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An evolving green agenda as the UK seeks to achieve 'net zero' in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, coupled with our new trading relationship with the European Union, is resulting in new government policies, which will be disruptive to Britain's traditional food and farming practices. These policies encourage sustainable farming and land‐sparing to restore natural habitats and will provide an opportunity to address issues such as high emissions of GHGs and dwindling biodiversity resulting from many intensive agricultural practices. To address these and other food challenges such as global conflicts and health issues, Britain will need a revolution in its food system. The aim of this paper is to make the case for such a food revolution where additional healthy food for the UK population is produced in‐country in specialised production units for fruits and vegetables developed on sites previously considered unsuitable for crop production. High crop productivity can be achieved in low‐cost controlled environments, making extensive use of novel crop science and modern controlled‐environment technology. Such systems must be operated with very limited environmental impact. In recent years, growth in the application of plasticulture in UK horticulture has driven some increases in crop yield, quality and value. However, the environmental cost of plastic production and plastic pollution is regarded as a generational challenge that faces the earth system complex. The distribution of plastic waste is ubiquitous, with a significant pollution load arising from a range of agricultural practices. The primary receptor of agriplastic pollution is agricultural soil. Impacts of microplastics on crop productivity and quality and also on human health are only now being investigated. This paper explores the possibility that we can mitigate the adverse environmental effects of agriplastics and thereby exploit the potential of plasticulture to enhance the productivity and positive health impact of UK horticulture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilateral trade relationships between countries vary across products. Such heterogeneity poses challenges when assessing the economic impacts of trade agreements. This paper estimates bilateral trade elasticities at the product level and explores these impacts using a hypothetical no‐deal Brexit as an example. Our findings indicate that the European Union's demand for the United Kingdom products is often less elastic compared to products from other trading partners. We also observed substantial heterogeneity in the elasticities across products and a negative correlation between these elasticities and tariffs. These factors mitigate extent of trade welfare losses compared to a scenario using homogeneous elasticities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) controversies and firm performance, examining the moderating influences of corporate governance structures and ESG practices. Utilizing quantitative methods, we analyze data from 5360 firm‐year observations. Our findings reveal a significant negative relation between ESG controversies and firm performance. However, well‐defined corporate governance frameworks and internal ESG strategies mitigate these adverse impacts and can transform these controversies into growth opportunities and reputation enhancement. A comparative analysis involving the United Kingdom and other European Union nations highlights the influence of geographical and regulatory contexts in shaping this dynamic. These results offer valuable insights for policymakers, corporate strategists, and investors, emphasizing the role of governance in navigating ESG controversies and enhancing firm resilience and adaptability. The study contributes to the sustainability field by providing a nuanced understanding of the interaction between ESG controversies, corporate governance, and firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether macroeconomic shocks, such as the UK's referendum decision to leave the European Union ("Brexit"), the 2008 Financial Crisis, the 1992 ERM Crisis ("Black Wednesday"), and the 1987 stock market crash ("Black Monday"), had a positive impact on portfolio risk diversification. We estimate weekly dynamic conditional correlations and then optimal sectoral portfolio allocations between 1973 and 2019. Our results show that correlations of equity returns increased as a consequence of economic integration among European countries from the mid‐1980s until the late 2000s, and decreased in the United Kingdom after Black Wednesday and the Brexit referendum. We tested the existence of a correlation change‐point on June 27, 2016 by applying Wied et al. (2012)'s [Econometric Theory, 28(3), 570–589] correlation structural break test, which we modified to account for dynamic conditional correlations. Application of this test confirms that the referendum date was a break‐point in nearly all UK manufacturing industries. The failure of Lehman Brothers and the 1987 stock market crash were also identified as structural breaks in equity correlations. Moreover, our findings suggest that the Brexit vote may constitute a long‐term trend reversal of the convergence of equity return correlations in European markets, akin to Black Wednesday, rather than a shock like the 1987 and 2008 financial crises, which merely intensified a historical upward trend in correlations of European equity returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers in Regional Science is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

When member states of the European Union face serious international threats, does this serve as a catalyst or obstacle for European integration in the security and defence domain? To gain purchase on this question, this paper examines public opinion from a common instrument fielded in 24 EU member states (and the United Kingdom) with a total sample size of more than 40,000 respondents.We argue that theoretical accounts of perceived threat produce rival hypotheses. Threats might have either uniform or differential effects on different groups of citizens and could lead to either convergence or divergence of public opinion. We show that perceptions of foreign threats are associated with more favourable views on integration in the security and defence domain. Importantly, this association is as strong among Eurosceptics as among Europhiles. The findings presented here are consistent with the view that functional pressures may temporarily convince Eurosceptics to accept integration in the foreign and security domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decision of the UK to leave the European Union created uncertainty for European citizens resident in the UK for the period 2016–2019. This paper studies the effects of this uncertainty on their mental health. Using data from a large household panel and a difference‐in‐differences framework, we find no evidence for a decline in mental health or life satisfaction for various definitions of EU citizens relative to multiple control groups. These findings are robust to the specific mental health measure. We corroborate this finding by looking at various channels plausibly linking Brexit and European citizens' mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including neoliberalism in the economy and politics of western democracies, anti‐immigration and anti‐Islamic right, and failure of capitalism to sustain equal and sustainable societies.

