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July 25, 2025

Using cosmetics on babies and children could disrupt horomones and trigger allergies

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adam Taylor, Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University

Would you dab perfume on a six-month-old? Paint their tiny nails with polish that contains formaldehyde? Dust bronzer onto their cheeks?

An investigation by the Times has found that babies and toddlers are routinely exposed to adult cosmetic products, including fragranced sprays, nail polish and even black henna tattoos.

While these may sound harmless – or even Instagram-friendly – the science tells a more concerning story. Infant skin is biologically different from adult skin: it’s thinner, more absorbent and still developing. Exposure to certain products can lead to immediate problems like irritation or allergic reactions, and in some cases, may carry longer term health-risks such as hormone disruption.

This isn’t a new concern. A 2019 study found that every two hours in the US, a child was taken to hospital because of accidental exposure to cosmetic products.

Newborn skin has the same number of layers as adult skin but those layers are up to 30% thinner. That thinner barrier makes it easier for substances, including chemicals, to penetrate through to deeper tissues and the bloodstream.

Young skin also has a higher water content and produces less sebum (the natural oil that protects and moisturises the skin). This makes it more prone to water loss, dryness and irritation, particularly when exposed to fragrances or creams not formulated for infants.

The skin’s microbiome – its protective layer of beneficial microbes – also takes time to develop. By age three, a child’s skin finishes establishing its first microbiome. Before then, products applied to the skin can disrupt this delicate balance. At puberty, the skin’s structure and microbiome change again, altering how it responds to products.

The investigation found that bronzers and nail polish were being used on young children. These products often contain harmful or even carcinogenic chemicals, such as formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate.

Toluene is a known neurotoxin, and dibutyl phthalate is an endocrine disruptor – a chemical that can interfere with hormone function, potentially affecting growth, development and fertility. Both substances can more easily pass through infants’ thinner, more permeable skin.

Even low-level exposure to formaldehyde, such as from furniture or air pollution, has been linked to higher rates of lower respiratory infections in children (that’s infections affecting the lungs, airways and windpipe).

Irritating ingredients

In the US, one in three adults experiences skin or respiratory symptoms after exposure to fragranced products. If adults are reacting, it’s no surprise that newborns and children with their developing immune systems are at even greater risk.

Perfumes often contain alcohol and volatile compounds that dry out the skin, leading to redness, itching and discomfort.

Certain skincare ingredients have also been studied for their potential to affect hormones, trigger allergies or pose long-term health concerns:

alkylphenols used in detergents and cosmetics may disrupt hormone activity
antimicrobials such as triclosan can interfere with thyroid hormones and contribute to antibiotic resistance
bisphenols, (BPA widely used in packaging are linked to hormone disruption.
cyclosiloxanes (D4 and D5) may accumulate in the body and affect hormonal balance
ethanolamines can react with other ingredients to form nitrosamines, some of which are potential carcinogens
parabens are preservatives that mimic oestrogen, though some studies suggest minimal risk at low doses
phthalates used in fragrances and plastics are linked to reproductive toxicity, especially in early-life exposures
benzophenone is found in many sunscreens and some forms may act as allergens and hormone disruptors.

While many of these ingredients are permitted in regulated concentrations, some researchers warn of a “cocktail effect”: the cumulative impact of daily exposure to multiple chemicals, especially in young, developing bodies.

Temporary tattoos

Temporary tattoos, particularly black henna, are popular on holidays but they aren’t always safe. Black henna is a common cause of contact dermatitis in children and may contain para-phenylenediamine (PPD), a chemical approved for use in hair dyes but not for direct application to skin.

PPD exposure can cause severe allergic reactions and, in rare cases, cancer. Children may develop hypopigmentation – pale patches where colour is lost – or, in adults, hyperpigmentation that can last for months or become permanent.

Worryingly, children exposed to PPD may experience more severe reactions later in life if they use hair dyes containing the same compound. This can sometimes lead to hospitalisation or even fatal anaphylaxis. Because of these risks, European legislation prohibits PPD from being applied directly to the skin, eyebrows, or eyelashes.

‘Natural’ doesn’t mean harmless

Products marketed as “natural” or “clean” can also cause allergic reactions. Propolis (bee glue), for instance, is found in many natural skincare products but causes contact dermatitis in up to 16% of children.

A study found an average of 4.5 contact allergens per product in “natural” skincare ranges. Out of 1,651 “natural” personal care products on the US market, only 96 (5.8%) were free from contact allergens. Even claims like “dermatologically tested” don’t guarantee safety; they simply mean the product was tested on skin, not that it’s free from allergens.

Babies and young children aren’t just miniature adults. Their skin is still developing and is more vulnerable to irritation, chemical absorption and systemic effects: substances that penetrate the skin can enter the bloodstream and potentially affect organs or biological systems throughout the body. Applying adult-targeted products, or even well-meaning “natural” alternatives, can therefore carry real risks.

Adverse reactions can appear as rashes, scaling or itchiness and, in severe cases, blistering or crusting. Respiratory symptoms like coughing or wheezing should always be investigated by a medical professional.

When in doubt, keep it simple. Limit what goes on your child’s skin, especially in the early years.

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Adam Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Using cosmetics on babies and children could disrupt horomones and trigger allergies – https://theconversation.com/using-cosmetics-on-babies-and-children-could-disrupt-horomones-and-trigger-allergies-261204

July 25, 2025

How to reduce the hidden environmental costs of supply chains

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Benjamin Selwyn, Professor of International Relations and International Development, Department of International Relations, University of Sussex

Global supply chains account for 70% of world trade. They are the arteries of global capitalism, moving goods and services across borders multiple times before reaching consumers.

Since the early 1990s — as part of economic globalisation — these networks have enabled mass consumption by delivering cheap goods made using cheap labour and shipped globally at minimal cost. But this convenience comes at a catastrophic environmental price.

The infrastructure that supports global supply chains — ports, highways, railways, data servers — has expanded dramatically, increasing the distance goods travel from production to consumption to disposal. These “supply chain miles” are a major contributor to ecological degradation.

Worse still, managing these sprawling networks depends on energy-intensive digital technologies, produced and distributed through global supply chains. Electronic waste is soaring, reaching 62 million tonnes in 2022 and projected to increase to 82 million tonnes by 2030.

