tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/university-of-huddersfield-1226/articlesThe University of Huddersfield2024-02-08T16:28:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2216922024-02-08T16:28:09Z2024-02-08T16:28:09ZHave Conservative councils started placing more children in care each year than Labour councils? New analysis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573757/original/file-20240206-20-u3h0ip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5734%2C3828&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/schoolchildren-crossing-road-on-their-way-1089516491">Studio Peace/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In England, over 80,000 children are now in care, an increase of <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2023">nearly one third</a> since 2010. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213423005781?via%3Dihub">We’ve discovered</a> that local party politics is a factor in this. Our analysis shows that, between 2015 and 2021, six or seven more children each year were taken into care in an average sized Conservative council than in an equivalent Labour council.</p>
<p>There have been big inequalities between local authorities in the rise in the numbers of children in care since the start of the Cameron-Clegg, Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2010. In the north-east of England they have increased by over 60%, while in inner London they’re <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children">down almost 20%</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1468017318793479">Previous evidence shows</a> that the key factor is economics. Children in the most deprived 10% of small neighbourhoods are over <a href="https://pure.hud.ac.uk/ws/files/21398145/CWIP_Final_Report.pdf">ten times more likely</a> to be in care than in the least deprived 10%. </p>
<p>But, despite talk about levelling up, child poverty has risen much faster in Labour councils than in Conservative ones. This means that we would expect the number of children being placed into care in Labour councils to rise more quickly. But the actual numbers of children going into care in Labour and Conservative councils each year is more or less the same. </p>
<p>Our research controlled for poverty. We found that if two average-sized local authorities were the same in terms of poverty, income and expenditure, over five years, a Conservative council would take over 30 more children into care than a Labour council. </p>
<h2>What we did</h2>
<p>We investigated whether rates of children in care have been growing or falling across all English local authorities according to their party political leadership. </p>
<p>We then used a statistical model to predict what these trends would be likely to look like were we to imagine that child poverty, average household income, and council spending on services to prevent children being taken into care had stayed the same throughout 2015-2021, rather than growing at different rates across the country. This allowed us to focus in on the specific relationship between care rates and local party political control.</p>
<p>By focusing on differences in these trends, rather than overall numbers, we are able to isolate factors that can explain the recent dramatic increase in numbers of children in care from factors associated with longstanding differences between local authorities. </p>
<p>Once again, we found that <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics">child poverty</a> was by far the most significant factor behind the upward trend. The greater the local increase in child poverty, the steeper the upward trend in children in care. This is, of course, mainly influenced by national policies affecting employment, wages, housing costs, benefit levels and so on. Local councils have little control over those. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Young boy looking out of window" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573760/original/file-20240206-18-aw0w5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573760/original/file-20240206-18-aw0w5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573760/original/file-20240206-18-aw0w5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573760/original/file-20240206-18-aw0w5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573760/original/file-20240206-18-aw0w5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573760/original/file-20240206-18-aw0w5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573760/original/file-20240206-18-aw0w5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Child poverty is the most important factor in the rise in numbers of children being placed in care.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/small-boy-sitting-near-window-thinking-248899603">spixel/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Then we analysed changes to care numbers in more detail. In an average sized local authority, the numbers of children in care increased by around seven or eight per year between 2015 and 2021. Before controlling for child poverty, Labour and Conservative councils’ growing rates of children in care appear virtually indistinguishable. </p>