This paper compares national sustainability support schemes and sustainability requirements in four countries that import solid biomass for heat and power generation: Belgium, Denmark, the UK, and the Netherlands. The paper also reviews voluntary certification schemes for solid biomass that may be used to demonstrate sustainability compliance. In the absence of mandatory EU criteria for solid biomass, different national support schemes and sustainability requirements may present barriers to trade. This paper identifies some possibilities for harmonization and provides suggestions for policymakers for the improvement and alignment of national sustainability requirements. Ultimately the paper suggests establishing a harmonized certification scheme in the short term based on legislative requirements in the four countries and in voluntary initiatives. The proposed harmonized certification scheme may also reduce both implementation costs and complexity for biomass suppliers and generators. In the long term, the paper recommends binding criteria on sustainability requirements for solid biomass at EU level. © 2017 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, known as Brexit, is arguably the most important political, social, and economic phenomenon in British post‐WWII history. This paper analyses parliamentary debates from December 2018 concerning the European Withdrawal Act, focusing on the epistemic modality of Member of Parliaments' (MP) statements, to investigate the ontology of Brexit. Epistemic modality refers to linguistic devices that allow modification with regards to confidence, truthfulness, and probability, and enables investigation of MPs' commitments. Commitments are a part of their status function declaration, which create institutional reality. Analysis of such commitments permits inference about the institutional reality of Brexit. A video abstract is available at https://youtu.be/90RRWApg0rQ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future energy scenarios include both green and blue hydrogen, as both are needed to scale up decarbonized energy supply. A transition to renewable energy is predicted over time, but the urgency we are facing cannot be met by renewable energy alone. For blue hydrogen production, the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are primarily affected by emissions from natural gas production, processing, and transport (CO2 and methane), as well as process efficiency and carbon capture ratio. Few complete and updated analyses are available that cover the entire blue hydrogen value chain with the best available technology for process facilities, as well as the proper design, operation, and maintenance of all relevant systems and infrastructure. This paper analyses the GHG intensity of blue hydrogen, using recent data as well as input from technology providers on state‐of‐the‐art gas reforming technologies. Data are primarily based on natural gas production and transport in the North Sea Basin, with gas export from the Norwegian continental shelf to continental Europe or the United Kingdom, and with blue hydrogen production either in Norway or near pipeline landfall in the European Union or United Kingdom. Some data related to potential blue hydrogen production in the US Appalachian region are also given. The data show that the properly designed and operated value chains for blue hydrogen supply, with minimal emissions from natural gas supply and high carbon capture in hydrogen production, will give a major reduction in GHG emissions from energy end‐use. GHG footprint for end‐users based on blue hydrogen will typically be 80%–90% lower than for direct supply and use of natural gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While attention has been given to understanding support for the far-right, there is a lack of focus on the way in which a threat of the far-right can be used for political ends. This paper addresses this using the UK Brexit debate as an illustration. The question therefore is: What is talk about the far-right used to do in discussions about Brexit? A discursive psychological approach addresses a sample of newspaper reports containing both 'Far-Right' and 'Brexit', from the first quarter of 2019 (n = 45). The analysis identifies a range of uses of talk about the far-right: (1) An opponent of Brexit is called a Nazi by pro-Brexit protesters, who are labelled far-right; (2) A lack of Brexit is presented as fuel for the far-right; (3) Remain supporters reject the idea that a lack of Brexit fuels the far-right; (4) A link with the far-right is rejected by a prominent Brexit supporter; and (5) Support for Brexit is again linked with the far-right. The far-right can be used as a strategic tool by opposing sides of the Brexit debate and - significantly - the supposed threat of the far-right can be used to placate far-right ideas, rather than to genuinely challenge them., (© 2021 The Authors. British Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

ABSTRACT This paper addresses the challenge of measuring the extent of immigration to the UK following EU Accession in 2004, and argues that the most commonly used databases (UK Census, Labour Force Survey and Worker Registration Scheme) can be supplemented by the National Insurance Number (NINo) Allocations database, and demonstrates the utility of this data for future research by outlining the geography of immigration derived from NINo. The paper makes three important contributions through the thorough analysis of a data source currently underexploited in migration studies; first that the NINo, when used as a indicator of migration per se offers some interesting insights into migration in the UK, and secondly that as a tool for comprehensively measuring the registration of migrants working legally in the UK, it offers a means of constructing a internal geography of (legal) labour migration, as the paper demonstrates. Third, the analysis also identifies self-employment as a potentially important missing driver behind EU Accession Migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we develop a conceptual and methodological approach that psychologists and other social scientists can employ to study emergence. We consider relevant social psychological approaches and conclude that, for the most