Global supply chains have also driven the expansion of global markets. Argentina’s soy industry is a case in point: production surged from under 30,000 tonnes in 1970 to over 60 million tonnes in 2015, largely to feed the world’s growing livestock population.

Consequently, much of the Argentinian pampas region – previously renowned for its rich biodiversity – has been decimated by soy monocultures.

As an expert on global supply chains, I study what can be done to remedy this environmentally damaging situation. My research shows that this problem runs deeper than logistics.

Global supply chains are a key part of the capitalist system that thrives on endless economic growth. Competitive capital accumulation (where profits are reinvested to generate more profits) drives this cycle.

The global economy is forecast to more than double by 2050. This entails an accelerated use of resources and waste generation, in a world that has already transcended an increasing number of planetary boundaries or safe limits of consumption.

While green technologies can hypothetically make supply chains more efficient, enhanced efficiency under capitalism often leads to more production, not less. Efficiency gains can reduce costs, make goods more profitable and stimulate greater investment. Energy-saving lightbulbs and digital tools, for example, have led to broader adoption and higher overall energy use, rather than a decrease in energy demand.

Better tech alone won’t reduce environmental harm. We need a shift toward a low-energy economy that prioritises human and ecological wellbeing over profit.

Public transport, healthcare, open-source software and urban food systems are examples of social provision that are often cheaper, more inclusive and more environmentally sustainable than their profit-orientated alternatives.

Greening supply chains

I’ve identified five practical steps that can reduce the environmental footprint of supply chains.

First, accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewables is essential. The Danish Island of Samsø went from fossil fuel dependence to 100% renewable energy by the early 2000s in the space of a decade by constructing and deploying on- and off-shore wind-power and biomass boilers. Scaling up such transitions could power cleaner supply chain infrastructure.

Second, the electrification of shipping means that battery-powered shipping is no longer science fiction. The Yara Birkeland, the world’s first fully electric cargo ship, recently launched with a 100-container capacity. One study suggests that 40% of container traffic could be electrified this decade using existing technology.

Third, by designing for durability and repair, digital and electronic products can be built to last and easy to repair. The “right to repair” movement advocates for consumer rights to fix and repair products rather than having to buy new ones and is gaining traction.

It is challenging corporate control over who can fix what. Six US states have passed laws giving consumers the right to repair their own devices. In the UK, a community initiative called the Restart Project is pushing for stronger regulations and promoting community-based repair initiatives and digital technology sharing.

woman with sewing kit repairs denim jeans — Designing products that last and can easily be repaired helps create a more circular and less wasteful economy.
Natali Ximich/Shutterstock

Fourth, urban transport needs a rethink. Road transport accounts for about 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That sector could be streamlined by shifting supply chains from manufacturing millions of cars to investing in efficient and affordable bus, train and bike networks. Car-free cities and expanded electric public transport networks could slash emissions from road transport. This is already happening in places like Ghent in Belgium, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Lamu Island in Kenya and Fes el Bali in Morocco.

Fifth, supply chains can be shortened by shifting diets. Reducing meat consumption could shrink the global feed-livestock chain the vast complex of animal feed production (such as soy) underpinning the burgeoning world cattle population and its associated transport emissions.

Countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark have already seen declines in meat consumption over the past decade as plant-based diets have gained popularity. The UK is also experiencing a fall in per capita meat consumption

These strategies are all tiny steps in the right direction. But, as the US author and environmentalist Bill McKibben says, “winning slowly is the same as losing”. We need much greater and more rapid transformations.

So, while parts of supply chains can become more sustainable, any efforts will be counterproductive as long as governments and firms continue chasing endless economic growth. What’s needed now is the political and cultural will to prioritise people and the planet over profit.

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Benjamin Selwyn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How to reduce the hidden environmental costs of supply chains – https://theconversation.com/how-to-reduce-the-hidden-environmental-costs-of-supply-chains-259595

July 25, 2025

As Spotify moves to video, the environmental footprint of music streaming hits the high notes

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Hussein Boon, Principal Lecturer – Music, University of Westminster

Spotify currently has 675 million active users. Now, as it expands into video for music streaming and as more people use Spotify, the app’s environmental footprint is set to increase.

In-video advertisements that aim to increase ad revenue involve AI to tap into a users’ preferences. This means lots of individual videos with minor differences requiring additional processing scaled to the user’s streaming resolution.

But while Spotify used to publish data on its environmental costs, its reports have been incomplete since 2021. As American author and scholar, Shoshanna Zuboff points out in her book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, many tech companies lack environmental accountability.

The Carbon Trust, a consultancy that helps businesses reduce their carbon footprints, works to globally promote a sustainable future and has calculated the European average carbon footprint for video streaming as producing 55g of CO₂e per hour. This CO₂e or carbon dioxide equivalent is a comparable measure of the potential effect of different greenhouse gases on the climate: 55g of CO₂e is 50 times more than audio streaming and the equivalent of microwaving four bags of popcorn.

woman at cafe table with laptop open watching music video — Online music videos are becoming the default – but at what environmental cost?
Song_about_summer/Shutterstock

As a music technology and AI researcher, I’m aware of the shift in responsibility that comes with Spotify’s video innovations. While companies’ significant role in generating emissions should not be diminished, the shift of responsibility fromt he platform to users and content creators means that better informed choices about their streaming devices and streaming quality settings larger screens need to be made. Streaming at higher resolutions becomes significant factors in increasing video’s carbon footprint.

This increased responsibility means that end users needs to make better informed choices about their streaming devices and streaming quality settings.

While companies’ significant role in generating emissions should not be diminished, this shift of responsibility to the end user means that larger screens and streaming at higher resolutions become significant factors in increasing video’s carbon footprint.

Location also affects how carbon emissions are managed. Germany has the largest carbon footprint for video streaming at 76g CO₂e per hour of streaming, reflecting its continued reliance on coal and fossil fuels. In the UK, this figure is 48g CO₂e per hour, because its energy mix includes renewables and natural gas, increasingly with nuclear as central to the UK’s low-carbon future. France, with a reliance on nuclear is the lowest, at 10g CO₂e per hour.

