Category: English

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

China’s president, Xi Jinping, has been busy on the diplomatic front. China has just hosted the largest annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), followed by an impressive military parade to mark the defeat of Japan in the second world war – all accompanied by key bilateral meetings with heads of state from like-minded countries. You could be forgiven for thinking Beijing is now the diplomatic capital of the world.

But look behind the facade of bonhomie on display in the Chinese capital, and the unity underpinning a new China-led global order looks a lot more fragile than Xi would have you believe.

The most important result of the SCO summit on August 31 and September 1 was not the fact that leaders adopted a lengthy communique and more than 20 joint statements on issues as diverse as artificial intelligence, green industries and international trade. What mattered most was the attendance of India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, and the rapprochement between New Delhi and Beijing.

This was Modi’s first visit to China in seven years. That his country’s relations with China continue to improve was made clear by Modi’s positive assessment of his bilateral meeting with Xi (“fruitful”) and also their relationship, which he said is based on “mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity”.

Another obvious indicator of China trying to pull India closer into the SCO fold was its unequivocal condemnation of the terror attacks in Pahalgam in Kashmir in April 2025. China’s earlier failure to do so had prevented India’s defence minister from signing a similar communique at a meeting of SCO defence ministers in June.

Modi’s attendance also provided the opportunity for him and Xi to demonstrate their continuing support for Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. As far as alliances go, one between China, Russia and India would be a formidable factor in the remaking of the international order. But while there was an impressive display of solidarity between the three leaders, they are united by little more than their opposition to the current US-dominated order.

There was plenty of talk from Xi at the SCO summit about reforming the current system of international affairs – the latest blueprint of which is his Global Governance Initiative, which aims to transform the UN into a Beijing-led instrument. But the prospects of rapid change are limited.

China and India are both deeply integrated into the current international financial and economic system – as are most other SCO member states and partner countries. They may resent Donald Trump and his tariff policies but – with the partial exception of China’s dominance of the global rare-earth trade – they have little leverage.

Another problem for Xi is the fact his various forays into reshaping the international system are at best complementary. There is some overlap between the SCO and his other signature project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). But while the BRI is global and focused primarily on extending China’s reach by economic means, the SCO is much more regional in outlook and focused on security.

Add to that the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) group, and China’s approach to remaking the international system begins to look less like a coherent strategy than a series of trial balloons – with even Xi unsure which will eventually pave the way to China’s global leadership role.

A final issue for Xi is that he is limited in his choice of partners. At the SCO summit in Tianjin, it was all about relations between China, Russia and India. Two days later at the victory parade in Beijing, the fledgling alliance between China, Russia and North Korea seemed to take centre stage. However, the absence of Modi from this event demonstrated that India does not want to be too closely associated with North Korea.

Xi has different options in how he pursues his challenge to the current world order – but some are mutually exclusive. Not everyone in his orbit is comfortable with all the political alignments the Chinese president chooses.

Antipathy to US-led order

This is not to say that China’s quest to replace the US as the global superpower is bound to fail. There is a logic to what Xi is doing. He is building a Chinese-dominated sphere of influence in Asia as a power base from which to reach for global hegemony.

But outside a small circle of similarly autocratic leaders, what has propelled this project so far is less the appeal of a China-led international system than dissatisfaction with the existing liberal international order. And while this dissatisfaction predates the current incumbent of the White House, it has been aggravated over the first six months of Trump’s second term.

More than two decades of careful recalibration of US relations with India, including drawing New Delhi into an alliance pushing back against China in Asia, appear recently to have been sacrificed at the altar of Trump’s insatiable vanity.

When India failed to acknowledge his claim to have mediated in its row with Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack and declined to join Pakistan in nominating Trump for a Nobel peace prize, his response was to rekindle relations with Pakistan and impose punitive tariffs on India.

Simultaneously, Trump’s wholly misguided America-first foreign policy has undermined the very relationships in Europe and Asia that underpinned the liberal international order and secured US dominance. At least his latest insight – that China, Russia and North Korea “conspire against the United States” – gives a glimmer of hope for America’s concerned allies in the west that the US president will change course in how he deals with Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang.

If Trump doesn’t recognise the value of his country’s allies in managing the challenge that China clearly poses to the US, Xi’s sphere of influence may quickly extend far beyond Asia. This could relegate the US to a second-order power confined to – but not necessarily secure in – a diminishing sphere of influence.

Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

– ref. What Xi Jinping hosting Modi and Putin reveals about China’s plans for a new world order – https://theconversation.com/what-xi-jinping-hosting-modi-and-putin-reveals-about-chinas-plans-for-a-new-world-order-262244

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Christine Grant, Associate Professor (Research), Centre for Healthcare and Communities, Coventry University

Home-based working in the UK has been declining since the peak of the COVID pandemic – from 49% of the working population at its height to around 14% now.

While hybrid working is still increasing in popularity, attitudes persist among some employers that remote working reduces productivity, visibility and creativity. As a result, many workplaces are requiring a return to fully on-site working.

This approach, however, is not supported by research into hybrid working (a mix of working at home and on-site) which suggests productivity is not damaged and that it can also improve job satisfaction.

For many people who are disabled, neurodivergent or both, home-based working provides a real opportunity to gain – and retain – a job in a productive and supportive environment. Around 24% of the working-age population are disabled, with the employment rate among disabled people around 54%.

While disabled staff can request remote working as a reasonable adjustment, it can attract stigma. This is one reason why people may not always feel able to make this request, or say how much they would prefer to work from home. Some workers may fear repercussions like being overlooked for promotion or even losing their job.

I have studied the experiences of disabled and neurodivergent people who work from home, so I know how life-changing having a flexible job can be. One interviewee in my research told me: “I can sustain my productivity and, from my point of view, that means I can work better.”

Another said: “I don’t have to mask [attempt to hide autistic traits] at home. So there’s just a huge drop in … general anxiety and tension.”

Several large employers who took part in my study indicated that, while remote working was positive for many of their employees, there were downsides that needed to be managed. These include ensuring staff maintain their professional networks and social contacts, and discouraging working while unwell (presenteeism). Home working can intensify pressure to work while sick, and it may be harder to spot in a remote setting.

A toolkit for managers

Perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the key findings was that a supportive line manager was crucial for disabled and neurodivergent workers to make a success of remote working. Many managers, however, didn’t have enough knowledge or understanding of how to best to support each employee’s specific needs, so they couldn’t always offer appropriate guidance and advice.

With this in mind, I developed a toolkit for line managers to enable them to better support this community of workers. When good conversations happen between line managers and employees, solutions can be tailored to the person’s needs. The toolkit offers guidance to line managers on how to enable those conversations.

I make the case for remote working by setting out the benefits (including a more flexible workforce and more inclusive recruitment) for the organisation. The toolkit is designed to help managers recognise the ways in which home-based working can be positive for these workers, offering advice on how to reap the benefits while managing the downsides.

It also shares technical knowledge about disability and neurodivergence, such as how the UK Equality Act relates to this workforce, and how to approach the “reasonable adjustments” process (changes that an employer is legally obliged to make to ensure disabled staff are not at a disadvantage).

Managers these days often lead mixed teams of remote and on-site workers. To encourage effective remote working and productivity, my research has found that regular meetings and check-ins between line managers and home-working staff are important.

But sometimes it’s not enough for managers simply to level the playing field. People who are disabled, neurodivergent or both will benefit from tailored support in order to flourish in the workplace. They need to feel safe to disclose their conditions and needs, and to be themselves at work.

Remote working offers an opportunity to employ people who might not be able to work in a traditional office-based, “nine-to-five” environment. My research found that when key resources were in place, such as a conducive working environment, appropriate technology and a supportive line manager, this helped to build their self-confidence and autonomy.

It also helped them to manage their energy levels and self-care, which in turn supported better productivity, fewer absences and the ability to stay in work over the long term.

Employers should understand that the needs of this group of workers can unlock key strengths for their organisation – including diversity, staff retention and increased productivity. Remote working can present challenges for managers – but when managed well, it can also help them create a more flexible, inclusive and agile workplace.

Christine Grant receives funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council as part of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (grant number ES/S012532/1) and from Coventry University’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Account.

– ref. How to help disabled and neurodivergent people flourish while working from home – https://theconversation.com/how-to-help-disabled-and-neurodivergent-people-flourish-while-working-from-home-259183

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kevin Olsen, UKSA Mars Science Fellow, Department of Physics, University of Oxford

Scientists have discovered that Mars has an interior structure similar to Earth’s. Results from Nasa’s Insight mission suggest that the red planet has a solid inner core surrounded by a liquid outer core, potentially resolving a longstanding mystery.