<p>However, because child poverty rose almost twice as fast in Labour councils than Conservative ones, this masked a real contrast between local authorities led by the two parties. </p>
<p>That means that, in an average size local authority, after five years we would expect over 30 more children in care in a Conservative council than a Labour council, holding trends in poverty, income and expenditure constant. Thirty additional children in care would cost a typical authority £2.5m more per year. That’s money that we think would be better spent keeping families together.</p>
<h2>Looking for explanations</h2>
<p>Three reasons might explain the difference between Labour and Conservative councils. First, Conservative and Labour councils may have different approaches to supporting families and protecting children. There may be a greater emphasis in Conservative councils on removing children at risk rather than providing support to families to prevent or mitigate risks.</p>
<p>This was the view taken by Michael Gove, when he was education secretary with responsibility for children’s services. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-failure-of-child-protection-and-the-need-for-a-fresh-start">In a 2012 speech</a> he argued that children were being left for too long in homes where they were experiencing neglect and abuse. “More children should be taken into care more quickly”, he said.</p>
<p>Second, as a result, Conservative councils may allocate a smaller proportion of their budget to family support services, or may fund different kinds of preventative services. </p>
<p>Third, it may be that Conservative councils allocate proportionately less funding to the most deprived areas within their local authority than Labour councils, resulting in less support for families and children in greatest need.</p>
<p>All these hypotheses require testing.</p>
<p>We aren’t saying that Conservative councillors want more children in care. Most councils are under huge pressures because of the rising costs of both children’s and adult social care services, driving several to bankruptcy. </p>
<p>Research shows that the steep upward trend in the numbers of children in care results mainly from national policies affecting families. It is increasingly clear that reducing child poverty, especially deep and persistent poverty, and insecure housing and low income, is the key to reducing the numbers of children in care.</p>
<p>But local actions matter too. Local councils cannot control national economic trends, but they can poverty-proof local services, make sure that the services focus on areas of greatest need and that services respond directly to family poverty by offering concrete help.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221692/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I receive funding from the Wellcome Trust for my contribution to a separate research programme. I have previously been funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for work on children's services, poverty and inequality.
I am a member of the Labour Party </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Calum Webb receives funding from the British Academy PF21\210024; he has previously been funded by the ESRC and the Nuffield Foundation. He was formerly a member of the Labour Party.</span></em></p>We investigated whether rates of children in care have been growing or falling across all English local authorities according to their party political leadership.Paul Bywaters, Professor of Social Work, University of HuddersfieldCalum Webb, Lecturer in Quantitative Social Science, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2194292024-01-24T14:37:01Z2024-01-24T14:37:01Z‘Tryvertising’: testing new products in holiday homes could be a win for local brands and cautious customers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570386/original/file-20240119-19-9xz0mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C120%2C7201%2C4749&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/espresso-machine-making-coffee-capsules-on-433268935">Davizro Photography/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After a recent city break to Paris, one of our colleagues told us about how much she’d enjoyed some excellent coffee during her trip. But it hadn’t been served in a restaurant or a cafe – she had made it herself at the apartment she was staying in using one of those capsule coffee machines. </p>
<p>When she returned home, she genuinely missed the quality of the drink she had been able to make so effortlessly. So she ended up buying the machine for her own home – same brand, same model, same colour as the one she had been using on holiday. </p>
<p>Her experience illustrates the effectiveness of a concept known as “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331982590_Tryvertising_What_Makes_Consumers_Share_Product_Innovations_With_Others">tryvertising</a>”. Over the course of her weekend away, she had become familiar with – and extremely fond of – a new product by having the freedom to try it out repeatedly in her temporary holiday apartment. </p>