There is an absolute burden of responsibility on tech and media companies to reduce their carbon emissions and to be transparent about their efforts to do so. In fact, net zero cannot be achieved without commitments from the major technology companies, many of which are based in the US whose government has not ratified the Kyoto protocol and withdrew from the Paris agreement in 2020 which are both significant global efforts to combat climate change.

Eco-conscious music streaming

A French thinktank called the Shift Project advocates for people and companies to adopt “digital sobriety” (the mindful use of digital tech) to ensure efficiency and sustainability. For example, research shows that the UK could reduce its carbon output by more 16,433 tonnes if each adult sent one less thank you email a day.

Certainly aimless streaming should be avoided because video decoding can account for 35-50% of playback energy on user devices. However, music video is more than mere music. As I have argued in my own work, video “provides a layer of meaning making not present in lyrics or audio alone”.

Video can bring marginalised music makers, cultures and ideas to the foreground by tackling difficult subjects. Like the work of Syrian-American rapper, poet, activist and chaplain Mona Haydar’s Wrap My Hijab or UK grime rapper Drillminister and his critique of neo-liberalism and trickle-down economics Nouveau Riche.

To minimise the environmental footprint of your own music streaming, use Wi-Fi rather than 4G or 5G. If you listen to a song repeatedly, purchase a download to play. Use localised storage rather than cloud-based systems for all of your music and video files. Reduce auto-play, aimless background streaming or using streaming as a sleep aid by changing the default settings on your device including reducing streaming resolution. And turn your camera off for video calls, as carbon emissions are 25 times more than for audio only.

Hussein Boon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. As Spotify moves to video, the environmental footprint of music streaming hits the high notes – https://theconversation.com/as-spotify-moves-to-video-the-environmental-footprint-of-music-streaming-hits-the-high-notes-259939

July 25, 2025

Channel crossings: life in ‘microcamps’ on the French border, and how they are changing crossing attempts

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sophie Watt, Lecturer, School of Languages and Cultures, University of Sheffield

I have spent the past two years examining the living conditions in informal refugee camps along the northern coast of France as part of an ongoing research project on borders. These sites are where people gather before attempting to cross the Channel to the UK.

The UK government recently announced a returns agreement to discourage people from making the crossing and economic sanctions
against people smugglers, following an increase in funding for border control and a decision to use counter-terrorism tactics in an effort to “smash the gangs”.

But from what I have observed, such policies appear to do little to stop people from making the journey. Quite the opposite – the more police crack down, the more the smuggling networks take risks to get around difficulties.

My fieldwork has been primarily conducted through volunteer work with Salam, a grassroots organisation that provides hot meals and clothing to the main informal camps in Calais and Dunkirk. I have also collaborated with other groups such as Alors on Aide and Opal Exil.

In the past few years, smuggling networks have adjusted their tactics to evade police. While smugglers used to inflate boats on the beaches between Calais and Dunkirk, they are now mostly using “taxi boats”. These leave further north or south on the coast, as far as Le Touquet. They then pick up groups of refugees waiting in the water along the coast, avoiding police intervention.

Groups of people sitting on the ground in a forest on a sunny day — A microcamp in Ecault Forest.
Sophie Watt

In response, and in order to intensify the crossings, “microcamps” have emerged – smaller temporary settlements closer to the beach, along the coast between Hardelot and Calais. These microcamps act as connecting points between the larger camps and the coastal departure locations where taxi boats pick them up. They allow for people to make several attempts at crossing without having to return to the large camps, where living conditions are more difficult.

The larger camps (such as Loon Plage and Calais) are the epicentre of the smuggling operations. The camps are evicted at least once a week (every 24 hours in Calais) due to France’s official “zero fixation point” policy. This policy, which bars people from forming long-term settlements, was implemented after the dismantling of the Calais “Jungle” refugee camp in October 2016.

Camp conditions

Police efforts to uphold the zero fixation point policy entail frequent evacuations, restrictions of humanitarian aid and physical site disruption. At Loon Plage, I saw that the sole access to water is a livestock trough.

Official guidance from the UN’s refugee agency states that, irrespective of the informality of these camps, their residents should have access to water, sanitation and shelter.

Troughs of water at an informal camp — Access to water is limited to troughs.
Sophie Watt

The non-profit watchdog group Human Rights Observers has documented instances of police violence and seizures of people’s belongings and tents at the camps.

In addition to regular evictions of the larger camps, the microcamps have recently seen more brutal police action. There have been reports of police using teargas, puncturing life jackets and tents, contributing to untenable living conditions. Violence and shootings between smuggling groups have also been reported in Loon Plage camp.

While working with Alors On Aide and photographer Laurent Prum we met around 50 people, including seven children (ages one-17), in a microcamp on the edge of the Ecault forest near Boulogne-sur-Mer. We immediately noted a tension between the group and the gendarmes who were standing watch.

Most of this group had spent a few years in Germany before being refused asylum. They told me they felt they had been forced to come back to France, because of the deportation measures currently being implemented by the German government.

A few confided that this was their fifth and final try at crossing the Channel. This is a new tactic the smuggling organisations use to make more money more rapidly: while refugees used to be able to try as many times as they needed, they now have to pay again after five failed attempts.

The previous day, this group told us they had been chased out of another part of the forest. There, we had found several empty canisters of tear gas – consistent with reports that French police have deployed tear gas in operations against informal camps.

This group had wanted to stay there because they could use a dilapidated shed to shelter themselves and their children from the rain. Eventually, the gendarmes evicted them, forcing them to spend the night in the rain – the field in question was privately owned. Following the eviction, we witnessed that the landowner had covered the area with manure to stop them returning.

A young Sudanese man showed us videos of the altercation. The exchange, during which five people were arrested, was violent. The children were terrified and the video showed the gendarmes using teargas against the group. A Palestinian mother was arrested and taken into custody, forced to leave her two young daughters. Her husband asked me: “Why did they arrest her when they could see she had two children with her?”

Alors on Aide mobilised several of its members to bring clothes, blankets and food for the group, and got the Palestinian woman released from custody, as she had not been charged with any offence.

Slashing boats

While living conditions in camps and the capacity of the French asylum system make staying in France difficult, police are also taking firmer action against boats attempting the crossing.

As part of a coastal patrol (helping refugees after a failed crossing attempt), we arrived on the beach in Équihen at around 7am on July 4 to find that French police had just punctured a boat in the water.