The findings, which are published in Nature, have important implications for our understanding of how Mars evolved. Billions of years ago, the planet may have had a thicker atmosphere that allowed liquid water to flow on the surface.

This thicker atmosphere may have been kept in place by a protective magnetic field, like the one Earth has. However, Mars lacks such a field today. Scientists have wondered whether the loss of this magnetic field led to the red planet losing its atmosphere to space over time and becoming the cold, dry desert it is today.

A key property of the Earth is that its core has a solid centre and liquid outer core. Convection within the liquid layer creates a dynamo, producing the magnetic field. The field deflects charged particles ejected by the Sun, preventing them from stripping the Earth’s atmosphere away over time and leading to the habitable conditions we know and enjoy.

From residual magnetisation in the crust, we think that Mars did once have a magnetic field, possibly from a core structure similar to that of Earth. However, scientists think that the core must have cooled and stopped moving at some point in its history.

On the surface of Mars there is a tremendous amount of evidence that liquid water once flowed, suggesting more hospitable conditions in the past. The evidence comes in many forms, including dry lake beds with minerals that formed under water, or the dramatic valley networks carved by rivers and streams. However, the Martian atmosphere is thin today and the necessary amount of water is nowhere to be found.

Teams working with the seismometers on Nasa’s InSight Mars lander first identified the Martian core and determined that it was actually still liquid. Now, the new results from Huixing Bi, at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei and colleagues, show that there may also be a solid layer inside the liquid core.

The nature of the interior structure of Mars has been an intriguing mystery. Was it ever like Earth’s, with a dynamic liquid layer around a solid centre? Or did Mars’ smaller size prevent such a formation? How big must a planet be to gain the protection of a magnetic field, like Earth’s, and support a habitable climate?

To understand what happened, how Mars evolved, we need to understand Mars today. These questions about Mars’ atmosphere, water, and core have motivated several high profile Mars missions. While the Nasa Mars rovers, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance have studied the surface mineralogy, the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is studying the water cycle, Nasa’s Maven spacecraft is studying atmospheric loss to space, and Nasa’s InSight lander was sent to study seismic activity.

In 2021, Simon Stähler, from ETH Zurich in Switzerland, and colleagues, published a seminal paper from the InSight mission. In it, they presented an analysis of the way that seismic waves pass through Mars from Mars quakes in the vicinity of InSight, through the mantle, through the core, and then reflecting off the other side of the planet and reaching InSight.

They detected evidence of the core for the first time and were able to constrain its size and density. They modelled a core with a single liquid layer that was both larger and less dense than expected and without a solid inner core. The size was huge, about half of Mars’ radius of 1,800 km, and the low density implied that it was full of lighter elements. The light elements, such as carbon, sulphur, and hydrogen, change the core’s melt temperature and affect how it could crystallise over time, making it more likely to remain liquid.

The solid inner core (610 km radius) found by Huxing Bi and colleagues is hugely significant. The very presence of a solid inner core shows that crystallisation and solidification is taking place as the planet cools over time.

The core structure is more like Earth’s and therefore more likely to have produced a dynamo at some point. On Earth, it is the thermal (heat) changes between the solid inner core, the liquid layer, and the mantle that drive convection in the liquid layer and create the dynamo that leads to a magnetic field. This result makes it more likely that a dynamo on Mars was possible in the past.

With Simon Stähler and co-authors reporting a fully liquid core and Huxing Bi and colleagues reporting a solid inner core, it might seem as if there will be some controversy. But that is not the case. This is an excellent example of progress in scientific data collection and analysis.

Competing models of Mars

InSight landed in November 2018 and its last contact with Earth occurred in December 2022. With Stähler publishing in 2021, there is some new data from InSight to look at. Stähler’s model was revised in 2023 by Henri Samuel, from the Université Paris Cité, and colleagues. A revised core size and density helped reconcile the InSight results with some other pieces of evidence.

In Stähler’s paper, a solid inner core is specifically not ruled out. The authors state that the signal strength of the analysed data was not strong enough to be used to identify seismic waves crossing an inner core boundary. This was an excellent first measurement of the core of Mars, but it left the question of additional layers and structure open.

For the latest study in Nature, the scientists achieved their result through a careful selection of specific seismic event types, at a certain distance from InSight. They also employ some novel data analysis techniques to get a weak signal out of the instrument noise.