<p>As a marketing strategy, tryvertising is quite familiar in hotels, where extra comfy pillows or a particular fragrance or shampoo may be available for guests to use during their stay – and then offered for sale to take home. </p>
<p>Overall, it’s an easy win for manufacturers and hotel owners – as well as the customers who get the chance to take a piece of their holiday home with them.</p>
<h2>Feelings of ownership</h2>
<p>But our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738323000683">research</a> suggests that tryvertising is actually more effective in self-catering accommodation than it is in hotels. This is partly because renting an apartment or cottage for a break provides a more natural environment for customers than the more unusual setting of a hotel. </p>
<p>They are able to feel more at home and in control – what we refer to as a heightened sense of “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/territoriality">territoriality</a>” – and are more likely to fully immerse themselves in their surroundings and the products at their disposal. Overall, self-catered accommodation elicits stronger feelings of ownership towards the accommodation space, and potential ownership of the the amenities it contains.</p>
<p>This means tryvertising through self-catered holiday accommodation could provide an excellent opportunity for companies. </p>
<p>Those companies – which could be everything from electronic manufacturers to local artisan businesses – could select suitable hosts with whom to place their products, either for free or with a discount. A QR code could then be attached to the tryvertised goods, directing customers to extra information and purchasing details. </p>
<p>Those businesses could even issue discount codes to those guests. The accommodation platforms themselves wouldn’t need to be involved (they may wish to be at some level, but their input would not be necessary). It would mainly be a beneficial arrangement directly between manufacturers and hosts.</p>
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<img alt="Woman relaxing in hammock in garden." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Try hammock, buy hammock.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/booking-airbnb-pleace-rest-lake-forest-2376758765">Mateusz_Kaminski_Foto/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>For consumers too, tryvertising makes perfect sense. Rather than looking at images on online, or observing an item in person at a store, they get a real-life user experience before they commit to a purchase. </p>
<h2>Mutual benefits</h2>
<p>Of course, it can work the other way too. One person told us that he had decided against buying a gadget after having the opportunity to use one on holiday.</p>
<p>He recalled:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The presence of the AI assistant in my last Airbnb getaway really made the entire stay overwhelming. I didn’t understand how to use it effectively. It kept misinterpreting our commands, and falsely activating due to background noise. This really made us [feel] stressful and uncomfortable. We had considered buying a similar AI assisted smart speaker at home before, but now we would definitely postpone the decision.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But again, that was beneficial. That particular client was given a chance to try something, and decided it wasn’t for him. He saved money.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, our colleague decided to spend her money on a machine she had enjoyed using, and which now provides her with delicious coffee on a daily basis.</p>
<p>But it’s not only about buying things for your home. Tryvertising can also enhance a traveller’s experience by allowing them to get an authentic taste of the culture through products sponsored by local businesses. And it could contribute to sustainable tourism by encouraging both hosts and visitors to engage with their community and the produce on offer. </p>
<p>Overall, our research suggests that everyone stands to benefit. Hosts, local businesses and travellers should all give it a try.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219429/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Your next holiday could be a chance for some retail research.Jialin (Snow) Wu, Reader in Sustainable and Digitalised Service Economy, University of HuddersfieldChen Zheng, Senior Lecturer at School of Event, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Leeds Beckett UniversityHongbo (Daisy) Liu, Senior Lecturer, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2186122024-01-15T13:55:03Z2024-01-15T13:55:03ZGhana is behind the curve on climate change laws: expert suggests a way to get corporations on board<p><em>Ghana has introduced some climate change policies and general environmental regulations but has yet to pass a Climate Change Act. This leaves the country without effective legal and regulatory instruments for addressing climate change. Climate change law expert Kikelomo Kila sets out her findings in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14614529231200167">a recent paper</a> on why Ghana must not follow the “command and control” regulatory approach.</em></p>