The UK government praised French police for this action, performed in front of international media. The UK and France have also discussed allowing coastguards to intercept taxi boats up to 300 metres off the coast.

This would be a marked change from current regulations, which prohibit French police from intervening offshore except when responding to passengers in distress. Even the border police have doubts about the legal basis for this measure and its practical implications at sea, particularly given the heightened risk of accident.

Trapped between hounding by police on the beaches and constant evacuations from the informal settlements, the refugees have no choice but to try to cross the Channel at any cost. A record number of 89 refugees died at the Franco-British border in 2024. Thirteen deaths at sea have already been recorded in 2025.

In my view, the recently announced French-British measures to intensify policing and border enforcement are unlikely to deter people from attempting dangerous crossings. Instead, they will create an incentive for more dangerous tactics by smugglers, putting more lives at risk and violating human rights. Any agreement to return asylum seekers, restrict their access to asylum or force people back across borders will exacerbate the dangers already experienced by those seeking refuge.

Sophie Watt receives funding from the University of Sheffield and the British Academy / Leverhulme Small Research Grants.

– ref. Channel crossings: life in ‘microcamps’ on the French border, and how they are changing crossing attempts – https://theconversation.com/channel-crossings-life-in-microcamps-on-the-french-border-and-how-they-are-changing-crossing-attempts-260843

July 25, 2025

Fear of crime is a useful political tool, even if the data doesn’t back it up

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Emily Gray, Assistant Professor of Criminology, University of Warwick

“We’re actually facing, in many parts of our country, nothing short of societal collapse.” This was the dire warning from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, in setting out his party’s goal of halving crime.

In an op-ed in the Daily Mail and a press conference, Farage framed Britain as a nation in crisis from rising crime and lawlessness. But, he said, Reform had the solution: mass deportation of foreign offenders, the construction of prefabricated “Nightingale” prisons, and a wholesale crackdown on offending.

He insisted that British streets were out of control (although recent rises in crime come mainly from online fraud and shoplifting, according to the latest data), pledged to simultaneously increase prison sentences and reduce overcrowding, and vowed to restore order with a “higher and physically tougher standard of police officer”.

Speaking after a weekend of violent anti-immigration protests in Epping, Farage also tied Britain’s supposed lawlessness to migration: “Many break the law just by entering the UK, then commit further crimes once here – disrespecting our laws, culture and civility. The only acceptable response is deportation.”

Invoking crime as a threat, and the politician as its solution, is a tried-and-tested political manoeuvre. We’ve seen it deployed from both left and right, in many parts of the world, for decades. Stuart Hall and colleagues famously examined this phenomenon in the 1970s in their seminal book Policing the Crisis.

Our own analysis suggests that the accuracy of crime statistics often matters less than how politicians frame public anxieties – through media, public rhetoric and policy initiatives. In short: the public often responds to emotion as much as evidence.

One tension in England and Wales is that there are two major sources of crime data. The first – on which Farage leans heavily – is police-recorded crime. But, as is widely understood, that data provides only a partial picture of the true extent of crime. Many people, especially those from marginalised or vulnerable groups, choose not to report their experiences of crime.

Moreover, the consistency and accuracy with which police forces record these offences has been questioned over time. Indeed, police-recorded crime statistics are not designated as official national statistics.

The other (and more robust) source is the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), which asks a representative sample of the public about their experiences of crime over the past 12 months. Notably, it includes those incidents that were not reported to the police.

Running since the early 1980s, the CSEW has demonstrated long-term declines in incidents of theft, criminal damage and violence (with or without injury) since the mid-to-late 1990s. Curiously, Farage told reporters that the CSEW was “based on completely false data”, without providing any evidence.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), and most criminologists, regard the CSEW as the more accurate metric of long-term crime trends. (The Conversation asked the CSEW to comment but hadn’t received a response when this article was published.)

The political weight of crime

Crime has electoral value. It allows parties and political campaigners to project strength, decisiveness and control. Farage’s rhetoric is designed to provoke urgency and anxiety. It’s a well-worn script. Margaret Thatcher’s government leveraged fears of law and order. New Labour made “anti-social behaviour” a central point of focus at a time when crime was, in fact, falling.

In research conducted with colleagues, we examined how people’s fears about specific crimes are shaped not just by actual crime rates, or by the person’s age, gender or ethnicity, but also by the political context in which they grew up.

Using data from the CSEW and a method called age-period-cohort analysis, we explored how different “political generations” developed and retained distinct concerns about crime.

We found clear patterns. Those who grew up during the James Callaghan era in the mid-to-late 1970s – when politicians repeatedly warned of “muggings” – were more likely to report anxieties about street robbery over time.

Thatcher’s generation, who came of age during a sharp rise in property crime, were more likely than other groups to express long-term fears about burglary. And those who grew up under New Labour – during the height of the “anti-social behaviour” agenda – reported persistent concerns about neighbourhood disorder, even as recorded incidents declined.

Police officers on a city street — Is crime on the rise? Depends who you ask.
Loch Earn/Shutterstock

In other words, the political rhetoric people are exposed to during their formative years leaves a lasting impression on their relationship to crime. Debates about crime become embedded in personal and generational memory.

Crime is real and victims suffer. But distorting its nature and prevalence can erode public trust in the institutions tasked with protecting us. It can foster punitive and ineffective policy responses. And it can leave whole communities feeling targeted, criminalised or unsafe, based on selective and often sensational narratives.

We absolutely need to talk about crime. But we also need to talk about how we talk about crime. Who frames the debate, which statistics are used, who and how many are left out of the official records, whose fears are being amplified, and who is looking to exploit crime?

Emily Gray has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.

Stephen Farrall has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.

– ref. Fear of crime is a useful political tool, even if the data doesn’t back it up – https://theconversation.com/fear-of-crime-is-a-useful-political-tool-even-if-the-data-doesnt-back-it-up-261777

July 25, 2025

New polling: Reform is winning over Britain’s Christian support

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stuart Fox, Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Exeter

When we look at how people vote in elections and why they choose certain parties, analysis often focuses on age, education, location or socioeconomic status. Less discussed in Britain is religion. But close to two-thirds of its adults are still religious – expressing either a religious identity, holding religious beliefs, or taking part in religious activities.