This result is sure to have an impact within the community, and it will be very interesting to see whether additional re-analyses of the InSight data support or reject their model. A thorough discussion of the broader geological context and whether the model fits other available data that constrain the core size and density fit will also follow.

Understanding the interior structure of planets in our Solar System is critical to developing ideas about how they form, grow, and evolve. Prior to InSight, models for Mars that were similar to Earth were investigated, but were certainly not favoured.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Mars has a solid core, resolving a longstanding planetary mystery — new study – https://theconversation.com/mars-has-a-solid-core-resolving-a-longstanding-planetary-mystery-new-study-264325

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Richard Jones, Director of Journalism, Politics and Contemporary History, University of Salford

The proposed reorganisation of council boundaries was probably not the issue which prompted British voters to elect hundreds of Reform councillors at May’s local elections.

Nigel Farage’s surging party won 677 seats and gained control of ten councils, including Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands. There, a choice about whether the districts of Gedling or Rushcliffe should be included in a redrawn Nottingham city council has led to an apparent split in the new Reform council contingent. This was reported by Nottinghamshire Live, the online brand used by venerable local newspaper the Nottingham Post.

Council leader Mick Barton was so angry, he banned all his Reform councillors from speaking to Nottinghamshire Live. Its journalists won’t be sent press releases or be invited to council events.

Requests for interviews will be rejected, although they can still attend council meetings held in public. The same goes for its BBC-funded local democracy reporters.

Branding the article “misinformation”, Barton said he welcomed “scrutiny” but added: “We also have a duty to protect the credibility of our governance and the voices that we represent. For this reason, we will not be engaging with Nottinghamshire Live or with any other media outlet we consider to be consistently misrepresenting our policies, actions or intentions.”

Nottinghamshire Live editor Natalie Fahy pointed out this rather goes against Reform’s stated interest in upholding free speech and transparency, and warned: “When the press is not welcome, you know democracy itself is in danger.”

A Guardian editorial called Barton’s decision “petty and alarming”. Spokespeople for the other main UK parties chimed in, with the Liberal Democrats fretting about Donald Trump-style politics. Even Reform UK backed away, with a national party spokesperson saying it supported free speech and it was up to the local party to explain its decision.

There was already a bit of history between local reporters and Nottinghamshire Reform’s group of mostly inexperienced politicians. An excruciating video interview with Reform councillor James Walker-Gurley was widely shared online in June. It’s fair to say he was not yet fully across his cabinet portfolio of economic development.

Local journalism and democracy

This gets us to why it matters. Reporting local politics is a classic function of journalism. The fact that our politicians regularly meet, consider business and debate issues in public has long been part of democracy.

But hardly anyone actually goes to council meetings. It is journalists who can keep a close eye and tell us all what’s happening, including Nottinghamshire’s 800,000 plus residents.

Not that scrutiny means constant criticism. While councillors and reporters often do bump up against each other, studies of the local press have generally bemoaned it for being more of a lapdog than a watchdog, guilty of skirting controversy and avoiding proper scrutiny of institutions.

In their seminal 1973 book on local government and the media, researchers Harvey Cox and David Morgan argued local newspaper editors have always been interested in “the good of the town” as a general concept, and those editors are therefore in favour of anything that fits into this theme rather than being too negative.

A broadly constructive connection between town hall and local paper is normal and helps both sides, in turn allowing citizens to be better informed. Reform’s posturing in Nottinghamshire harms its relationship with a key player that may be as likely to help trumpet the party’s successes as point out its failures.

While Reform’s attitude to reporters in Nottinghamshire is a concern, a far bigger threat to local journalism than grumpy politicians is money, or the lack of it. The business model of newspapers has been under desperate stress for two decades, as advertising cash floods to digital platforms and print sales decline.

In 2007, the local sector employed about 9,000 journalists and had revenue of £2.4 billion. By 2022, those figures had declined below 3,000 and £600 million.

Consigned to regional hubs and home offices, local journalists are no longer working for grand civic institutions. However, flexible use of digital publishing tools and a continuing commitment to public interest journalism, alongside lighter content, has kept titles such as Nottinghamshire Live prominent in our social feeds.

In the US these trends have moved faster, so we can see where we might be heading. In last year’s presidential election, Donald Trump won 91% of counties which are so-called “news deserts”. These are areas without a remaining professional source of local news. Voters in these places turn more to national media and therefore make choices based on national issues, not local ones.

