Author Archives: Daniel Singleton

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that from 19th July 2021 most of the remaining COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted. Once we get past the predictable political back and forth, which forms the theatre of any government announcement, we see that the mismatch of […]

The arrival of Sajid Javid as the new Health and Social Care Secretary could signal a new opportunity for the government’s approach to health inequalities. At a Parliamentary event celebrating Creative English, Mr. Javid recalled attending doctor’s appointments as a child to interpret for his […]

The New York Times reports on a new term being coined by psychologists – Languishing. This is the real and developing mental health complaint caused by the COVID lockdowns.  “It wasn’t burnout — we still had energy. It wasn’t depression — we didn’t feel hopeless. […]

It could also be said that the English are whatever you make them. Anyone studying the history of these Isles will swiftly realise there really is no such thing genetically as an English ethnicity. We are made up of many different peoples. Recently, the Labour […]

As the mob of school children bustled towards me down a cramped alleyway near where we live, my wife held me back to observe social distancing. It was good to see the normality of young people, in that classic teenage way, seemingly unaware of any […]

I have to confess: I love the census. This is partly because, as a historian, it is such a useful source of information. The census gives us a snapshot of the United Kingdom, which is then used to help organise government programmes and assign funding, […]

I was due to film a short video at a studio space adjacent to a local Men’s Shed. Max met me at the door. After a COVID-secure greeting, he enthusiastically showed me into his workshop and through to the room I would be using. We […]

Over the past few months, I have found myself considering the knotty issues of integration, citizenship and cohesion. The whole of life being in lockdown acts as a pressure cooker for the issues already in society. Tensions have been bubbling up between communities — social […]

Over the past six months, we have held well over 100 public events. It has been great to meet so many of you and to hear about your organisations, places of worship, and areas of work. People of faith are certainly at the forefront of […]

I’m sure that you—like me—are attracted to simple and dramatic headlines. Of course, the fact that we pick up a newspaper or click on a link because of these headlines makes us part of the reason journalists write in such a dramatic fashion. However, life […]