Public ethics

  • Why Game Theory Is Breaking Britain – but Could Also Save It

    Why Game Theory Is Breaking Britain – but Could Also Save It

    Game Theory examines when and why people choose to cooperate or compete. Its central insight is that our decisions are shaped not only by what we want, but by what we expect others to do. Well known game theory scenarios include the Prisoner’s dilemma, the Cold War, and on a simpler scale, even Rock, Paper, Scissors.  An important aspect of Game Theory relates to whether and why we choose to cooperate or compete. Researchers found that the success of either strategy is dependent on how others in the system behave, and that people instinctively know this. Our decision-making routinely includes…

  • Who Gets Heard? Why British Governments Listen to Business — and What It Costs the Rest of Us

    Who Gets Heard? Why British Governments Listen to Business — and What It Costs the Rest of Us

    Earlier this month, the government quietly closed one of the more brazen rackets in modern British public life. For years, bots and third-party companies had been bulk-buying driving test slots from the DVSA and reselling them to desperate learner drivers for up to £500 eight times the official price of £62. New rules now mean only the learner themselves can book, change or cancel their test. Simple. Effective. Long overdue. But here’s the question worth sitting with: why did it take so long? This wasn’t a hidden problem. The Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency knew. Ministers knew. The waiting lists…

  • It’s Time to Clean the Augean Stables

    It’s Time to Clean the Augean Stables

    Natalie Bird was vilified for wearing a T-shirt with a slogan bearing the dictionary definition of ‘woman’. She was banned from standing as a candidate and suspended from the party. She took the party to court and won. John Tilley is the former leader of Kingston Council. He was subjected to an internal party discipline hearing for objecting to a proposal that conference attendees should be required to wear badges stating their preferred pronouns. He wrote that there were more important matters that required our attention. He was sentenced to a ten year ban on holding party office or standing…

  • What Starmer Knew, and When

    What Starmer Knew, and When

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    The Mandelson–Epstein connection was public knowledge long before the 2024 election. The question of how the Prime Minister could claim ignorance deserves scrutiny. Keir Starmer’s claim that he was unaware of the depth of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with convicted child sex offender and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein when he appointed him British Ambassador to the United States in December 2024, at best occupies shaky ground. The evidence that Mandelson posed a serious reputational and security risk was not hidden in classified files. Much of it was sitting in plain sight, reported by national broadcasters and newspapers, and filed in open US…