American academics Danny Hayes and Jennifer Lawless have argued this decline in local media makes it harder for citizens to hold politicians accountable. There becomes less incentive for politicians to do their jobs ethically, and their policies may be less likely to reflect the will of the local electorate.

This is what we can see the beginnings of in Nottinghamshire. Where journalists face a battle to find out what’s going on at the council, residents will know less about their areas. Politicians can operate more in the shadows, only appearing to deliver prepared soundbites on their own channels.

These fraying connections in local public-life mean residents may soon discover the council is not following their wishes, whether on boundary changes or anything else. If Reform’s example becomes the new normal, everyone loses.

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.

Richard Jones 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. Reform v the Nottingham Post: why local media is crucial to democracy – https://theconversation.com/reform-v-the-nottingham-post-why-local-media-is-crucial-to-democracy-264218

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Emily Blackwell, Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, University of Bristol

Many cat owners don’t realise that just like humans, cats can suffer from dementia. A recent paper has even found many similarities between feline and human dementia, finding that cognitive impairment may develop in similar ways.

Some of the symptoms of dementia in cats are even similar to what we might see in humans – though not all of them, of course. Knowing what signs to look out for is important so you can provide your cat with the best care during this phase of its life.

Feline cognitive dysfunction syndrome (also known as feline dementia) is an age-related decline in a cat’s cognitive abilities. It’s generally characterised by behavioural changes that cannot be attributed to other medical conditions.

Feline dementia is thought to be very common in older cats. One study found that by 15 years of age, more than half of cats showed signs of dementia. However, some behaviour associated with the condition has also been identified in cats as young as seven. A separate survey of cat owners also found that around 28% of cats aged between 11 and 14 exhibited at least one behavioural change associated with dementia.

Behavioural changes are often the first indication that there may be something wrong. There are eight signs to look out for that might indicate your cat has dementia.

1. Unusual vocalisation: Your cat might start to vocalise excessively, or in new situations. A common example of this is meowing loudly at night.

2. Altered interactions: Cats with dementia sometimes seek attention more often or become “clingy”. Equally, cats with dementia might interact less than previously, appear irritable or seem not to recognise familiar people.

3. Sleep changes: You may notice changes in your cat’s sleeping habits – often becoming restless at night and sleeping more during the day.

4. House soiling: Changes in toilet habits can be a sign of several different conditions, but toileting outside the litter tray can be a common sign of dementia in cats.

5. Disorientation: Just like people with dementia, cats may show signs of confusion or wandering behaviour. This might appear as losing their bearings, staring blankly at walls, getting stuck behind objects or going to the wrong side of the door.

6. Changes in activity levels: A cat with dementia may be more or less active than usual. They may play less often or be less inclined to explore. You might also notice them spending less time taking care of themselves, for example grooming or washing themselves less.

7. Appearing anxious: A cat with dementia might show signs of anxiety in situations that they were previously confident with – such as around familiar people, places or sounds. An anxious cat might hide more often, going under the bed or on top of cupboards to escape.

8. Learning problems: Cats with dementia may be less unable to perform previously learned tasks, such as finding their food bowl, and may have difficulty learning new tasks.

Caring for your cat

There’s significant overlap between symptoms of feline dementia and other common conditions, such as arthritis and kidney disease . So if you see any of these behavioural changes in your cat, you should speak to your vet to rule out these other conditions.

Research into feline dementia is limited. Much of what we know about prevention and treatment is extrapolated from research into humans and dogs. And, as with these other species, there’s no cure for dementia in cats. But there are ways of limiting the impact of the disease.

Certain environmental modifications can help stimulate cats, activating their brains and causing nerves to grow. But the severity of your cat’s dementia must be considered before making any of these changes.

In healthy or mildly affected cats, promoting play or simulating hunting with interactive toys and encouraging exploration using hide and seek games is thought to delay the progression of cognitive dysfunction.

But in cats with severe cognitive impairment, changing their environment could lead to confusion and anxiety – worsening behavioural symptoms.

Diet changes – specifically the addition of supplements containing antioxidants (vitamin E and C) and essential fatty acids – may also help to reduce inflammation in the brain, slowing the disease’s progression.

