Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit blog

Catch up on the most recent posts from our Growth and Inclusion blog located on the Policy@Manchester website.

• Why is government progress on fuel poverty stalling in England?

  15 February 2019

  In a recent report, the Committee on Fuel Poverty highlighted that progress on fuel poverty in England is stalling. On Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, Caitlin Robinson, Lecturer in Geography, reflects on reasons for this lack of progress and envisions a more ambitious approach to tackling fuel poverty. There is no typical profile of a fuel […]

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• Is it time to address accent as part of the Teachers’ Standards?

  29 January 2019

  Dr Alex Baratta, Lecturer in Language, Linguistics and Communications at the Manchester Institute of Education, discusses the ambiguity of ‘articulacy’ in the Teachers’ Standards and its effects on teachers and their accents. The Teachers’ Standards state that teachers in England and Wales must use standard English and demonstrate ‘articulacy’. There is no mention of accent […]

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• A lonely new year: how can we prevent loneliness in older age?

  16 January 2019

  The post-Christmas lull is deemed to be a particularly lonely time for many individuals. As ‘Blue Monday’ fast approaches, Natalie Cotterell, PhD student in Social Statistics, discusses the challenges to successfully tackling loneliness. Approximately 14% of the UK population has reported that they often feel lonely, and this number has been found to rise to […]

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• The return of industrial democracy: preparing the ground for dealing with wayward capitalism?

  2 January 2019

  Miguel Martínez Lucio, Professor in the Work and Equalities Institute and the Alliance Manchester Business School at The University of Manchester, and an expert of worker participation, trade union questions and the role of the state, discusses the renewed interest in industrial democracy and the need for a strategic plan. There is a growing interest […]

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• Empire and the World War One Centenary: Remembrance as racialisation?

  17 December 2018

  Dr Meghan Tinsley, a Presidential Fellow in Ethnicity and Inequalities, reflects on the four years of the First World War centenary, asking to what extent collective memory of the war remains white and Eurocentric. She argues that in pursuit of a more global narrative of past and present, history curricula should emphasise three themes: the […]

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• Immigration in its place: how policy needs to recognise geography

  14 November 2018

  Ken Clark, Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, examines the Migration Advisory Committee’s recent report and discusses the need for place-based migration policy. The Migration Advisory Committee has persistently rejected calls for regional variation in the framework that regulates migration in the UK. It is clear that patterns of migration, and thus its […]

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• Humanity in the spotlight: the investor’s responsibility

  8 November 2018

  As The University of Manchester prepares to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Dr Lara Bianchi from the Business and Human Rights Catalyst at the Alliance Manchester Business School discusses the responsibility investors have in ensuring human rights are part of a company’s strategy. 82% of all of the growth […]

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• What happens to those who ‘miss the mark’ in GCSE English and maths?

  6 November 2018

  As part of the publication of a new working paper on the characteristics and post-16 transitions of GCSE ‘lower attainers,’ Ruth Lupton, Sanne Velthuis, Stephanie Thomson and Lorna Unwin reflect on the progress made by those with lower GCSE attainment during the 16-18 phase, and highlight the need for appropriate, high-quality post-16 provision for all […]

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• Stop describing modern slavery as ‘evil’

  5 November 2018

  David Gadd is Professor of Criminology and Rose Broad is Senior Lecturer in Criminology both at the University of Manchester. They are working together on the ESRC funded Perpetrators of Modern Slavery Offences Project. This blog highlights how: modern slavery and immigration law have become intertwined; referring to modern slavery as ‘evil’ idealises victims in […]

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• Is the Immigration Act 2016 a racist policy against BME citizens in the housing market?

  22 October 2018

  Dr William Shankley, a research associate at the Centre of Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE), examines the impacts of the Immigration Act 2016 on black and minority ethnic (BME) citizens within the housing market and asks if it is a measure to further the government’s hostile environment. There is a long history of BME households facing […]

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