By Marcus Hunt On the 12th of July 2013, for the first time, the Ligoniel Combine of the Orange Order was prevented from completing its return march past the Ardoyne area. The decision was made by the controversial Parades Commission, a quasi-judicial body established in 1998.  Since July the Ligoniel Combine has attempted to march along the disputed street on dozens of occasions, and continues to do so, but each time is prevented by a police line. The reason the...

By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic  A pint glass is an excessive, unduly measure. Have you ever drunk a pint and thought, “I really enjoyed that last drop”? The so-called ‘dregs’ is defined both as the remnants of a liquid left in a container and the most worthless part or parts of something, which is fitting. I’ve seldom reached that part of the pint where you tip your head and see the glaze of the pub through the...

By Alex Murtagh As we find ourselves four years into David Cameron’s premiership with no sign of a coalition collapse it appears that the government’s neglect of the poor is seriously beginning to take its toll. Reports published by the Trussell Trust just last week show that the use of food banks has risen by 163 per cent in the last year alone with no sign of a halt. But how have we allowed this absurd scenario to develop? I fear...

By Adam Walker, Economics Correspondent A common misconception, often inferred in political and economic debate, is that the United Kingdom ranks in the top five or ten positions for socio-economic factors across the board. The UK has been an economic and political superpower for years and currently ranks as the 6th largest global economy with an estimated value of £1.5 trillion in 2013. However, how competitive are we for other factors such as education, democracy and currency strength? Do we maintain these...

By Rohan Chatterjee A year on from the death of Venezuela’s controversial socialist leader Hugo Chavez the country still find itself in the grip of political uncertainty (well, more so than usual). In recent months opposition groups have regularly taken to the streets in some cities to protest high inflation, insecurity and scarcity of basic goods, leaving 40 dead and many more injured. One unifying belief for many in this mobilisation is that of struggle against an authoritarian regime. But, is...

By Dani Schaefer Williams Cast your minds back to 2012, to the British event of the current decade. When all of the UK was bathed in glory and 15 year-old girls were frantically replacing posters of boy-bands with their favourite Olympic heroes. These champions were revered the world over for their skill, commitment and bravery, and none less than the Bladerunner himself, Oscar Pistorius. The combination of good looks and humility seemed too good to be true. Fast forward to...

By Simon Bartram The term BRIC was first imprinted on the investor's psychological map of the world in 2001 through an economic thesis by Jim O'Neill. It refers to the largest emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) which were responsible for most of the global economic growth seen from the early 2000s until the financial crisis. More than a decade later, there have been immense developments in the pace of change in each of these economies, and so it's...

By Josh Black  Does it matter whether the Co-Op saves its troubled bank? In 2011, Britain’s Co-Operative Group unveiled a new marketing campaign inviting consumers to “Join the Revolution” – a movement billed as “the most radical sustainability programme in UK corporate history” designed to “spearhead its membership drive and help build a more sustainable economy.” Coming as it did in the wake of a financial crisis, just months before the country’s first ‘double-dip’ recession since the 1970s, there was a...

By Dr Katy Shaw The UK miners’ strike of 1984-5 was a defining moment in the history of the United Kingdom, one that not only illuminates the country’s near-history, but functions as a prism through which to understand the social, political and economic challenges of the twenty-first century. Despite promises of reduction rather than extinction, the 1984-5 miners’ strike was the beginning of the end for British coal. As remaining mines continued to close, national demand for fuel was increasingly met...