part, social psychology has tended to focus on processes of normalisation following disruptions, rather than examining emergence in itself. An exception to this is G. H. Mead, whose work we draw on to theorise emergence with a focus on contemporary "affective politics." In the second part of the paper, we use focus group data on the European Union referendum in the UK to empirically illustrate our theoretical points. We discuss in particular three axes for exploring the emergent politics of Brexit: political values, political authority, and the authority of affect. We conclude our discussion by reflecting on some of the theoretical and political implications of our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to address a growing lack of historical knowledge in the water industry of how European Union (EU) water policy has developed and been responded to. It also aims to overcome the lack of comparative studies that explore the role politics has played in the development and application of EU water policy. As a result, this paper develops a historical comparative understanding of how England and Wales and the Republic of Ireland have responded to the Drinking Water Directive (80/778/EEC). It does so from the perspectives of political priority and ideology. Political ideology is shown to have had a greater impact on facilitating the achievement of the Directive's standards in England and Wales. However, it is established that the political priority national governments have accorded compliance has been central to ensuring the application and enforcement of the Directive's standards. Despite the apparent success of political ideology in England and Wales, the paper sounds a note of caution with regard to judging privatisation as being uniformly successful, for it has not, particularly if issues of water charges, customer debt and financial and reporting irregularities are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU Referendum of 2016 was one of the most significant events in recent British political history. It is widely recognised that citizens engaged with the referendum through understandings of Britain, the EU, the world, and their place in it. This study complements existing research where such understandings have been inferred from citizens' demographic characteristics, the characteristics of their localities/regions, or elite discourses. It builds on existing research where a more direct engagement with citizens' understandings has been achieved through interviews or focus groups, allowing the content of understandings to be thickly described. To these latter studies, this paper makes three main contributions. First, it focuses on popular imaginative geographies, which are conceptualised drawing on literatures in Geography and Political Science as fast‐thinking heuristics. Second, it brings new evidence to the conversation in the form of volunteer writing for Mass Observation. Third, the focus is on the content of popular imaginative geographies, but also how and why such geographies were used by voters in the referendum. The main findings include that many Leave supporters imagined Britain as an island – either a once great military and imperial power, an island separate from Europe, needing freedom from Europe to engage in the wider world; or a small island, a full container, close to the rest of Europe and vulnerable to mobilities across Europe's borders. By contrast, many Remain supporters imagined Britain as post‐imperial, small, vulnerable, and under threat of isolation from Europe and exposure to a chaotic, uncertain, dangerous world. Both groups engaged with the referendum through such popular imaginative geographies because the referendum presented voters with a difficult task, the campaigns provided few trustworthy facts, and voters therefore had to rely on cognitive shortcuts, including popular imaginative geographies. It is widely recognised that citizens engaged with the EU Referendum of 2016 through understandings of Britain, the EU, the world, and their place in it. This paper conceptualises popular imaginative geographies as fast‐thinking heuristics, draws on new evidence in the form of volunteer writing for Mass Observation, and focuses on the content of popular imaginative geographies, but also how and why such geographies were used by voters in the referendum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A key issue in Britain's referendum on European Union membership was the free movement of labor into Britain, with Brexit "Leavers" having more negative attitudes toward immigrants than "Remainers." Such anti‐immigrant attitudes are driven by feelings of threat. The coronavirus pandemic presented a new threat in the context of ongoing Brexit negotiations. This paper examines how the COVID‐19 pandemic affected anti‐immigrant attitudes and how these effects differ between Leavers and Remainers. Methods: Using an online survey in Spring 2020 of 3,708 individuals residing in the UK, we experimentally test the effect of priming COVID‐19 thoughts on anti‐immigrant attitudes, and examine whether this effect varies by Brexit identity. Results: We show that COVID‐19 may exacerbate anti‐immigrant attitudes among Leavers while having little effect on Remainers. Conclusion: These findings support the idea that the coronavirus pandemic might have presented a new, viral, threat that heightened anti‐immigrant attitudes among certain political identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the wave of privatisation that started in Britain's energy sectors in the early 1980s, much progress has been made but the results still fall short of the potential benefits. In this paper both the theoretical arguments and the existing empirical evidence on privatisation in the energy sector are examined, with particular reference to European experience. The paper also presents some additional empirical analysis on the effect of privatisation on competition in the electricity market. Although not fully satisfactory, the analysis seems to be consistent with theoretical arguments. In particular, 'mostly privatised' industries tend to be associated with incumbents having lower market shares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tick bites on humans can occur in a variety of habitats and may result