The Forum
Reports from media outlets illustrate that the UK has approximately 40-42 days of emergency diesel reserves, which is one of the lowest in Europe. The price of diesel has rocketed up to £2 per litre for the first time in British history, leading to the average family's
Explainers
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has put electoral reform back on the political agenda, announcing a national commission on the issue and promising that Labour will fight the next election committed to changing Britain’s voting system so that “everyone’s vote counts”. At the centre of the debate is First
Explainers
This week's Agora Explainer will focus on the leaders of the main political parties in England. Firstly, what is a political party? Good question. A political party is an organisation which involves a group of people who share similar ideas about how a country should be run. People
Ideas Lab
While we often see climate change as an environmental issue, it is rapidly becoming a modern medical crisis. In hot weather, pathogens thrive and mosquitoes have a greater chance of spreading them to humans, causing an increase in vector-borne diseases like malaria. To protect public health, the next generation
Menstrual leave is a workplace policy in which employees who experience severe pain or other related symptoms as a result of their period are entitled to take paid or unpaid time off work, on top of state-mandated sick leave. Spain became the first European country to adopt this policy
The Market
The next time you walk into a supermarket, look around. You might be thinking, ‘I always look around’, but I mean seriously, look. The name-brand items always directly at your eye level on the shelves, the brightly coloured displays at the end of each aisle, and the sweets, chewing
Ideas Lab
In September 2026, the rapper Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran's US tour due to pressure from advocacy groups and venue owners after saying “Free Palestine” at a New Jersey show. His offence wasn’t a slur, scandal, or a bad performance; it was an expression of his
Explainers
In both inflationary times, and during times of economic downturn, economists look towards the central bank to manipulate interest rates, encouraging either spending or saving. Today, UK inflation is at 3.1%[i], above its 2% target. Ordinarily, in times of inflation, the Bank of England would be expected to
The Forum
"Everyone eats. Food matters. All of us need and deserve sound nutrition advice aimed at promoting public health - not corporate commercial interests." Marian Nestle's claim resonates globally in the 21st century, as we suffer the consequences of food lobbying. Lobbying is defined as ‘the activity of
Female perspectives on economics, politics and global affairs
You squint as the sun pierces your eyes. The towel you laid neatly across the rocks hours earlier has been crumpled at its edges by passing feet. Around you, the once-empty beach is alive with conversation: children splash in the shallow water, parents hand out snacks, and groups of
In April 2025, China imposed export controls on seven rare earth elements, causing shipments of permanent magnets to fall sharply and forcing some European car manufacturers to pause production. The disruption came as Europe was already attempting to reduce the strategic dependencies created by increasingly concentrated global supply chains. Its
As American hyperscalers face spiralling capex and lagging returns, comparing strategies with China exposes a fundamental divergence driving the global AI race. The Market Tumult Late July brought a sharp end to the months-long chip stock rally. Triggered by South Korean chip giant SK Hynix - whose shares dropped nearly
There are hundreds of trading blocs around the world - the World Trade Organisation (WTO) recognises just under 400 active trade agreements [1]. The European Union (EU) is one of the largest in terms of integration, seen in how they’re often treated as a single entity in trade negotiations. But
Inflation is the sustained increase in the average price of goods and services in an economy. As price begins to increase, consumers' purchasing power begins to fall - meaning we can no longer buy the same value of goods for the same amount of money. The UK targets a stable
The Scale of the Problem £550,000 - that is the price of an average London home. The median full-time annual salary is roughly £47,000, meaning that the average home costs approximately 11.7 times yearly earnings. Rent isn’t a much better alternative, absorbing an average of approximately
You hear it everywhere: a newspaper is "right-wing” or someone’s views are "too far left." But nobody stops to explain what the words actually mean. These terms originated in 1789. During the French Revolution, members of France's new parliament sorted themselves by where
IncomingbyPiya started because my friends - smart, capable people - asked me to teach them after a decade working in investing. I drew up a short course and began hosting sessions on my sofa. To this day, I meet so many people who want to learn, but are unsure where to start.
Homicide rates across South America have fallen dramatically, with a reduction of 22.6% in the last decade. So why is there still such desperation to reduce crime? Aside from the ideal growing conditions for coca leaves, one of the main factors that has left South America vulnerable to drug
Have you ordered a Deliveroo, Uber or stayed at an Airbnb recently? We treat these apps as parts of daily life, convenient platforms put in place where we can buy a service and see reviews instantly. However, underneath the surface lies a radical shift in how workers are being increasingly
Imagine having enough money to influence elections, political decisions and public narratives, whilst also receiving the direct attention of some of the world’s most powerful political figures. Yet unlike elected politicians, these wealthy individuals have not been elected despite their strong engagement in political debates. An example of this,
Italy has the second highest level of government debt in the Eurozone, despite being one of the bloc's largest and most advanced economies. In fact, since the mid-1960s, Italy’s level of government debt has, for the most part, been steadily rising, not just during times of
