We’re delighted that this year’s Campaign for Social Science Annual Sage Lecture will be delivered by Professor Gary Younge, author, broadcaster, and Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester.
With a UK general election looking highly likely to take place in 2024, Britain’s politicians have a number of urgent challenges to address, from the cost of living crisis and rising rents to an underfunded NHS and public infrastructure that is unfit for purpose.
In his online lecture, Political ‘Realism’ in an Election Year, Gary will argue that not only will the main parties fail to offer solutions to these problems but, in the name of ‘realism’, they will also avoid any substantial engagement with the issues causing them. He will also suggest that our electoral culture is on a collision course with political, economic and environmental realities and that these contradictions occasionally play out in real time – for example in the wake of the joint warmest September on record for the UK, political parties are backtracking on their environmental commitments.
Political ‘Realism’ in an Election Year will take place on Tuesday 28 November 2023 at 4.30pm-6pm. The event will be held online and is free to attend.
Gary’s lecture is one of a number of events taking place as part of our current Campaign for Social Science project, Election 24: ideas for change based on social science evidence, which draws on a range of social science research and evidence to suggest policy directions ahead of a UK General Election in 2024. Drawing on the expertise of Academy Fellows and other distinguished social scientists, Election 24 features events, blogs and comment pieces covering many key policy areas including the cost-of-living crisis; climate change and living standards; health and social care; immigration; and higher education, amongst others.