For the one-in-three adults in Britain who are Christian, this identity remains an important influence on their political behaviour. New polling, published here for the first time, shows how Reform UK is disrupting our previous understanding of how Christians vote in British elections.

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The relationship between Britain’s Christian communities and the major political parties goes back centuries. The Conservative party has been very close to English Anglicanism since its emergence in the mid-19th century. Catholics and free-church Protestants (such as Baptists and Methodists) have tended towards the Labour and Liberal/Liberal Democrat parties. Even as Britain has become more secular, these relationships have persisted.

Anglicans, for example, have tended to vote Conservative even when the party was in dire straits. In the 2024 election, 39% of Anglicans voted Tory even as the party’s national vote share fell to 24%.

Since the 1980s and particularly in elections since 2015, however, we have started to see changes to the Christian vote. The traditional Catholic attachment to Labour has deteriorated, as has Labour’s appeal to other Christian communities such as Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians.

Instead, driven by the rising salience of social values (attitudes towards immigration, social change and national identity) as a determinant of political support, the socially conservative leanings of some Christians of all stripes has led to increased support for the Conservatives. And those who traditionally did so – the Anglicans – have become even more supportive. The result has been a steady coalescing of the Christian vote behind the Conservatives.

But now, new polling by YouGov (on June 23-24 2025) for the University of Exeter reveals that this realignment is being disrupted by the growing popularity of Reform UK.

Instead of asking who people would vote for tomorrow, a nationally representative sample of 2,284 adults was asked how likely they were to ever vote for each major party, on a scale from zero (very unlikely) to ten (very likely).

While not the same as a direct question about how someone would vote in an election, the likelihood question provides a much richer measure of the strength of their support for all of the major parties.

Stuart Fox, data by YouGov for the University of Exeter

Among Anglicans, Labour remains deeply unpopular: over half gave the party a 0. In contrast, the Conservatives still enjoy strong support among Anglicans, with 35% giving them a vote likelihood of seven or higher – the kind of support associated with voting for the party in an election.

Reform, however, has caught up. Despite only 15% of Anglicans voting Reform in 2024, 38% now rate their likelihood of voting for the party as high. That’s the same as the proportion who are strongly opposed to Reform – showing that while the party polarises Anglicans more than the Conservatives, Reform could win as much Anglican support as the Tories in an election.

Catholics show a similar trend. Labour’s traditional support is eroding: 40% of Catholics said they had zero likelihood of voting Labour, while 29% are strong supporters. As with Conservatives for the Anglican vote, Reform is almost level-pegging with Labour for the Catholic vote at 28%. It has even supplanted the Conservatives, of whom 22% of Catholics are strong supporters.

It is not yet clear why this is happening. The distinction of Christian (and non-Christian) voting patterns is not an artefact of age – there are many studies that prove this is the case.

It may be that Reform’s stances on issues such as immigration resonate with Christians’ concerns to the extent that they are willing to set aside their historic party loyalties. Or it may be that Christians are as prone as other British voters to turn to Reform out of frustration with the performances of Labour and the Conservatives in office.

Swing voters and party competition

This data also shows the extent to which voters’ support for parties overlaps or is exclusive. In other words, which voters have a high vote likelihood for only one party (and so are likely committed to backing that party in an election), which do not have such high likelihoods for any party (and so will probably not vote at all), and which have similarly high likelihoods for more than one party (effectively swing voters, persuadable one way or the other).

Among the religiously unaffiliated, 29% aren’t strong supporters of any party. For Catholics, it’s 26%. Anglicans are more politically anchored, however, with only 20% in this category.

While traditionally, we would have expected this to reflect Anglicans’ greater tendency to support the Tories, only 17% of Anglicans are strong supporters of only that party, compared with 21% who are firmly behind Reform. These aren’t swing voters; they’ve switched sides.

A further 12% of Anglicans have high vote likelihoods for both the Tories and Reform. These are swing voters that the two parties could realistically expect to win over.

Catholics are even more fragmented. Only 13% are strong supporters of Labour alone, along with 12% and 17% who are strong supporters of the Conservatives and Reform alone, respectively.

Few Catholics are torn between Labour and the other parties, but 5% are swing voters between the Conservatives and Reform: the Tories’ gradual winning over of Catholics over the last 50 years is also being challenged by the appeal of Reform.

The party has provided a socially conservative alternative to the Conservatives, with the result that the Christian vote has become more fragmented. The Tories are no longer the main beneficiaries of Labour’s loss of its traditional Catholic vote.

In addition, Reform is as popular as the Conservatives among Anglicans, and as popular as Labour among Catholics. This suggests it is appealing across the traditional denominational divide more successfully than either of the major parties.

If there is to be a single party that attracts the bulk of Britain’s Christian support, at this point it is far more likely to be Reform than anyone else.

This article was based on analysis by Dr Stuart Fox (University of Exeter), Dr Ekaterina Kolpinskaya (University of Exeter), Dr Steven Pickering (University of Amsterdam) and Prof Dan Stevens (University of Exeter), connected to the research project Investigating the individual and contextual role of religion in British electoral politics, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Stuart Fox also receives funding from the British Academy.

– ref. New polling: Reform is winning over Britain’s Christian support – https://theconversation.com/new-polling-reform-is-winning-over-britains-christian-support-260751

July 25, 2025

After 160 years of Welsh settlement in Patagonia, Indigenous voices are finally being heard

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Geraldine Lublin, Associate Professor in Spanish, Swansea University

The first Welsh settlers landed on the shores of what is today the Province of Chubut, in Argentinean Patagonia, on 28 July 1865. Carried on the ship Mimosa, this was the first of a series of immigrant contingents to create the Welsh settlement known as Y Wladfa.

The many chronicles and accounts about it have imbued the settlement with a mythical sheen. Today, Y Wladfa is home to the most famous Welsh-speaking community outside Wales. It is often touted in Britain as a little Wales across the sea. In fact, “Welsh Patagonia”, as it’s also known, was established precisely with the aim of preserving the language and culture.

A major aspect of the settlement that is celebrated is the unique friendship with the Indigenous Tehuelche that the Welsh immigrants would have struck up. However, with the commemoration of 160 years of that first group of settlers, the story about this connection is being challenged in a recently launched digital exhibition: Problematising History: Indigenous perspectives on Welsh settlement in Patagonia.

