Richard Clarke and Jason Edwards discuss Birkbeck's centrality in providing working-class Londoners access to real education in an era when such ideas were considered radical and potentially dangerous. In his research Richard Clarke has identified, and visited, the sites of the Birkbeck Bank, its Land and Building Societies and the Birkbeck Estates (including the Birkbeck Railway Station), the Birkbeck Schools, and the four remaining Birkbeck pubs (two of which still serve alcohol). Through his investigations he has revealed the hidden history that Birkbeck played in changing the physical as well as the political landscape of London.

There are many grand institutions in London that have a lauded and venerable history but the significant role Birkbeck played in challenging a social order that deprived London’s working people of a decent home, the vote and an education is not widely known. In the run up to Birkbeck’s bicentenary in 2023 we revisit Birkbeck’s radical past concealed within London’s streets.

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Centre website: www.csbppl.com

Department website: www.bbk.ac.uk/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 16, Dr Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy look at Irish politics through the lens of the Westminster model from Ireland’s road to independence 100 years ago to the 2016 general election.

The marginal constituency of Croydon Central was a key battleground in the 2015 General Election. The incumbent Conservative MP Gavin Barwell was fighting a serious challenge from Labour, for whom the seat was an essential win if they were to become the largest party. But Gavin Barwell held it by 165 votes. The rest is electoral history – one that he hopes to write in a forthcoming book about the campaign trail in Croydon. He joined Birkbeck Politics to discuss the issue not just of winning, but governing in difficult times.

Gavin Barwell was elected as the MP for Croydon Central in 2010. Before becoming an MP, he worked for the Conservative Party, serving as its Chief Operating Officer between between October 2003 and May 2006, and had his own consultancy business. In 2011 he became the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Greg Clark, which was followed by his appointment in 2012 as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Gove, the then Secretary of State for Education. In 2013 he became the Assistant Government Whip and in 2014 was promoted to his current role as Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty’s Treasury.

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LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/birkbeck-dept-of-politics

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bbkpolitics

Centre website: www.csbppl.com

Department website: www.bbk.ac.uk/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 15, Dr Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss the Queen’s entanglement in the Brexit debate and the privatisation of UK railways.

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 14, Dr Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss UK policy on Syria and what the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament tells us about the changing face of pressure group politics in Britain.

In a lecture co-organised by Birkbeck Politics and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz speaks on the growth of economic inequality in the USA and UK over the last 30 years. Median incomes in the USA have stagnated, Professor Stiglitz explains, with a real decline in incomes among full-time male workers being observed over the last four decades. He describes that there are now more people in poverty, more wealth is concentrated among those at the top and that the middle classes are being ‘eviscerated’. Professor Stiglitz concludes that, fundamentally, "inequality is bad for business, bad for the economy, bad for our democracies, and bad for society”.

Professor Stiglitz is introduced by Birkbeck Professor of Public Policy Deborah Mabbett. His talk is followed by a Q&A chaired by Shadow Chancellor and Birkbeck alumnus John McDonnell.

More information: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/politics/news/bb...

For more events and updates from the Birkbeck Department of Politics and the Centre for the Study of British Politics and Public Life, see below.

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Centre website: www.csbppl.com

Department website: www.bbk.ac.uk/politics/

Video © Birkbeck Media Services / Mansour Shabbak

Thumbnail © Birkbeck Media Services / Dominic Mifsud

With the EU referendum date now set, academics from Birkbeck's Department of Politics (and beyond) debate David Cameron's renegotiation, the referendum and the likelihood of a "Brexit" vote.

This event was held on Thursday 18 Feburary 2016 at Birkbeck College.

Panelists include Rosie Campbell, Dionyssis G. Dimitrakopoulos, Dermot Hodson, Deborah Mabbett and Hussein Kassim, currently Professor of Politics at UEA but formerly at Birkbeck. Chair: Jason Edwards.

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Centre website: www.csbppl.com

Department website: www.bbk.ac.uk/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 13, Dr Edwin Bacon and Dr Dermot Hodson discuss UK-Russia relations and the government's negotiations with EU partners over Brexit.

British democracy is in a period of rapid change and considerable uncertainty. The rise of the SNP in Scotland has radically changed the electoral map of the UK in ways that we have yet to fully understand. We have an unexpected majority Conservative government, but with a working majority of just 12, and an EU referendum that is likely to split the party. In this context it is a good time to take a step back from the media maelstrom and ask what these changes are likely to mean for British Democracy in the medium to long term. The panel will be made up of Professor Tony Wright (Ex MP and author of the Wright reforms), Professor Joni Lovenduski (expert on gender and democracy and political representation), Dr. Rosie Campbell (expert on British political attitudes and behaviour) and Dr Jason Edwards (democracy theorist).

A roundtable with Professor Tony Wright, Professor Joni Lovenduski, Dr. Rosie Campbell and Dr Jason Edwards with Dr Benjamin Worthy as panel chair.

For more events and updates from the Birkbeck Department of Politics and the Centre for the Study of British Politics and Public Life, see below.

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Twitter: www.twitter.com/bbkpolitics

Centre website: www.csbppl.com

Department website: www.bbk.ac.uk/politics/

What are charities for, why are they special and what is the purpose of regulating them? How should they be regulated? How do and should they organise their funding? Why do charities fail? What are the ideas behind our current system and how are these changing? What is the appropriate role of the regulator (The Charities Commission, Fundraising Standards Board etc.)? The sudden closure of Kids Company in August 2015 brought these questions into sharp relief and raised popular awareness of the importance of regulation.

In fact charities regulation has been under considerable public scrutiny in recent years. The 2012 ACEVO Governance Commission marked a major review into the state of the charity sector, with recommendations covering issues of appraisal, accountability, communication of roles and effective board management. A fundamental review of Charity law by Lord Hodgson in 2012, wholesale replenishment of the Charity Commission board in 2012/13 and strong criticism by the Public Accounts Committee have been followed by greater powers for the Commission and a number of controversial interventions. And in 2013 new legislation under the so called ‘Lobbying Act’ of 2014 (Transparency of Lobbying, Non Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014) placed new constraints on charities during election campaigns.

In 2015, NCVO Chief Executive Sir Stuart Etherington led an official cross-party review into the regulation of charity fundraising. Its recommendations include replacing the Fundraising Standards Board with a more powerful regulator and allowing the public to opt out of all fundraising communications. If implemented, these changes would mark a significant shift in how charities raise money and the checks and balances placed on this process.

The Centre for British Politics and Public Life is joined by an expert panel of speakers, including Sir Stuart Etherington, to talk about the regulation of charities from a range of perspectives. The event is chaired by Joe Irvin, Chief Executive of Living Streets.

Programme of speakers:

1. Sir Stuart Etherington

2. Lucy de Groot

3. Dr Rob Macmillan

More information: http://www.csbppl.com/2016/02/17/charities-regulation-under-scrutiny/