<p><strong>Why hasn’t Ghana introduced specific climate change legislation, and why is such legislation important?</strong></p>
<p>Ghana relies instead on two legislative approaches. The first uses generic environmental legislation to govern climate change issues. The second uses policy instruments.</p>
<p>Under the first approach, Ghana mostly relies on the <a href="https://ir.parliament.gh/handle/123456789/1819">Environmental Protection Agency Act (1994)</a> to regulate climate change matters. The act established the Environmental Protection Agency, and provides for its functions. These include making environmental policy and prescribing standards and guidelines. Other statutes that indirectly reference climate change issues include the <a href="https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/gha208775.pdf">Renewable Energy Act (2011) Act 832</a> and the <a href="https://www.petrocom.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Act-9190001.pdf">Petroleum Production and Exploration Act (2016) Act 919</a>. </p>
<p>The problem with this approach is that climate change impacts are secondary to issues like land use and conservation.</p>
<p>The second approach is to follow the 2013 <a href="https://www.clientearth.org/media/p13faarf/national-climate-change-policy-ext-en.pdf">National Climate Change Policy</a>. This lacks any binding force on governmental bodies, corporations or individuals. </p>
<p>Climate change legislation is important because it specifically prescribes binding obligations and provides tools for action.</p>
<p><strong>How effective have climate change laws been in African countries that have introduced them?</strong></p>
<p>Climate change laws have been enacted in six African countries. These are <a href="http://kenyalaw.org:8181/exist/rest//db/kenyalex/Kenya/Legislation/English/Acts%20and%20Regulations/C/Climate%20Change%20Act%20-%20No.%2011%20of%202016/docs/ClimateChangeAct11of2016.pdf">Kenya</a>, <a href="https://www.adaptation-undp.org/benin-adopts-national-legislation-climate-change">Benin Republic</a>, <a href="https://climate-laws.org/document/nigeria-s-climate-change-act_5ef7">Nigeria</a>, <a href="https://acsa-ug.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/The-National-Climate-Change-Act-2021.pdf">Uganda</a>, <a href="https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/mat204415.pdf">Mauritius</a>, and <a href="https://pmg.org.za/bill/1065/">South Africa</a>. Most are still relatively new (between 2016 and 2023). </p>
<p>It will take time for the practical impacts to be felt, but there has been remarkable progress in some countries. </p>
<p>Take Kenya for instance. A World Bank 2021 <a href="https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/15724-WB_Kenya%20Country%20Profile-WEB.pdf">report</a> and the Kenya government’s <a href="https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/napgn-en-2022-kenya-NCCAP-2018-2022-Implemantation-Status-Report.pdf">report</a> show improvement in Kenya’s climate mitigation and adaptation projects beginning from around 2018. Around 800,000 households benefited in 2022 from climate change funds. Climate proof coastal infrastructure has been put in place at the Mombasa port. Most counties in the country have passed their own climate laws. Foreign private sector actors invested about US$643 million) in climate-related capital in Kenya <a href="https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/the-landscape-of-climate-finance-in-kenya/">in 2021</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-kenyas-power-sector-is-a-shining-example-the-big-hurdles-are-household-and-transport-emissions-210406">Climate change: Kenya's power sector is a shining example, the big hurdles are household and transport emissions</a>
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<p>Similarly, Nigeria has witnessed a major shift since the enactment of its Climate Change Act 2021. It sets a target of achieving net zero greenhouse gases emissions between 2050 and 2070. This is significant given Nigeria’s status as a major oil exporter with significant carbon emissions from oil and gas production activities. The country’s climate change regulator, the National Council on Climate Change, instituted programmes and policies for key emissions sectors. It also <a href="https://natccc.gov.ng/publications/NCCC%20Regulatory%20Guidance%20on%20Nigeria%E2%80%99s%20Carbon%20Market%20Approach.pdf">introduced</a> carbon market regulatory guidance for corporations seeking to invest in mitigation and adaptation projects in Nigeria. There is also <a href="https://natccc.gov.ng/publications/Report%20on%20Assessment%20of%20Carbon%20Pricing%20Initiatives%20in%20Nigeria.pdf">a carbon pricing initiative</a> for an emissions trading scheme.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-3-key-goals-nigeria-must-focus-on-at-cop28-218623">Climate change: 3 key goals Nigeria must focus on at COP28</a>
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<p><strong>Your research paper recommends that Ghana follow an alternative approach to climate change regulation.</strong></p>
