• Hellish Repetition: Lockdown Anticipated in Samuel Beckett’s ‘What Where’

    Endgame stages a world in which old people expire in dustbins, a worker incarcerated at home reels under the weight of contradictory imperatives, while a self-regarding overseer, obsessively gives, and reviews his own performance. Beckett left us a play for our times. A year on from our first collective experience of lockdown, ‘hyperconnectivity’ has shaped…

  • Keir Exposure – Constructive Opposition a Year on?

    Covid-19 Anniversary Blog 22/04/2020.. London, United Kingdom. First virtual PMQs and Ministerial statement on Coronavirus, with First Secretary of State Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP and the Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer MP. Picture by  Jessica Taylor © UK Parliament “It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear”, writes US Political Consultant…

  • The Unmet Rights of Children in Care: the State of Affairs 12 months on

    In April 2020 regulations in the United Kingdom (UK) relating to the protection and care of children who live in residential family centres and who are cared for by foster carers, were relaxed. This raised alarm bells about the increased risk of these children’s rights not being met. Twelve months on, what is current state…

  • Covid-19 Anniversary Blog

    The 24th March 2021 will be the anniversary of the first Covid-19 lockdown in the UK. Since then we have been on a roller-coaster, both personally and professionally, and witnessed unprecedented changes to our way of life. Some will be temporary – others will be permanent; but as we approach the anniversary, can we predict…

  • Who chooses – finding candidates for public office

    This May sees a huge set of elections.  It will be the biggest national test of party popularity since the General Election.  Postponed local and mayoral elections from last year combine with scheduled contests to give us a psephologist’s dream. Yet a row in Liverpool over who will be on the ballot paper for Labour…

  • How the Biden Administration Can Take on White Supremacy

    By Heidi Beirich Taking the stage on January 20 for his inaugural speech in front of the American Capitol that had just been stormed by hundreds of right-wing extremists, President Joe Biden specifically called out the problem of white supremacy and the need to confront it. He denounced the “racism, nativism, fear, demonization” that propelled…

  • Veganuary

    We’re midway through Veganuary, the annual challenge to those who typically consume animal products to spend a month going vegan. Reports suggest half a million people in the UK have made the pledge to eat only plant-based food as part of the initiative this year, and the number of participants has risen rapidly since the…

  • Is Socially Distanced Social Responsibility Possible?

    Social responsibility is part of Bluecoat’s core purpose. We have survived many challenges and the basis of our resilience has always been a deep sense of responsibility to our civic role. We are a working arts centre with a community of artists, creative businesses, a public garden, galleries and performance spaces. We engage offsite with…

  • Socially Distanced Social Responsibility: Engaging Young People Today

    Over recent years organisations have increasingly tried to engage with the digital world, but who would have thought that a global pandemic would be the thing to turn our practice upside-down? To the world, and its young people, 2020 was a year of change and instability; rules changed seemingly minute by minute. Life as we…

  • Social Distant Socially Responsible: One Church’s Experience

    In light of the current, and preceding lockdowns, ‘church’ at St Gabriel’s, Huyton, has been very different. Transferring worship services online has allowed our congregation to interact, but the ceasing of public worship has decimated church finances and fees. We cannot let out of our facilities which impacts our ability to reach out to the…

  • How do you do Socially Distant Social Responsibility?

    Overcoming digital divides, building social connections and acting in a socially responsible way in the midst of a global pandemic isn’t easy. Last week (13/01/21) ISR hosted a webinar to discuss this challenge. The date of the webinar coincided with the launch of the JRF UK poverty report and the JRF Destitution Report which both…

  • Sorry seems to be…

    On his or her way out of office, a UK Prime Minister will often send a small group of allies to the House of Lords. On his way out of office, a US President will let a bigger group out of jail! The ability to issue a pardon for a federal crime is one of…

  • ‘Catholicism at a Crossroads’: Technology in Times of Crisis in Modern Ireland

    Since the mid-90s secularisation in Ireland has been discernible, with sharp declines in mass attendance, vocations, regular family prayer and Catholic sacramental engagement. This period dovetails with allegations of sexual abuse amongst the clergy, and the mistreatment of unmarried mothers (Fallen Women) in religious-run institutions (Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes). It also coincided with…

  • ‘A Nosy Interest in the Human Condition’: Michael Apted’s Up Series

    The death of filmmaker Michael Apted on 7 January 2021 prompted an outpouring of praise for his long career in film and television production. He directed well-regarded feature films such as Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Nell (1994). But it is for his work on the pioneering television documentary Seven…

  • Two Cheers for American Democracy

    The recent scenes of mob rule in Washington DC have sent shockwaves around the globe, and have been met by statements of disbelief and disapproval from world leaders. The condemnation of the insurrectionists by leading Republicans, including Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Mike Pence, and the subsequent congressional confirmation of Joe Biden’s…

  • The Pandemic X Brexit: A World with Hard Borders?

    As we see the imposition of hard borders within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the first time since the Acts of Union in 1707, the cosmopolitan dream of a world without borders appears to be slipping away. The European Union, once an organization eager to push for the dismantling of…

  • COVID Creativity: new possibilities or a fresh challenge?

    When Arts Council England launched its 10-year strategy in January, no-one could have guessed what was just around the corner. ‘Let’s Create’ is a strategy full of hope; about opening up opportunities, developing shared experiences and recognising the creative potential in each of us. COVID-19 has challenged us all, on a professional and personal level.…

  • World Children’s Day: why we need to raise awareness about children’s rights

    Each year the 20th November marks World Children’s Day in recognition of, and to promote, children’s rights. This date is significant because on the 20th November in 1959, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and, on the same date in 1989, the UN General…

  • At the Heart of Gold: Rethinking Athlete Welfare

    According to experts at a recent public event supported by the Institute for Social Responsibility (ISR), sports organisations need to rethink how they approach athlete welfare, to ensure they are meeting their legal and moral obligations, and to provide a healthy and safe environment. Abuse and maltreatment in sport have featured heavily in national and…

  • Biden, Trump and the Lessons of the Past

    In recent weeks media commentators have dubbed the 2020 U.S. election ‘historic’. It’s understandable. The campaign was fought in the midst of a global pandemic. By election day over 9.5 million Americans had contracted COVID-19 and more than 235,000 had died. The contrasting responses of the candidates towards the epidemic, and their competing visions of…