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With fears of a second lockdown on the horizon, Britain’s chancellor Rishi Sunak announced new measures to support jobs and businesses through the winter months. They kick in when the current furlough scheme ends on October 31.
David Spencer, an economics professor and an expert on jobs, outlines what’s in the scheme. While the plan aims to offer protection for working people over the next few months, he argues that it won’t create the basis for a healthier and more dynamic economy in the longer term.
In our latest instalment of Life’s Big Questions, a psychologist answers the question “Why do humans harm the harmless?” from Conversation reader Ruth in London. And a leadership expert gives Boris Johnson a report card for his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
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Annabel Bligh
Business & Economy Editor and Podcast Producer
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Sunak’s got a new jobs plan.
Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images
David Spencer, University of Leeds
The chancellor’s plan lacks both the broader reforms and vision needed to tackle the crisis. It also fails to offer any clear plan for recovery.
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Some 6% of people are sadists.
Brian Goff/Shutterstock
Simon McCarthy-Jones, Trinity College Dublin
What causes unprovoked acts of violence? And is there any place for such cruelty in our society?
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EPA/Jessica Taylor
Stefan Stern, City, University of London
The prime minister was slow to take this crisis seriously and delegates at every opportunity.
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Health + Medicine
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Naomi Forrester-Soto, Keele University
If we can pinpoint the origins of a virus, we can find out what factors led to it infecting humans. But viruses can emerge across the globe.
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Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford
At a secret location in London, volunteers will receive a COVID vaccine and subsequently be deliberately infected with the coronavirus.
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Salil Patel, University of Oxford; Chrystalina Antoniades, University of Oxford; Pearse Keane, UCL; Siegfried Wagner, UCL
Parkinson's disease may be diagnosed by looking for subtle changes in eye movements and thinning of retina layers.
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Arts + Culture
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Steve Taylor, Leeds Beckett University
Becoming aware of your own mortality can be a liberating and awakening experience.
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Alyce Mahon, University of Cambridge
His name has become a byword for deviancy and sexual cruelty. But Sade has also provided creative inspiration for generations of writers and artists.
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Politics + Society
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Tim Luckhurst, Durham University
Evans is admired for his fearless leadership and tireless campaigning journalism.
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Alex Goodall, UCL
Will the COVID-19 pandemic change the global balance of power? It wouldn't be the first time.
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Business + Economy
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Carol A Adams, Durham University
Logical thinking, curiosity, evidence-based decision making and fresh perspectives are all benefits brought by neurodiversity.
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Environment + Energy
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Miguel Lurgi, Swansea University
We studied a rocky shore to see how global changes are playing out within habitats.
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Featured events
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Lecture Theatre 1, Richmond Building, Portland Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 3DE, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Portsmouth
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Blavatnik School of Government, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 6GG, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Oxford
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