in the transmission of tick‐borne pathogens, such as the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis (LB), Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. As the risk of transmission of this pathogen to the host increases with the duration of tick feeding, the recognition and removal of ticks as soon as possible following attachment is important for reducing the risk of infection. Performing a thorough body examination for ticks following potential exposure is recommended by tick awareness campaigns. Knowledge of where on the body feeding ticks are frequently found, and at which times of year peak tick exposure occurs, provides important information for public health messaging and may aid those bitten by ticks to engage more effectively with tick‐checking behaviour. This paper summarizes human tick bites in the United Kingdom (UK) during 2013–2018 reported to Public Health England's passive Tick Surveillance Scheme and further examines the anatomical location and seasonality of bites from the most commonly encountered tick and LB vector Ixodes ricinus. A total of 1,328 tick records from humans were received of which 93% were I. ricinus. Humans were most commonly bitten by I. ricinus nymphs (70% bites). Tick bites were recorded on all parts of the body, but there were significant differences in their anatomical location on adults and children. Most tick bites on adults occurred on the legs (50%), whereas on children tick bites were mostly on the head and neck (43%). Bites from I. ricinus were recorded throughout the year but were most numerous during May to August. This study adds to the body of research on the seasonality and anatomical location of human tick bites in temperate Europe and highlights the importance of data collected through passive surveillance in addition to research and epidemiological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the resilience of British cities to major economic shocks. Using a novel data set for 85 cities, it analyses their resistance to and recovery from the last four major recessions, over the period 1971 to 2015. It reveals a distinct shift in the relation between resistance and recovery between these shocks, as well as major differences between northern and southern cities. Some possible factors shaping these patterns are explored, and tentative estimates of the likely impact of the Brexit shock (Britain's withdrawal from the European Union) are also provided. A key implication is that differences in resilience to major shocks can contribute to the long‐run growth paths of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum on EU membership; 52% of those who voted, voted to leave, and 48% voted to remain. During the referendum campaign, two identities emerged: "Brexiter" and "Remainer," which remained salient post‐referendum. This study explores how the categories of Brexiter and Remainer were deployed by posters online. Data comprise comment threads collected from four online newspapers both during the campaign and after the vote, which focus on the Brexit campaign promise: "We send £350m a week to the EU. Let's fund our NHS instead." We draw on membership categorization analysis and discursive psychology to analyse when categories were made salient and what responses to the invocation of categories were. Analysis revealed that posters explicitly categorize the out‐group and in doing so implicitly define their group. Posters resisted other political identities when attributed to them in relation to the referendum. The analysis shows how Brexiter and Remainer are new, albeit contested, political categories and identities in their own right, with other political identities resisted when used. The paper highlights implications for the political system in the United Kingdom and for social divisions within U.K. society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a culturalist interpretation of the outcome of the Brexit referendum. This interpretation is grounded on the analysis of the U.K.'s cultural milieu, which is part of a more general study of the cultural milieus of several European countries. Specific to the United Kingdom, our analysis is based on a questionnaire carried out on a representative sample of U.K. respondents stratified by sociodemographic variables and geographic region (NUTS1). Responses to the questionnaire were subjected to multidimensional analysis—a combination of multiple correspondence analysis and cluster analysis. Findings about the multicountry analysis show how cultural milieus are characterized by five basic, embodied, affect‐laden, generalized worldviews (defined as "Symbolic Universes"). Four out of five symbolic universes consist of a way of interpreting reality by a specific anchorage (i.e., the ethical norm, the institutional order, the emotional experience interpersonal bond, and the belongingness). One symbolic universe can be viewed as the anomic reaction to the failure of those anchorages. Focusing on Brexit, by means of a discriminant analysis, it is showed how the incidence of the symbolic universes (and of the underpinning basic dimensions of meaning within the 12 U.K. macroregions') enables to identify differentially the macroregions with high proportion of "leave" at the Brexit referendum against those with low proportion. More specifically, the high "leave" macroregion are characterized by higher relevance of cultural forms anchored on local identity/belongingness. Findings are discussed within the wider aims of the project and its implications for a cultural psychology informed policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we look at the relationship between European identification and political support for (or opposition to) EU membership. First, we argue that conceptualizing political attitudes towards the EU as a direct product of European identification (a) neglects the distinction between the social reality of Europe and the political reality of the EU and (b) leads to psychological reductionism. We propose that the relationship should instead be conceptualized as mediated by legitimacy perceptions and as moderated by social‐level variables. Second, we look at three spheres of European integration and propose that their perceived legitimacy is appraised through the following principles: (a) normative solidarity for wealth sharing, (b) political authority for sharing political decisions, and (c) collective self‐realization for the sharing of practices. We illustrate the key mediating role of those principles by drawing on data from a survey ran across five European countries. Third, we argue that these meditational relationships are in turn moderated by social, political, and ideological realities and illustrate this point by looking at the case of United Kingdom in the context of the EU membership referendum. We point to an ideological assumption in the U.K. political landscape about the illegitimacy of EU supranational decision making and argue that this contributed to shape both the debate of the referendum campaign and its result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the moment of Brexit and its political aftermath in order to challenge dominant academic and popular conceptions of the political subject as singular and coherent. Instead, we suggest that there is an urgent political and analytical need for a view of the subject as multiple, contradictory, and dialogic. As interdisciplinary scholars working on the borders of policy studies and cultural studies, we think this is a critical site for transdisciplinary conversations about such conceptions of the subject. In the political field, such subjects are selectively and unevenly addressed and mobilized by political projects—such as Vote Leave—that invite them to recognize themselves as part of an imagined collective identity. In the twin disturbances of the European Union referendum and the 2017 general election, we suggest that it is possible to see that other voicings, other identifications, and other projects remain possible. Specific political mobilizations are neither singular nor stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interconnected sets of vulnerabilities have emerged in the European food system since 2007–2008, raising concerns about food security in a region with arguably some of the most advanced and prosperous economies and environmental governance frameworks. Historically, this is suggesting the current "double jeopardy" problem in food system vulnerability—with systemic declines both in sustainability (the ability of the food system to ecologically renew itself) and food security (the ability of a population to access sufficient nutritional foods and feed itself). By focusing on both drivers and impacts of food system vulnerabilities in the European Union and United Kingdom, this paper explores a grounded and relational approach to financialization—recognized as a key expression of recent growing vulnerabilities. Through the prism of the current socio‐economic pressures facing food producers, and the emergence of potentially "stranded assets" in the agri‐food system more generally, the analysis seeks to show how the combined relationships between neo‐liberalized governance and the market volatilities encouraged by new rounds of financialization are creating "nested" vulnerabilities. As we conclude, a critical, grounded, and systemic understanding of food system vulnerabilities thus becomes a key feature and precursor for potentially developing more resilient agri‐food systems—both regionally and globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Policy & Internet is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Unique food products constitute a very important element of European food business, culture, identity and heritage. Understanding the uniqueness of food in Europe from a research-based interdisciplinary perspective will be a critical factor in promoting the competitiveness of artisanal food industries going forward both locally and internationally. Success will support the competitiveness of the European food industry, in particular, small and medium enterprises, by enabling substantial product differentiation potential for producers and providing ample variety in food choice for the consumer. In addition, it will contribute to promotion of sustainable agriculture and development of rural areas, protecting them from depopulation. In order to meet the demands of a developing fundamental shift in European Union agricultural focus to greener, sustainable farming practices and wider rural development and to ensure success for local small-scale producers, this paper discusses the future direction of research in the field of unique European foods. The paper presents a perspective which promotes optimisation and innovation in unique food products in Europe through the integration of advanced knowledge and technologies. A framework is presented covering location, identity, perception and well-being as research areas needing synergy to bridge the research knowledge deficit in determination and specification of food identity in the European Union. The ultimate aim being promotion of sustainable agriculture and rural development, particularly in territories across the European Union where unique food is strategically and scientifically under-defined. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The paper argues that a clear migrant-local hiring queue has emerged at the bottom of the UK labour market since EU enlargement (in 2004 and 2007). The hiring queue reflects a preference amongst low-wage employers in the UK food industry for newly arrived A8 and A2 migrants and related prejudice towards would-be domestic workers. Using interview and survey evidence - from 37 horticultural growers/processors and 268 farmers, respectively - we describe what these hiring queues look like. We then explain their emergence: arguing that migrant-local hiring queues are predominantly the result of the 'added value' that migrants from the EU periphery bring, over the short term, to the low-wage workplace. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the content and presentation of the Great Britain government's immigration priorities, in the form of the immigration white paper due later in 2018, will contribute to the tone of the national debate regarding immigration issues post Brexit, that is British withdrawal from the European Union in 2016. Topics include even if the intention is to focus on European union migration, it will inevitably also shape the model of refugee protection that is presented to the world.