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Rather than attempting to undo the past, the project aims to address a glaring omission in historical accounts which results in an incomplete understanding of the impacts of the settlement – the lack of indigenous perspectives.

The new trilingual (Spanish, Welsh and English) exhibition challenges romanticised views about the myth of friendship between the Welsh settlers and the Indigenous Tehuelche in Patagonia. Bringing together four Mapuche Tehuelche creative projects, it reflects critically on how the story of Welsh colonisation in Chubut is told by providing a platform for voices previously unheard in Britain.

Little Wales across the sea

In Welsh Patagonia you can see quaint casas de té gales (Welsh tea houses), the ever-present dragons and strangely familiar Welsh street names. You will also see the Welsh language in towns like Gaiman, Trevelin or Trelew. To find a language that is only spoken by less than 20% in Wales itself be so present in this corner of Latin America can make for an odd experience.

The stories of how this place came to be are typical of settler colonial settings. These rose-tinted tales describe the encounter between the Welsh and the Indigenous Tehuelche as a harmonious meeting of cultures that led to a lasting friendship. The assumption is that the largely peaceful coexistence was due to the inherent Welsh benevolence rather than the result of negotiation and relationship building on both sides.

The overlooking of Indigenous agency and resistance is partly due to virtually all of the historical records available in Welsh or English being created by Welsh or European people. Even those appearing to foreground indigenous voices were recorded by non-Indigenous rapporteurs and often include at least one layer of translation.

As voices in the project Puel Willi Mapu Mew: Taiñ Zungun have said about the “Welsh rifleros” (the first Welsh explorers to “go West”):

“Their arrival is commemorated as an epic legend and they are inscribed as heroes who ‘discovered’ our land, silencing our pre-existence as Tehuelche Mapuche people, and leading to the violence of the successive evictions and removals of our lof (community).”

The incorporation of indigenous perspectives on Welsh settlement to the collections of the National Library of Wales represents a groundbreaking development. It is about time that space has been made for Mapuche Tehuelche memories about forced displacement, territorial dispossession and heritage appropriations.

Changing perceptions

The early pioneers were invited by the Argentinean government to settle in the area around the Chubut river. They were then pretty much left to their own devices to endure in the unforgiving and harsh terrain. The Indigenous Tehuelche would have not only provided them with meat but taught them to hunt and survive in their new environment.

An aspect of that good will can be traced to the Chegüelcho agreement, which the Argentine government drew up with the leaders of local Indigenous communities. The agreement stipulated that, provided the Welsh settlement was left to develop on the lands in question, the central government would send regular rations to the communities and provide animals and clothing.

However, the nuances of the coexistence have been removed, leaving a flattened historical narrative. In reality, the relationship was the result of continuous renegotiation of practical necessities and pursuit of reciprocal benefit – but was also fraught.

The Welsh outpost was beneficial to Patagonian indigenous populations in providing a convenient outlet for trading their animal skins and ostrich feathers. However, Y Wladfa was the first step of a broader Argentine project that actively sought to dispossess indigenous peoples and assert state sovereignty over Patagonia.

“The official history of Chubut silences the stories of the Mapuche and allows words like ‘progress’ and ‘Welsh settlers’ to resonate,” contributor Agustín Pichiñan explains.

“With the support of the State, fences were extended all over our territory bringing us subjugation, harassment and discrimination. Yet, we keep on resisting and fighting to recover our history, using the knowledge of our ancestors and the memories of our lof (community).”

Sustaining a simplified historical narrative and ignoring indigenous perspectives allows convenient stories which simply celebrate Y Wladfa. It prevents us from sitting with uncomfortable truths and learning.

Chief among these truths is that as a colonised people themselves the Welsh were agents of colonialism elsewhere. This is part of the wider history of Patagonian settlement and is key to striving for a better present and future for all involved.

Geraldine Lublin has received funding for the “Problematising History: Indigenous perspectives on Welsh settlement in Patagonia”.project from the Arts & Humanities Research Council Impact Acceleration Account at Swansea University.

– ref. After 160 years of Welsh settlement in Patagonia, Indigenous voices are finally being heard – https://theconversation.com/after-160-years-of-welsh-settlement-in-patagonia-indigenous-voices-are-finally-being-heard-261700

July 25, 2025

Water wars: a historic agreement between Mexico and US is ramping up border tension

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor in the Department of Government, University of Essex

As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship.

Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, in keeping with a water-sharing agreement between the two countries that has been in place since 1944 (agreements between the two regulating water sharing have existed since the 19th century).

As part of this 1944 treaty, set up when water was not as scarce as it is now, the two nations divide and share the flows from three rivers (the Rio Grande, the Colorado and the Tijuana) that range along their 2,000-mile border. The process is overseen by the International Boundary and Water Commission.

Mexico must send 430 million cubic metres of water per year from the Rio Grande to the US, while the US must send nearly 1.85 billion cubic metres of water from the Colorado River to support the Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali.

Water deliveries are measured over a five-year cycle, and the current one ends in October. Mexico struggled to deliver its water “debt” in the last cycle which ended in 2020, using waters from reservoirs at the last minute to fulfil its obligations. This left northern Mexico with severely depleted water levels.

Due to growing tensions over water, the Biden administration tried to negotiate and work with the Mexican government to improve the speed with which Mexico’s water deliveries were taking place in 2024.

But with Donald Trump’s return to office, the US has taken a more aggressive stance with Mexico to address its water debts to the US. For the first time in over 50 years, in March of 2025, the US refused to send water from the Colorado River to Tijuana – a city of nearly 2 million people – in order to force Mexico to send more water to Texas.

Mexico has since responded by transferring 75 million cubic metres of water, but this is just a drop in the bucket, as Mexico remains 1.5 billion cubic metres in debt. And this did little to satisfy the Trump administration, which threatened to withhold more water from Mexico. It also demanded the resignation of Maria-Elena Giner, who led the International Boundary and Water Commission, in April.

Rather than looking at diplomatic solutions, Trump has accused Mexico of stealing Texans’ water and has promised to keep escalating consequences if it doesn’t deliver on the treaty terms.

