2020 was all about unexpected developments and we are grateful to all our contributors for helping us cover them. To mark the end of the year, we’ve compiled a list of the five articles with the highest readership. We look forward to publishing more research in 2021 and wish all our readers and contributors a Happy New Year.
1. Farewell Whitehall, hello Red Square? On Gove and the ‘privilege of public service’
In an attempt to reset the political agenda as the UK was coming out of the first lockdown, Michael Gove gave a speech focusing on Whitehall reform. Abby Innes outlined the similarities between the government’s promised strategy and (failed) attempts to transform the USSR.
2. COVID-19 and employee rights: securing the right to safe working conditions
Joe Atkinson considered some of the legal questions surrounding employers who require their staff to go into work during the pandemic, a situation that disproportionately affects people in lower-paid jobs and those working in ‘essential’ sectors, including the NHS.
Sandra McNally and Jo Blanden explained how school closures have negative effects on both children and parents, hindering educational outcomes, mental health, work, and general resilience.
Monica Langella discussed some potential negative effects of the pandemic on higher education, particularly those pertaining to online assessment, university offers, and labour market outcomes. She offered evidence-based suggestions for how these impacts may be mitigated.
5. COVID-19 and housing: while prices may fall, homes will remain unaffordable
Discussing the potential effects of COVID-19 on housing, Paul Cheshire and Christian Hilber wrote that real house prices and rents may initially fall. Yet housing will remain unaffordable for the young and those on lower incomes, especially in London and the South East, as this fall will be driven by a fall in earnings.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash.
