturer in economics at The Open University. Here he talks about ways the private sector is hampering today’s UK economy and points to four ways it is doing so. The UK government has decided to go ahead with a rise in corporation tax in April 2023. The move is a […]

Three ways the ‘back to work’ budget will affect your finances

17 March 2023

Jonquil Lowe is a senior lecturer in economics and personal finance at the OU and gives her verdict on the recent budget and three key ways it will affect your finances. In the 2023 spring budget, UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled a raft of measures designed to boost economic growth and productivity. To achieve this […]

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Category: Society and politics