ABSTRACT The European Union Framework Package 7 project POINT (Policy Influence of Indicators) is exploring the use of indicators in several domains (most specifically sustainable development) to see how their value and ultimate usefulness can be maximized. One key aspect of POINT is to assess the ways in which groups and communities work to make the greatest use of information. Using an innovative methodology called 'Triple Task', the authors are applying a three-cornered approach to gain an understanding of how groups work, how they assesses themselves and how they appear to function from an external perspective. In this paper, the first stage of Triple Task is described and explored. Task One is effectively a 'soft' means for a group to work together on problem identification and action planning, and the key to this is the device known as the Rich Picture. Rich Pictures have been used in group work for over 30 years, primarily as a means for the group to express its preliminary vision concerning a matter of common concern, but so far they have not been applied as a means to explore the conscious and unconscious workings of a group nor have they been assessed in terms of their content and 'message'. By understanding the group mind as represented in a picture the authors begin to gain a deeper understanding of the group's own potential to use and exploit information of all kinds and to move towards a deeper 'Sustainable Group Mind', and a more focused means to problem solve. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a recently completed qualitative study in a northern English city, this paper explores motivations and experiences of Accession 8 (A8) migrants who have entered the United Kingdom following the expansion of the European Union in 2004. The paper considers commonalities and differences among the group of migrants routinely referred to as A8 migrant workers/labourers. Diversity is apparent in three particular respects: first, the motivations and forms of movement undertaken; second, their experiences of work within the UK paid labour market; and third, the extent to which the act and experience of migration offers new individual and collective opportunities and potentially opens up spaces for people to negotiate structural constraints and reconfigure aspects of their identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the important changes to the European Union (EU) policy-making process within the UK core executive introduced by the Blair government between 1997 and 2007. Employing a strategic-relational network framework, it sets out to map the changing face of policy-making within the Whitehall EU network, and to evaluate and explain the impact of adaptation. The article argues that Labour's reform strategy has been double-edged: day-to-day coordination of EU policy has become increasingly informal, ad hoc and delegated downwards to departmental players while the role of the centre has been greatly strengthened in order to provide more effective strategic direction and political leadership. Despite these seemingly coherent reforms, however, many critical features of the process have been potentially detrimental to the projection of a more constructive European policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper elaborates on the concept of ‘knowledge economy’ as a prelude to demonstrating its incidence at regional and sub-regional levels in the UK, EU and Israel. The paper shows consistencies in the incidence of knowledge economies across the countries and georegion. This is a good test of the basic methodology, which is simple, and suggests its underlying theory is robust for distinctive spaces and times. It should thus contribute to standard methodology in academic and policy environments. The future economy will be characterised by more knowledge-intensive activities, and as shown in the paper, will be a highly disequilibriated one in spatial terms. Consequently the need for counter-measures is growing in order to continuously follow up and to take the needed actions in lagging regions. This is an acute challenge for future policy, namely to correct market failure in the knowledge economy for peripheral and otherwise deprived areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper originated from empirical research conducted by the authors whilst researching into the success factors for high technology SMEs in the Central Technology Belt (CTB) during 2004. The CTB is an area designated by central government for a range of investment and assistance through 'Advantage West Midlands', the relevant regional development agency. The region, from Central Birmingham through Redditch and Bromsgrove to Worcester and Malvern, is the location for numerous automotive component companies, the Rover Group and the Longbridge sites. This paper addresses how these SMEs, and indeed the rest of the UK automotive industry, could be affected by EMU. • Our initial analysis suggests that on balance their concerns may actually be unfounded and that the benefits would outweigh the costs. Now that there are no longer separate national automotive industries (merely the European market), our continued use of sterling actually inhibits activity in the UK. We would also benefit from lower, more stable interest rates, improved access to market financing, the removal of exchange rate risk and, depending on the entry rate, a more stable operating environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British trade unions have differing perspectives as to the desirability of UK membership of the eurozone. This paper provides a critical review of the spectrum of union views and highlights key points of disagreement and areas of common ground. An agenda for further reflection upon the euro by the unions is also offered. Finally, the paper considers union positions on the implications of the wider process of European integration for industrial relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the dynamics for changes to the machinery of government and public administration in the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. Although constitutionally Crown possessions and under the jurisdiction of the UK, both territories