However, only dog-specific supplements have been tested in scientific research and proven to enhance cognition in dogs. But if you do want to try giving these supplements to your cat, be sure you only give them supplements approved for felines. Dog supplements should not be given to cats as they may include substances that are toxic to cats – such as alpha lipoic acid.

Feline dementia is a condition both highly prevalent and challenging to manage. Knowing what symptoms to look out for can ensure your cat gets diagnosed earlier on. This will also ensure you’re able to make the necessary changes to its environment or diet that will ultimately improve its quality of life.

Emily Blackwell receives funding from Cats Protection, Zoetis, Defra and Waltham Petcare Science Institute.

Sara Lawrence-Mills receives funding from Zoetis.

– ref. Cats can get dementia too – here are the eight signs to look out for – https://theconversation.com/cats-can-get-dementia-too-here-are-the-eight-signs-to-look-out-for-263148

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London

Thanks to the media interest in his election as leader of the Green party of England and Wales, there’s now plenty of information available about Zack Polanski, the so-called “eco-populist” who won a landslide victory over his arguably more moderate rivals.

But what do we know about the nearly 65,000 grassroots members who gave Polanski an overwhelming 85% of the vote, albeit on a turnout of just 38%? A survey we conducted of party members following the 2024 election sheds light on why he won so convincingly. It also gives us some idea of how easy Polanski will find it to achieve his goal of moving the party in a more radical, left-liberal direction.

As part of the Party Members Project, we’ve surveyed members of the country’s five most popular nationwide parties, including 732 people who belonged to the Greens.

The Greens had easily the most gender-balanced membership, coming in at a satisfyingly precise 50:50. However, in common with those of other parties, Green members are no spring chickens: fewer than one in 20 were in the 18-24 age group. The rest were evenly spread across the 25-49, 50-64 and 65+ groups.

And, like most other parties (Reform UK being a partial – but only a partial – exception) Green members are overwhelmingly middle class. Indeed, to use a commonly employed classification, some 83% of Green members we surveyed were ABC1s – meaning they come from one of the three higher (and generally better-off) social grades.

Geographically, they are rather more likely than the population as a whole to live in London, the south and the east of England rather than in the north or the Midlands.

How leftwing are Green members?

In terms of attitudes and values, some 88% of Green members voted Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum compared to just 5% who plumped for Leave. And when asked whether “the government should increase taxes and spend more on public services or cut taxes and spend less on public services?” agreement with the first option was near universal at 96%. This beats even the 89% of Labour and Lib Dem members who said the same.

When asked to place themselves on a left-right scale, some 27% of Green members labelled themselves “very left wing”, with 54% picking “fairly left wing” and 16% going for “slightly left wing”. This again suggests the Greens’ grassroots stand somewhere to the left of Labour’s membership.

More broadly, Green members are clearly at the far end of what political scientists sometimes refer to as the green alternative libertarian v traditional authoritarian nationalist, GAL-TAN scale. This appears, these days, to be as if not more important than its left-right equivalent.

Predictably enough, some 98% of Green members supported cutting emissions to get to net zero. On immigration only 18% thought it had been too high over the last decade, with 29% thinking it had actually been too low and 41% “about right”. Eight out of ten disagreed with the notion that men and women had different roles in society, and three quarters said they weren’t proud of this country’s history.

Were we betting people, then, all the above would have led us to put a fair bit of our spare cash on Polanski to win the Green party leadership – and to do so fairly easily. Our findings suggest, too, that he’ll have considerable support in his bid to take the party in a more radical direction.

We also, incidentally, asked party members what qualities they thought it important for a leader to possess, getting them to pick their top three from a list we gave them. For the Greens, having “a strong moral compass” came in at number one, selected by two thirds of members.

Second was being “a good communicator”, picked by just over half. Number three on their list, mentioned by just under half of Green members, was “the ability to empathise with others”.

Reading the portraits of him published since his big win, and judging by his media appearances both during and after the contest, Polanski would appear to be just the kind of leader the Green grassroots is looking for. Whether that’s also true of voters remains to be seen.

Tim Bale has received funding from the ESRC and Research England (via QMUL) to conduct research on party members.

Paul Webb has previously received funding from the ESRC to conduct research on political parties.

Stavroula Chrona 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. Our survey of Green party members suggests Zack Polanski has the mandate to take his party in a more radical direction – https://theconversation.com/our-survey-of-green-party-members-suggests-zack-polanski-has-the-mandate-to-take-his-party-in-a-more-radical-direction-264510