Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In episode 59, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss political sleaze and the government’s on-off approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

Westminster Watch Episode 59

If you’re a small retailer and you’re unhappy with the fees set by the world’s two credit-card giants, Visa and Mastercard, there’s not much you can do. But when you’re a colossus of online shopping, you might just have enough clout to demand changes. This is the titanic clash unfolding in the UK, where Amazon has taken on Visa and warned that it will stop taking payments from customers using locally issued Visa credit cards. The threat appears likely to force Visa to the negotiating table. Also on today’s podcast: why South Korea’s bold attempt to crack open Apple and Google app stores is struggling to achieve its goals.

Amazon takes on Visa in the UK over transaction fees; South Korea’s bold app-store payments move

Who are the ultimate stakeholders in UK trade policy? And how much of a say do they actually have in the policies that ultimately govern us? 

Things have certainly moved on since the time, not that long ago, when European and American negotiators would disappear into a room to talk about a Transatlantic trade deal – and come out again giving virtually no information about what they’d been talking about.
These days, most governments try a lot harder to be transparent about their trade objectives, and to give their stakeholders at least some input into the process.

But as the UK government settles into its own post-Brexit trade policy, has it learnt good or bad habits from its neighbours and partners? How is Britain doing in its quest to establish a trade policy which is inclusive? And when our trade diplomats negotiate deals on our behalf – are they truly reflecting our interests and our objectives?

Chris Horseman is joined by Professor L. Alan Winters, Founding Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory; Ruth Bergan, Senior Advisor at the Trade Justice Movement; and Professor Daniel Wincott, Blackwell Professor of Law and Society at the University of Cardiff.

What does an inclusive trade policy mean and how to achieve it?

Professor Andrew Blick is joined by Dr Lisa Claire Whitten, Research Fellow on the ESRC-funded project ‘Governance for a ‘place between’: the Multi-Level Dynamics of Implementing the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland’ based at Queen’s University Belfast. 

They discuss Lisa's recent paper for The Constitution Society 'Northern Ireland and Brexit: An Explanation'. Topics covered include: the constitutional history of Northern Ireland and its tendency to be overlooked at UK level; the implications of Brexit for Northern Ireland, and whether tensions could have been avoided; and the ongoing contestation around the Northern Ireland Protocol between the UK and the EU, and in Northern Ireland itself. 

Lisa's paper, which covers many of these themes in more detail, can be found here: https://consoc.org.uk/publications/northern-ireland-and-brexit-an-explanation-by-lisa-claire-whitten/

In conversation with Lisa Claire Whitten

The use of data has been at the forefront of the government’s handling of Brexit shocks and the Covid-crisis. But how can data best be used to address government priorities such as net zero, “levelling up”, and tackling the social and economic scarring from the pandemic?

This IfG event discussed how improvements can be made to the way governments identify data and use it to help make decisions. What have the experiences of Brexit and the pandemic revealed about the government’s use of data? What are the limits of data-driven decision making? How can governments better tap into external data expertise?

On our panel to discuss these questions were:

John Burn-Murdoch, Chief Data Reporter at the Financial Times
Jane Duncan, Partner, Workforce Advisory, EY
Niamh McKenna, Chief Information Officer at NHS Resolution
Matt Warman MP, former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Digital Infrastructure
The event was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

Lessons from shocks and crises: how data can deliver for government

JOE BIDEN TYPE BEAT (feat. OHGEESY & TAZE & NINJA)

Are global leaders finally taking needed action on environmental issues? Coming out of the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, we've seen governments agree to a certain set of policies to fight climate change. But that isn't the only urgent environmental issue we face. The twin problem of climate change AND biodiversity loss are a serious threat to not just governments, but also investors. The latest episode of Living Beyond Borders, a special podcast series from GZERO brought to you by Citi Private Bank, looks at how important biodiversity is to the global economy, and what leaders need to do to prevent further loss. Moderated by Caitlin Dean, Head of the Geostrategy Practice at Eurasia Group, this episode features Anita McBain,&nbsp;Managing Director at Citi Research, heading EMEA ESG Research; Harlin Singh, Global Head of Sustainable Investing at Citi Global Wealth; and Mikaela McQuade, director of Energy, Climate and Resources at Eurasia Group.

Special Edition: Why Biodiversity Loss Matters to Governments and Investors

In this episode, Colin Harvey and Jennifer Kavanagh pick through the political uncertainties surrounding the anticipated referendums, north and south. How will the referendums work? How do we formulate the appropriate question to capture what the people should decide on? In episode 6 of the ARINS podcast, Colin Harvey and Jennifer Kavanagh discuss the intensifying conversation about constitutional change on the island of Ireland.

You can read Colin Harvey's paper, as it appears in Irish Studies in International Affairs, at https://doi.org/10.3318/isia.2021.32b.37. 
Jennifer Kavanagh's response can be found at https://doi.org/10.3318/isia.2021.32b.39.
Colin Harvey is Professor of Human Rights Law in the School of Law, Queen's University Belfast,
Jennifer Kavanagh is a Law Lecturer in Waterford Institute of Technology.

This is episode 6 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south.
Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research.
ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com.
ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.

Mixdown

ARINS: let 'the people' decide

GEOLOVITICS

With the US gone and the Taliban back in control, Afghanistan faces a long winter. Mounting food insecurity and a crumbling economy have left many Afghans feeling abandoned. The international community could help solve this humanitarian crisis, but can they trust the Taliban? Ian Bremmer sat down with journalist and author Ahmed Rashid to learn more about the Taliban today. Few people know more about the Taliban than Rashid, who wrote the book on the group — literally. In the months after 9/11, his critically acclaimed 2000 study Taliban became a go-to reference as the US geared up to invade Afghanistan and knock the militant group from power. Twenty years later, how much has the group changed since the days of soccer-stadium executions, television bans, and blowing up world heritage sites?

Don’t Believe the “Taliban 2.0” Hype, Cautions Journalist Ahmed Rashid

Working to promote informed debate about constitutional reform.

COUAC (home démos)
Chansons pop françaises à tendance seventies.

Tentons le grand écart de Bertolt Brecht à Patrick Juvet en passant par les Kinks.

Recherche collaborations particulièrement à 6 cordes ...

The Birkbeck Department of Politics and its research centre, the Centre for the Study of British Politics and Public Life, hosts a range of talks, lectures, seminars and workshops throughout the year. Our events feature leading academics, public figures and commentators from a range of fields. Listen to them here.

The leading think tank working to make government more effective.

The Royal Irish Academy/Acadamh Ríoga na hEireann is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is the principal learned society in Ireland and has over 420 members who are elected in recognition of their academic achievements.

The Royal Irish Academy, the academy for the sciences and humanities for the whole of Ireland will vigorously promote excellence in scholarship, recognise achievements in learning, direct research programmes and undertake its own research projects, particularly in areas relating to Ireland and its heritage.

Listen in as MLex expert contributors discuss some of the most important developments in regulatory risk and opportunity worldwide.

The United States will no longer play global policeman, and no one else wants the job. This is not a G-7 or a G-20 world. Welcome to the GZERO, a world made volatile by an intensifying international battle for power and influence. Every week on this podcast, Ian Bremmer will interview the world leaders and the thought leaders shaping our GZERO World.

Trade Bites - the podcast about trade policy. Brought to you by the UK Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex, and presented by Chris Horseman of Borderlex.

New tracks tagged #brexit