<p>This approach tackles the corporate culture of resisting regulation. Corporations in Africa have over decades developed a culture of disregarding regulatory measures.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14614529231200167">Dilute Interventionism approach</a> is a framework designed for developing countries with weak regulatory systems. It gives corporations incentives to participate in regulatory systems which minimise their carbon emissions and promote mitigation projects.</p>
<p>It involves using strong legal instruments with stringent prescriptive measures as a starting point to ensure compliance with regulatory standards. As compliance increases, interventions are de-escalated. The state and regulatory bodies work together with corporations in this approach, to achieve better compliance. This “rewards” corporations for their compliance by allowing them to self-regulate when they have met a satisfactory standard. </p>
<p>This approach worked in <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3442200">Nigeria’s banking sector in 2006</a>. Nigeria’s Central Bank adopted a series of regulatory measures (from tough to easier) after the banks had developed a culture of regulatory resistance for over two decades. The result was a significantly improved and reliable banking sector. The banks mostly self-regulate their activities alongside the Central Bank’s prescriptive regulation. </p>
<p>The closest to using this model in climate change is the Kenyan experience. The government introduced the Climate Change Act 2016 and the Climate Change (Amendment) Act 2023 which combine prescriptive and economic tools. These created incentives for corporate participation in climate change mitigation – and the approach has led to improvements. </p>
<p><strong>You also caution that this approach will only succeed on three conditions: political will, technical capacity, and corporate compliance. Why these three, and does Ghana have these conditions in place?</strong></p>
<p>Political will is vital to establishing a strong climate change regulator with statutory powers to institute the framework. Its effectiveness in monitoring and enforcement depends on availability of technical expertise. </p>
<p>Corporate compliance is key to smooth implementation of the measures. This is important as friction between corporations and the regulator may result in litigation that will slow down its implementation. </p>
<p>Ghana is currently lacking all three. There is not yet the political will to establish a strong climate change regulator. There is no technical capacity either, but this can be solved by outsourcing it to private entities under the supervision of the regulator. This exists in some other sectors. </p>
<p>Corporate compliance is also lacking, but this may come once the other two conditions are solved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kikelomo Kila receives funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). </span></em></p>Ghana needs strong political will to enhance its climate change regulation.Kikelomo Kila, Lecturer in Law, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2201712024-01-03T17:41:29Z2024-01-03T17:41:29ZUK urged to get ready for disaster with new national crises plan – but our research reveals the dark side of prepping<p>What would you do if everyday life was suddenly turned upside down? Thanks to recent <a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231122-leave-the-world-behind-review-julia-roberts-stars-in-a-timely-and-chilling-thriller">Hollywood blockbusters</a>, the increasing popularity of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038521997763">everyday survivalism</a> and a climate of volatile, uncertain times (war, weather, accelerating technology), visions of the apocalypse seem to be having a moment.</p>
<p>Preppers – those who store food, water and supplies to survive impending disaster – have a bit of an image problem. Ridiculed for their delusional end-of-the world outlook, they are caricatured as “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.13086">tin foil hat-wearing loons</a>”. But is their approach to self-sufficiency so extreme? Recently, we’ve seen <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/rolling-blackouts-energy-crisis-life-death-disability-b2272741.html">energy companies</a> warn about blackouts, urging people to plan for when the lights go out.</p>
<p>In this context, looming (and actual) threats from climate disruption, extreme weather, global pandemics, cyberattacks and AI have led the UK government to launch its ambitious <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-government-resilience-framework">resilience framework</a>.</p>
<p>This framework is based on three core principles: a shared understanding of risk, a greater emphasis on preparation and prevention, and establishing resilience as a “whole of society” endeavour. Everyone is encouraged to be prepared.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/living-with-bunker-builders-doomsday-prepping-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-136635">Living with bunker builders: doomsday prepping in the age of coronavirus</a>