are self-governing and are neither part of the UK nor the EU. Their importance as major offshore tax havens means that questions should be asked about their ability to effectively police the money that is invested through them, an issue that has acquired increased significance in the wake of recent terrorist events. Questions of financial probity inevitably lead to questions about governance and governmental efficiency and effectiveness. This paper explores the Bailiwicks’ reactions to this within the theoretical context of the differentiated polity and the modernizing government and new public management agenda. The paper suggests the unique and entrenched political culture of the Bailiwicks is resistant to change but will embrace it if that change ensures the continuance of their autonomy, within the context of being Crown possessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK's 2016 Brexit referendum, young voters were more likely than their elders to support remaining in the European Union. Using half a century of data and new techniques, we find that recent cohorts tend to be more pro‐European than their predecessors, but that voters also become more sceptical towards Europe as they age. Much of the pro‐Europeanism of recent cohorts is associated with greater years of education. We also document large nationwide swings in sentiment that have little to do with age or cohort effects. These time effects are plausibly associated with, inter alia, macroeconomic fluctuations, financial conditions and geopolitical circumstances, but they also could have other sources. They dominate the impact of the estimated age and cohort effects and will crucially determine future UK support for membership in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The requirement to align the arrangements for postgraduate training in the United Kingdom with those elsewhere in the European Community provided the opportunity to review and reform our arrangements for higher specialist training. This paper describes the case for change – the strengths and deficiencies of the traditional pattern of postgraduate medical training, demographic influences in the medical workforce and the need for a more structural or planned approach to training. Conclusions Over the past 5 years substantial progress has been made: the introduction of new regulatory arrangements and a new higher specialist training grade; the development of a managed and flexible system for delivering training to standards set by the Royal Colleges and which can accommodate the needs of those pursuing academic and research medicine; and the opportunity for trainees’ progress to be measured against published curricula. The significant programme of change has been underpinned by careful workforce planning and the publication of comprehensive guidance. Significant reform of higher specialist training has been achieved. This paper also makes the case for a more strategic approach to planning and developing␣medical education across the continuum, from entry to medical school until retirement, which can guide medical education and improve patient care into the next millennium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the working experiences of the French highly skilled in London's financial and business sectors, this paper examines the impact of ongoing pan-European variegation on intra-EU highly skilled migration in two key respects: firstly, in its role as a driver for mobility, through its association with divergent opportunity structures across different nations and regions; and secondly, as a potential obstacle to the successful realization of such opportunities, post migration, where mobility exposes the highly skilled migrant to new and embedded forms of difference. Such differences necessitate adaptations, and the acquisition of new inter-cultural competencies, that go on to mediate the experience, evaluations and outcomes of such opportunity-driven mobilities. In unpacking the particularities associated with the mobilities of specific populations (the French), to specific places (London) we seek to contribute to a people and place-sensitive understanding of the relationship between spatial mobility and social mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2000 it is estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 Somali immigrants have left the Netherlands for the UK. This exceptionally high level of intra-European Union (EU) mobility is in contrast with the general trend of very low levels of intra-EU mobility. Based on 33 in-depth interviews with Dutch Somalis in London and Leicester this paper tries to explain the relocation of Somalis from the Netherlands to the UK. The presence of a large Somali community in the UK, economic and educational opportunities in the UK, and differences in integration policies have influenced Dutch Somalis' decision to relocate. It is argued, however, that the wider context in which these movements take place should be taken into account as well. Immigrants may (initially) not always be in a position to move where they want to move. As such, Somalis' relocation from the Netherlands to the UK could also be seen as a follow-up to an earlier movement that was interrupted along the way. Dutch Somalis' narratives about their onward move provide us with a comparison of the Netherlands and the UK as countries of settlement. At the same time, these stories also challenge the binary oppositions that have tended to inform how we think about migration in a static and often linear way. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceptions of the EU tend to be studied by examining responses to targeted opinion polls. This paper looks instead at how citizens draw Europe into a wider discussion of politics and political problems. Based on a series of group discussions with taxi-drivers in Britain, Germany and the Czech Republic, it examines the motifs speakers use to explain the origins of problems, the assumptions they make about their susceptibility to address, and how, when these patterned ways of speaking are applied to the EU, they serve to undermine its credibility as a positive source of political agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the fiscal consequences of migration to the UK from the Central and Eastern European countries that joined the European Union in May 2004 (A8 countries). We show that A8 immigrants who arrived after EU enlargement in 2004 and who have at least one year of residence, and are therefore legally eligible to claim benefits, are 59 per cent less likely than natives to receive state benefits or tax credits and 57 per cent less likely to live in social housing. Furthermore, even if A8 immigrants had the same demographic characteristics as natives, they would still be 13 per cent less likely to receive benefits and 29 per cent less likely to live in social housing. We go on to compare the net fiscal contribution of A8 immigrants with that of individuals born in the UK, and find that in each fiscal year since enlargement in 2004, irrespective of the way that the net fiscal contribution is defined, A8 immigrants made a positive contribution to the public finances despite the fact that the UK has been running a budget deficit over the last few years. This is because they have a higher labour force participation rate, pay proportionately more in indirect taxes and make much less use of benefits and public services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines Great Britain within the context of the European Union (EU) and argues that future continuation within the international body will create political challenges within the nation. It is attested that the unity of the country’s Conservative party depends upon the Prime Minister opposing any further progress toward European integration. At the same time, the paper alleges that the Labour party and the Liberal Democrats both support further European integration, particularly the strengthening of the European Parliament. Options relevant to these varying political doctrines are presented.

In this editorial the authors comment on the meaning of "lifelong learning" as perceived by the European Union and in Great Britain. The two perceptions share much common ground. Both believe that lifelong learning is directly related to knowledge work and see it in terms of raising the economic status of young men and women. The article also examines aspects of gender, class and race in the pursuit of continuing education. In the U.K. lifelong learning is inextricably linked to the labor market and the development of skills and training for the purposes of enhancing income.

This paper examines the UK press coverage of genetically modified crops within the EU and explores how the theme of nationalism is utilized within the genetic modification (GM) debate. The way in which the EU is represented shifts, depending on whether it is being described in relation to the UK or the rest of the world (usually the USA). The EU is placed either as a threat to the UK, forcing genetically modified organisms into the country, or as a barrier, protecting UK citizens from the corrupt forces of the USA. This paper focuses on how countries and continents are constructed as being free of genetically modified organisms and how notions of nationalism and purity are used to achieve this. It argues that the way in which genetic modification is discussed often leads to an inherent but unintended xenophobic discourse. It is not just the mixing of genes that we are told to fear; the mixing of peoples is also alluded to. This paper explores the ways in which risks can be merged, as genetic modification specifically becomes linked to the asylum debate. Finally, the paper will discuss the dangers of contaminating the genetic modification debate with xenophobic arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woodward, K. N. Veterinary pharmacovigilance. Part 2. Veterinary pharmacovigilance in practice– the operation of a spontaneous reporting scheme in a European Union country– the UK, and schemes in other countries.J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap.28, 149–170.Veterinary pharmacovigilance, as it operates in the European Union (EU), covers a very broad remit, including adverse effects in treated animals, exposed humans and the environment, and in addition, it extends to cover the violation of maximum residue limits. The mainstay of veterinary pharmacovigilance is the spontaneous reporting scheme working along side other systems such as those reporting on residues surveillance. One of the most well established schemes in the EU is that operating in the UK and this paper examines the evolution of that scheme and some of its findings, data from other countries, and information available from the literature. It also tentatively examines the ways that pharmacovigilance can be used for regulatory purposes, and the contribution from pharmacoepidemiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the European Union's (EU) Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Directive (ETS) due for implementation in 2005. Caps on large point sources of climate pollution such as power stations, oil refineries and large industry; Removal of the problem of price elasticity; Issue of setting the level of caps; Implementation in Great Britain.

We leverage the British Brexit referendum decision to leave the European Union, to demonstrate how changes in uncertainty about a country's future socio‐political condition can impact migratory behaviour. Using official bilateral migration statistics, we report an excess increase in migration from the UK to the EU of approximately 16% post‐referendum, compared to movements between the remaining EU countries over the same period. In addition, we analyse in‐depth interviews conducted with UK migrants in Germany to show that uncertainty about future bilateral relations, a negative economic outlook, and perceptions of negative social consequences in the UK have been by far the most dominant drivers of migration in the post‐referendum period. We further corroborate the effect of changes in uncertainty on migration‐related behaviour with exceptional spikes in naturalisations, indicating that UK citizens living in other EU member states are actively taking decisions to mitigate the negative impact that Brexit is having on their livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]