The ‘do it yourself’ future of social care

Social care unintentionally became a key election issue for the Conservatives through the inclusion in their manifesto of what MP Nigel Evans referred to as 'a full frontal assault on our core voters - the elderly'. The party had previously committed themselves to a new green paper, but care minister David Mowat has lost his Warrington South seat, and his role has not yet been filled in the cabinet reshuffle. The future of social care under a minority Conservative government is uncertain.

‘Reading’ the 2017 manifesto statements in Education and HE policy

The two main educational headlines from the party manifestos in 2017 are the Conservative's endorsement of more Grammar Schools, and Labour's pledge to abolish tuition fees, re-introduce maintenance grants and write off student debt. They both represent radical breaks from their parties' recent previous manifesto statements, but neither necessarily break new ground or threaten to lose party support. So how do parties decide what to put in their election manifestos? How should we 'read' the story of the 2017 election?

Building houses out of hot air? How the 2017 party manifesto housing plans stack up

The UK is a facing a housing crisis. Whichever party wins the election will be confronted by numerous problems including: a lack of affordable housing in many of parts of the country; the challenges associated with housing an ageing population; a housing stock which is showing signs of obsolescence and fatigue; a highly unregulated and unchecked private rental sector; the challenge of ensuring that younger households are able to access affordable; high quality housing and home ownership; and, increasing levels of homelessness and rough sleeping.