Social and Public Policy

The Global Agenda for Social Justice has been produced by Policy Press since 2016 in collaboration with the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP). This article discusses how the publication aims to highlight the social problems faced across the Global North and Global South, with the aim of improving public policy and encouraging contributions from younger voices who share these goals. …Read more

Imogen Richards highlights how pandemic health policies and political rhetoric which blamed disenfranchised people for the spread of COVID-19 encouraged far-right conspiratorial narratives about the origins of the disease.…Read more

Gerbrand Tholen questions the belief that investment in education will give all graduates privileged opportunities to become high-wage earners. There is no evidence to support these claims which stem from an inflated belief in the role of higher education in the economy. …Read more

In their paper for Policy & Politics, Elizabeth Blakelock and John Turnpenny highlight how public participation in energy market regulation has failed due to inequalities of influence between different policy actors who pose a significant challenge to legitimacy.…Read more

Tracy Shildrick reviews 'The Richer, The Poorer How Britain Enriched the Few and Failed the Poor. A 200-Year History' by Stewart Lansley, a book that examines how Britain’s most powerful elites have enriched themselves at the expense of surging inequality, mass poverty and weakened social resilience.…Read more

In our ‘Future of Democracy’ webinar on 29 September, Marcial Bragadini Boo and Geoff Mulgan will discuss their recent publications and share their different approaches to democracy. Find out more about the event in this article.…Read more

Despite the so-called ‘landmark legislation’ of the Modern Slavery Act, there are significant shortfalls affecting the most vulnerable victims of human trafficking. Alexandra Williams-Woods examines how the Modern Slavery Act has failed to safeguard victims.…Read more

Peter Beresford introduces a webinar which will offer an important chance to articulate and explore the issues around user involvement in mental health policy and provision.…Read more

Ghana’s policy decisions during the first year of the COVID pandemic were influenced by it being an election year. Kirchuffs Atengble and Michael Head call for a better awareness of evidence-informed decision making (EIDM) that will help decision makers to prioritise the general good over interests of the self. …Read more

Inviting youth engagement groups to summits such as the G7 is tokenistic if these groups are excluded from high-level decision-making or if their insights and lived experiences are not valued. Safia Sangster speaks on the pressing need for global leadership to make decisions that reflect the diversity of the global population. …Read more