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The Glasgow Guardian •

Glasgow deserved better from COP26

Two years since COP26. Two years since Prince Charles turned up at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Joe Biden was chauffeur driven past my halls of residence to a VIP-dinner, and John Kerry was spotted outside The Dirty Duchess in Finnieston. Two years since 100,000 of us took the streets and crammed around George Square for hours, craning our necks to catch a glimpse of Greta Thunberg (who, despite many rumours, unfortunately failed to turn up to Polo Wednesday the following week).
The Glasgow Guardian •

My next job is beach (I just don't know it yet)

Building universities in seaside towns could help revive them.

It’s the end of July, and I’m soaking up the fragments of sunshine interjecting a surprisingly chilly afternoon. Behind me is the mound of sand – laden with crumbs and footprints – and beneath me are the pebbles, granular and crunchy. Right front of me is the soothing lull of the tide, crashing aggressively inwards, foaming, while further ahead are small specks of people exploring rough-and-ready ridges. What are they up to? A few d
The Glasgow Guardian •

Ten Years since Sheryl Sandberg told women to Lean In

Since Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In topped bestseller lists, we have entered the fourth wave of feminism. This has been, in part, defined by the #metoo movement which challenged sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as a renewed focus on intersectionality. Neither of these two issues are addressed by Lean In, and Sandberg’s supposedly feminist manifesto has largely failed on its own terms - the number of female tech leaders has fallen. Sandberg herself called it quits in June last year, taking
The Glasgow Guardian •

15 minute cities deserve more than 15 minutes of fame

There is no greater evidence that candidate selection processes are not working than the increasing regularity in which online conspiracy theories find themselves on the parliamentary record. In June 2019 Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi held a Westminster Hall debate where it was at least insinuated that 5G causes cancer, while a cursory search on Hansard post-2020 reveals three appearances of cultural marxism, a far-right antisemitic conspiracy. Most recently, Tory MP Nick Fletcher stood up in the H
The Glasgow Guardian •

Mental illness: the diagnosis dilemma

Recent NHS data reveals a cost of mental health crisis: a quarter of 17 to 19 year olds have a probable mental disorder, while 1.2 million people languish on waiting lists. With our health service gutted of the capacity to deal with increased demand, it’s inevitable that sufferers look to alternatives. The ever-encroaching ubiquity of the internet into everyday life means that conversations about mental health now often take place online, rather at the doctor’s surgery: TikTok videos accompanied
Glasgow University Magazine •

How To Build A Tenement

Turn right off Byres Road and onto White Street, you’ll stumble upon row after row of sandstone tenements, in all their Victorian glory. For many students, a fine aesthetic, aptly complementing your post-lecture autumnal playlist. The ceilings are high, the rooms are huge, and there are traces of art nouveau in the tiles and railings, but the struggle to physically get inside renders tenement living impossible for a sizable number of Glasgow’s citizens, with women, the elderly and disabled peopl
The Glasgow Guardian •

David Cameron is still the worst Prime Minister of the 21st Century

David Cameron was the worst prime minister in living memory. Worse than Liz Truss, worse than Boris Johnson, worse than Theresa May.

Liz Truss and Boris Johnson were only elected Prime Minister after being promoted to foreign secretary by their predecessors. Boris Johnson caused Liz Truss, Theresa May caused Boris Johnson, and David Cameron caused Theresa May. Cameron did a runner after his big Brexit gamble, because he was too scared to face the consequences; instead leaving them to a chain of
The Glasgow Guardian •

To arrest or not to arrest: the misuse of police powers at anti-monarchy protests

Mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II, much of the country contemplated her personal legacy with fondness and poignancy. It was clear a connection had been severed; a life so many treasured taken away, just like that. But it is only because of the monarch’s place in our constitution that such emotions, those synonymous with personal loss, were ever evoked. The death of the queen, and the accession of King Charles III, were only global news because our political system chose to make it so. As
The Glasgow Guardian •

Education, education, education: but not for the sake of it

Encapsulating the philosophy of a Conservative government is the belief that university represents a marketplace of ideas, and functions as a market economy. Neither seem successfully apparent today. A university which has to accommodate freshers in a different city from where they are studying more strongly resembles market failure than a system satisfied by the laws of supply and demand alone. Recent suggestions by university bosses that tuition fees must be raised to £24,000 per year - while
The Glasgow Guardian •

A tale of two cities

Glasgow has been ranked the unhappiest place to live in Scotland. As an unknowing first-year suddenly immersed in the cultural and culinary delights that the city has to offer, this finding seemed incongruous with my experience of living here.

I only have to walk to campus from my flat in Finnieston to be immersed in greenery, fountains and lakes. Kelvin Way, now effectively pedestrianised, is both soothing and thriving. The hubbub of students rushing to their classes and parents ambling along
The Glasgow Guardian •

Let’s not abandon those affected by long Covid

It’s the part of the pandemic that everyone wants to forget. The alienating and exhausting part. But if you’re living with long covid then you can’t just forget, because it overwhelms you.

My mum hasn’t been the same since March 2020. It’s not just a dry cough lingering for longer than it should - that went away pretty quickly. The fatigue, though, is all-consuming. A 20-minute phone conversation is her wiped out for the rest of the day, as she finds herself beset by the grip of this invisible
The Glasgow Guardian •

Why GULGBTQ+ are protesting the BBC

Transphobia is ubiquitous and it is intensifying. It pervades our parliament, our National Health Service and increasingly our media, too. Our public service broadcaster, the BBC, is furthering an orchestrated moral panic against the basic human rights of one of the most marginalised groups in society. And it hurts.

The media is meant to represent the fourth pillar of democracy. It should be underpinned by freedom of expression, allowing abuses of power to be exposed and providing a voice for t
The Glasgow Guardian •

National insurance: a tax on the working class

Boris Johnson finally got social care sorted. Predictably, though, he’s done it in a way that only someone cloaked in Eton-Oxbridge privilege would countenance as being fair.

National insurance will rise by 1.25 percentage points in 2022/23. The UK government has initiated this surcharge to fix the growing crisis in our NHS and adult social care system. The real question is, though: who will pay? Landlords with a portfolio of rental properties? No, don’t be daft. People who actually work in the
The Social Review •

Boris and Sturgeon: The Odd Couple

A good nemesis is often a necessary complement to any protagonist; it is often the case in politics. In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon presents her leadership as the antithesis of Boris Johnson’s. She appears professional, competent and sensible compared to the bumptious buffoonery inside Number 10. Yet beyond the obvious differences, the two leaders sustain their hegemony in similar ways, deploying populist tactics to build electoral rapport and paint themselves as embodiments of hope for a better f