Birkbeck Politics

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College discuss current issues in British politics. It is aimed at those with an interest in British politics in general and students on Birkbeck's BA Politics module, Contemporary British Politics, in particular. In episode 26, Dr Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss the Northern Ireland Assembly elections and Theresa May's Lancaster House speech

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College discuss current issues in British politics. It is aimed at those with an interest in British politics in general and students on Birkbeck's BA Politics module, Contemporary British Politics, in particular. In episode 25, Dr Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy review British politics in 2016 and look ahead to 2017.

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College discuss current issues in British politics. It is aimed at those with an interest in British politics in general and students on Birkbeck's BA Politics module, Contemporary British Politics, in particular. In episode 24, Dr Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss the Investigatory Powers Act and Boris Johnson’s comments on Saudi Arabia.

In the first of our occasional series, I speak with Professor Rob Singh about his book After Obama: Renewing American Leadership, Restoring Global Order

As part of the Birkbeck Department of Politics Workshop Week, we convened a staff debate on the topic of A World in Crisis.

The panel features Birkbeck staff members Alex Colas, Aideen Foley, Ali Guven, Eric Kaufmann and David Styan. It is chaired by Deborah Mabbett.

The ongoing political turmoil in Brazil and Turkey is symptomatic of local and regional crises within and around many of the emerging powers in the Global South. With no clear end to the wars in the greater Middle East, and unequal and uneven development still prevalent across many parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, the world seems to be facing a period of continuous uncertainty. If we add to this the intractable crisis of climate change and the predicted population growth of our planet to 11 billion by the end of the century, a sense of impending doom appears hard to avoid. Our panel addresses these and related issues through the prisms of international security, political economy, environmental politics and political demography. Drawing one their teaching and research expertise in these areas, they will analyse the dynamics and extent of these various crises, and debate the prospects of a more optimistic future.

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College discuss current issues in British politics. It is aimed at those with an interest in British politics in general and students on Birkbeck's BA Politics module, Contemporary British Politics, in particular. In episode 23, Dr Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy talk about the High Court’s ruling on Article 50 and what Donald Trump’s presidency means for the UK.

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College discuss current issues in British politics. It is aimed at those with an interest in British politics in general and students on Birkbeck's BA Politics module, Contemporary British Politics, in particular. In episode 22, Dr Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss the Richmond by-election and discussions over Brexit in the Joint Ministerial Committee.

For Parliament Week UK, author Robert Dale joined Birkbeck Politics to discuss what it's like to work for an MP and how to get there.

Thousands of people apply to work in MPs' parliamentary offices every year. Why? Because they want to operate at the centre of British politics and are drawn by the sense of power, history and importance of the House of Commons. They want hear words they've written read out in the chamber, or see them printed on newspaper front pages. Many want to make a difference to society. Some see the role as the first step to becoming an MP themselves, and others as the beginning of a successful career in lobbying or communications. Robert Dale – author of How to Be a Parliamentary Researcher – will explain all.

Former Labour MP and first Minister for Women discusses a life in politics and her new memoir Going Nowhere with Birkbeck Professor Rosie Campbell.

This talk is chaired by Dr Melissa Butcher, Reader in Social and Cultural Geography at Birkbeck and Acting Director of the Birkbeck Institute for Social Research.

As Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford from 1987 to 2015, Dame Joan Ruddock had a long, varied and pioneering parliamentary career, but it didn’t always move in the direction she expected.

After her election to the Commons in 1987, Joan held three consecutive shadow portfolios and, by the time of Labour’s election victory in 1997, was thought to be on the fast track to high office. But she was overlooked by Tony Blair in his first round of government appointments, eventually becoming the country’s first Minister for Women – a role she took, famously, without pay, the budget for salaries having been finalised by the time the appointment was made.

Nevertheless, as Minister, Joan worked with fellow MP Harriet Harman to push through a radical agenda. A year later, she was sacked.

What followed was a prominent career on the backbenches, where she ran a series of high-profile campaigns, including opposition to GMOs, championing Afghan women’s rights and changing the hours of the Commons. In 2009 she returned to government as Minister for Energy and Climate Change under Gordon Brown. She retired as an MP in 2015.

What next for Labour, and where does it go from here?

Following the party's leadership election, Birkbeck Politics was joined by Lord Stewart Wood, a Labour peer since 2011 who served in Ed Miliband’s Shadow Cabinet and held an advisory role in the party’s 2015 General Election campaign. He was formerly an adviser to Gordon Brown in the Treasury and later in 10 Downing Street.

Image credit: Policy Exchange (Flickr)