A map showing the US and Mexico border and rivers running through it. — Rainer Lesniewski/Shutterstock

For farmers in Texas, the water shortage has left them unable to plant their crops as they don’t have enough irrigated water to do so. A year ago, the last sugar mill in southern Texas shut down due to the lack of water being delivered by Mexico.

But Mexican farmers believe that the agreement is binding only when Mexico has enough water to satisfy its own needs – and with drought conditions, this means that no excess available water can be sent. Continuing drought conditions in Mexico have plagued farmers in the north, who also rely on water for their crops. Reductions in rainfall in recent years have also left Mexico struggling with water supplies for its own citizens in urban areas.

No running water

In recent years, drought has particularly affected the city of Monterrey in northern Mexico. In 2022, taps ran dry with many of its five million residents without running water for months. Flushing toilets, laundering clothing, washing dishes, bathing all required hauling water by hand from wells.

Locals protested the fact that the best water infrastructure went to factories, not residents. One factor is that water demand has skyrocketed due to more manufacturing in border cities in Mexico.

While increased manufacturing poses one problem, an even bigger problem lies with agriculture, and the types of plants being planted, as well as the way they have traditionally been watered. For example, avocados require 91 litres a day – four times more water than the production of oranges, and ten times more than the production of tomatoes.

Alfalfa is another thirsty crop being mass produced in drought-prone states, such as Texas, California and even Arizona.

Citizens in Mexico City sometimes faced weeks of water shortages in recent years.

As much as 80% of the Colorado River basin’s water is used for agriculture and about half of that goes towards the production of alfalfa. Even more concerning is that most of the water is going to feed these thirsty crops. And in the dry south-west states of the US half of its water goes to towards the production of beef and dairy cattle.

This has an impact on cities who are completely dependent on the Colorado River. In the case of Tijuana in Mexico, the Colorado River supplies 90% of its water, while US cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas receive 50% and 90% of their water supplies from the Colorado River and basin, respectively.

This is a major concern as both the Colorado River and the Rio Grande are experiencing record low levels of water. And getting more water from Mexico is not a long-term solution.

Though the Biden administration was criticised by farmers for not threatening Mexico, by withholding water, its approach largely focused more on the long-term challenges.

For the previous US administration the solution was to invest more in the Colorado River basin, incentivising California, Arizona and Colorado to conserve three million acre-feet of water through 2026 in return for US$1 billion (£741,000,000) in federal funding.

What drives this conflict?

But under Trump, federal funding for tackling climate change is being slashed. Increased polarisation in US domestic politics and growing tensions between the US and Mexico will make resolving this crisis all the more difficult.

This is a missed opportunity. Even though conflicts over water are becoming more frequent, water scarcity can also be a potential driver of cooperation.

Meanwhile, the US’s relationship with Mexico continues to be rocky. Trump has threatened to put new 30% tariffs on Mexico from August 1, after he claimed it hadn’t done enough to tackle drug cartels.

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has said her government was destroying drug laboratories every day, and that the US must control weapons travelling over its border into Mexico which were being used for criminal purposes. Meanwhile, high tariffs on Mexican goods are likely to affect US consumers as Mexico is currently the US’s biggest trading partner.

Cooperation, and acknowledging the role played by climate change, and unsustainable forms of development in both agriculture and manufacturing are key to resolving this cross-border water crisis – but these are things that the Trump administration is unlikely to acknowledge, or address.

Natasha Lindstaedt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Water wars: a historic agreement between Mexico and US is ramping up border tension – https://theconversation.com/water-wars-a-historic-agreement-between-mexico-and-us-is-ramping-up-border-tension-261492

July 25, 2025

Distorted sound of the early universe suggests we are living in a giant void

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Indranil Banik, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Astrophysics, University of Portsmouth

Baryon acoustic oscillations represent the sound of the Big Bang.
Gabriela Secara, Perimeter Institute, CC BY-SA

Looking up at the night sky, it may seem our cosmic neighbourhood is packed full of planets, stars and galaxies. But scientists have long suggested there may be far fewer galaxies in our cosmic surroundings than expected.

In fact, it appears we live in a giant cosmic void with roughly 20% lower than the average density of matter.

Not every physicist is convinced that this is the case. But our recent paper analysing distorted sounds from the early universe, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, strongly backs up the idea.

Cosmology is currently in a crisis known as the Hubble tension: the local universe appears to be expanding about 10% faster than expected. The predicted rate comes from extrapolating observations of the infant universe forward to the present day using the standard model of cosmology, known as Lambda-Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM).

We can observe the early universe in great detail through the cosmic microwave background (CMB), relic radiation from the early universe, when it was 1,100 times smaller than it is today. Sound waves in the early universe ultimately created areas of low and high densities, or temperatures.

By studying CMB temperature fluctuations on different scales, we can essentially “listen” to the sound of the early universe, which is especially “noisy” at particular scales.

These fluctuations are now imprinted in the CMB, and dubbed “baryon acoustic oscillations” (BAOs). Since these became the seeds for galaxies and other structures, the patterns are also visible in the distribution of galaxies.

By measuring these patterns, we can learn how galaxies are clustered at different redshifts (distances). A particularly striking pattern, with lots of clustering, occurs at an angle called the “angular BAO scale”.

Illustration showing that slightly more galaxies formed along the ripples of the primordial sound waves than elsewhere. Then the rings of galaxies stretched with the expansion of the universe. — Illustration showing that slightly more galaxies formed along the ripples of the primordial sound waves (marked blue) than elsewhere. Then the rings of galaxies stretched with the expansion of the universe. Other galaxies are dimmed in this image to make the effect easier to see.
Nasa

This measurement ultimately helps astronomers and cosmologists learn about the universe’s expansion history by providing something physicists call a “standard ruler”. This is essentially an astronomical object or a feature on the sky with a well-known size.

By measuring its angular size on the sky, cosmologists can therefore calculate its distance from Earth using trigonometry. One can also use the redshift to determine how fast the cosmos is expanding. The larger it appears on the sky at a certain redshift, the faster the universe is expanding.

My colleagues and I previously argued that the Hubble tension might be due to our location within a large void. That’s because the sparse amount of matter in the void would be gravitationally attracted to the more dense matter outside it, continuously flowing out of the void.

