Writing for the Royal United Services Institute, Gary Sheffield, Professor of War Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, comments on Michael Gove’s politicisation of the WW1. He writes that “it is not too late to disentangle the Centenary of the First World War from crude partisan politics“.

George Osborne announced this week that he’d like to see a ‘real terms rise’ in the minimum wage. On the ToUChstone blog, Nicola Smith looks at what he said and finding the Chancellor’s ‘commitment’ not as generous as some have perceived. “With the adult rate currently £6.31, a ‘real terms rise’ could feasibly be as little as 2.1 per cent, worth 13p an hour more. Better than last year’s 12p uplift, but not a lot.”

On the University of Manchester policy blogs, Rob Ford looks past the headlines on immigration and finds a more complicated picture. “The negative voices are heard more loudly, and more frequently, which leads many to conclude their views are more widespread than is in fact the case.”

On Discover Society, Ken Roberts writes about social mobility and “the near unanimity and panic outside sociology that the class structure is freezing”.

On Pieria, Frances Coppola explores an experiment with basic income in late 18th century England. “The Speenhamland system was a genuine attempt to ease the problems of poverty and unemployment at a time of depression and rapid technological change. It is tragic that it foundered not because it did not work, but because of inappropriate financing coupled with moral judgements about the virtue of work.”