In previous research, we showed that this flow would make it look like the local universe is expanding about 10% faster than expected. That would solve the Hubble tension.

But we wanted more evidence. And we know a local void would slightly distort the relation between the BAO angular scale and the redshift due to the faster moving matter in the void and its gravitational effect on light from outside.

So in our new paper, Vasileios Kalaitzidis and I set out to test the predictions of the void model using BAO measurements collected over the last 20 years. We compared our results to models without a void under the same background expansion history.

In the void model, the BAO ruler should look larger on the sky at any given redshift. And this excess should become even larger at low redshift (close distance), in line with the Hubble tension.

The observations confirm this prediction. Our results suggest that a universe with a local void is about one hundred million times more likely than a cosmos without one, when using BAO measurements and assuming the universe expanded according to the standard model of cosmology informed by the CMB.

Our research shows that the ΛCDM model without any local void is in “3.8 sigma tension” with the BAO observations. This means the likelihood of a universe without a void fitting these data is equivalent to a fair coin landing heads 13 times in a row. By contrast, the chance of the BAO data looking the way they do in void models is equivalent to a fair coin landing heads just twice in a row. In short, these models fit the data quite well.

In the future, it will be crucial to obtain more accurate BAO measurements at low redshift, where the BAO standard ruler looks larger on the sky – even more so if we are in a void.

The average expansion rate so far follows directly from the age of the universe, which we can estimate from the ages of old stars in the Milky Way. A local void would not affect the age of the universe, but some proposals do affect it. These and other probes will shed more light on the Hubble crisis in cosmology.

Indranil Banik receives funding from the Royal Society as part of a University Research Fellowship managed by his boss Harry Desmond. The second author on the paper was Vasileios Kalaitzidis, who received an undergraduate summer project grant from the Royal Astronomical Society to undertake the analysis described here.

– ref. Distorted sound of the early universe suggests we are living in a giant void – https://theconversation.com/distorted-sound-of-the-early-universe-suggests-we-are-living-in-a-giant-void-259284

July 25, 2025

A big night for women’s football – what you should watch, see and read this week

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Naomi Joseph, Arts + Culture Editor

The feelings that surged through the pub that I watched the women’s Euro 2022 cup final in were electric. England had won. My friends were in tears. Strangers were shaking hands, patting each other on the back, smiling goofily at anyone who would catch their eye. It was wonderful. I’m hoping for repeat scenes this Sunday when the Lionesses face Spain in the 2025 Uefa European Women’s Championship.

Whether they win or not, the journey has been a joy. I watched the quarter-final between England and Sweden at a pub hosting an Irish trad folk night. With every England goal, the fiddlers celebrated with a rowdy song. The street I was watching the semi-final on erupted as different pockets of fans celebrated as Chloe Kelly scored the goal that would send the Lionesses into the final.

Women’s football has gone from strength to strength since that monumental win in 2022. Many of the Lionesses are now household names (Kelly, Lucy Bronze, Ella Toone and Beth Mead to name a few). As someone who attends women’s games, I’ve never seen the stands so full. You’ve also never been able to see so many games broadcast.

The situation for players has also massively improved with female footballers earning more than ever. In this piece, sports financing expert Christina Philippou, celebrates these many wins but also highlights where there is room for improvement.

A lot of the gains made in women’s football in England can be attributed to that win in 2022. Here’s hoping that on Sunday we see another win, which leads to many more strides for women’s football.

The 2025 Uefa European Women’s Championship final will be available to watch on the BBC at 5pm, July 27.

On Sunday, the Lionesses will march onto the pitch wearing their all-white home kit. The purpose of such clothing is to unite the players, to show they are a team and representatives of a country. In this, we can see how, as the philosopher Kate Moran writes in her new book, clothes are much more than just what we put on.

In A Philosopher Looks at Clothes, Moran shows that what we choose to wear is a worthy topic of deep philosophical inquiry.

Our reviewer, Sarah Richmond, a philosophy expert, found the book an engaging and unpretentious exploration of an ubiquitous aspect of daily life. Clothing provides Moran with fertile ground for ethical, political, aesthetic and identity-related reflections.

A Philosopher Looks at Clothes by Kate Moran is out now

Also challenging how we have historically seen things is the new book by writer and curator Alayo Akinkugbe. In Reframing Blackness, Akinkugbe invites the reader to challenge art history and its approach to blackness.

How has the teaching of art history excluded blackness? How does such teaching then affect the creation and curation of art in relation to blackness.

Wanja Kimani, a curator herself, found the book engaged with many of the issues that black artists and those teaching and working in the arts have been grappling with since at least the 1960s in a clear-eyed and refreshingly optimistic manner.

Reframing Blackness by Alayo Akinkugbe is out now

For at least the last ten years there has been a growing trend for exhibitions that tackle climate change and the collapse of nature. Pandora Syperek, an expert in design, and Sarah Wade, an expert in museums, have been great supporters of the ability of such curation to communicate the urgency of such issues.

Putting their research into practice, the pair have put on their first exhibition entitled Sea Inside. Asking the question “can the sea survive us?” the show features art works that show how connected humanity is to the ocean.

These works are, as they write, emotive, imaginative and often very funny. From an aquarium full of tears to videos of jelly fish having sex in a lab, these works hope to move us closer to a care and understanding for fragile sea ecosystems.

Sea Inside is on at Sainsbury Centre in Norwich until 26 October, 2025

At The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace you can explore the glamour of the Edwardian age through some of Britain’s most fashionable royal couples – King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, their son George V and his wife Mary of Teck.

As our reviewer, professor of modern British history Jane Hamlett notes, one of the most interesting things about The Edwardians: Age of Elegance is what it reveals about the personal taste of the royals. Featuring more than 300 objects from the Royal Collection – almost half for the first time – it is fascinating to see what they chose to collect. You’ll get the chance to see work by recognisable artists of the period, including Carl Fabergé, John Singer Sargent and William Morris.

The Edwardians: Age of Elegance is on at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace until 23 November, 2025.

This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org The Conversation UK may earn a commission.

– ref. A big night for women’s football – what you should watch, see and read this week – https://theconversation.com/a-big-night-for-womens-football-what-you-should-watch-see-and-read-this-week-261886