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<p>In the new guidance, households are urged to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/05/britons-should-stock-up-on-torches-and-candles-in-case-of-power-cuts-says-oliver-dowden">stockpile items</a> such as radios and candles, and have ample food in case disaster strikes. But this blanket whole of society call to preparedness rings hollow for many people who feel burned by past <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/14/we-have-a-brexit-shelf-readers-prepping-for-the-no-deal-scenario">vague government directives</a>.</p>
<p>In the run up to Britain’s exit from the EU, for example, fears arose surrounding the collapse of supply chains. The ongoing availability of everyday consumer goods was questioned. Despite officials dismissing stockpiling as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55293595">unnecessary</a>, the fact is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/14/we-have-a-brexit-shelf-readers-prepping-for-the-no-deal-scenario">one-in-five Britons began prepping</a>.</p>
<p>Many consumers secretly stashed essential items – tinned food, toilet paper, batteries – driven by stigma surrounding “tin foil hat” preppers (more usually associated with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7151311/">bunker-culture</a>, calamity and doomsday scenarios). However, the government has seemingly reversed its stance, and is now sounding the alarm about imminent crises, and – more importantly – how we are all individually responsible for being prepared.</p>
<p>As a group of academics researching shifts in prepping, covering Brexit, COVID-19, and now the cost of living crisis, our collective work explores how consumers practise everyday resilience and preparedness. </p>
<h2>Women, responsibility and division</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/14/i-dont-trust-the-government-to-look-after-me-or-my-dog-meet-the-brexit-stockpilers">Newspaper articles</a> and our own <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038521997763">research</a> on UK Brexit preppers suggest that women disproportionately bear the weight of home-based preparedness.</p>
<p>Domestic and emotional issues fall squarely on mothers who are tasked with keeping households running, no matter the circumstances. Whether ensuring everyone eats during shortages or soothing worries when the lights go out, women carry an outsized caretaking burden pivotal to family survival. All while navigating their own stresses and anxieties.</p>
<p>Recommendations around resilience underestimate the invisible and emotional labour needed to implement contingency planning, scanning the horizon for the next crisis. Rather than empowering households, the push toward self-sufficient readiness fuels deeper anxiety around loved ones’ safety. And if disaster strikes, support beyond immediate family remains essential.</p>
<p>Despite the resilience framework promoting a whole of society approach, preparedness inevitably develops into a scenario of haves and have-nots (meaning, those with the spare cash, space and time to prepare, and those who do not). This lays the foundations for inequality, resentment and the erosion of communal ties.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.13086">research</a> on Brexit-prepping mothers highlights the stigma that they directed towards the unprepared (who they vilified as lazy and feckless for failing to shield children from risk). What resulted was families taking individual action to preserve their own resilience, which we believe has two implications for the resilience framework.</p>
<p>First, focus on individual resilience risks fuelling an “everyone for themselves” mentality. The prepared will put their own families’ needs above others. In our research with Brexit preppers, envisaged disruption led mothers to anticipate difficult decisions surrounding who they would and would not offer help should disaster strike.</p>
<p>In our research study ordinary, upstanding community members (such as teachers and parish councillors) imagined allowing children of the unprepared to go hungry, or considered exploiting others’ unpreparedness on the black market (selling surplus food and supplies at extortionate prices).</p>
<p>Pushed to the edge, they fortified their homes and armed themselves to fend off potential looters who lacked the foresight to prep. Anna, for example, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.13086">discussed using her archery skills</a> to fend off possible looters: “I’m actually an archer, so I have a bow and arrow in the garage. And I’m a bloody good shot, I’m not kidding. I’d need to protect the family.”</p>
<p>Second, the ability to be “prepared” risks becoming tightly bound up with dominant norms of privilege and “good”, middle-class motherhood. These are the mothers mostly likely to possess the wealth, time, skills and physical space to prep.</p>
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<h2>Those left out</h2>
<p>Conversely, the less privileged, such as those experiencing housing issues and precarious employment, who often live hand to mouth, will be less able to prepare. Their survival is likely focused on the everyday, rather than planning for a possible eventuality. Inevitably, they will need wider support from the community, which the resilience framework, given its individualised approach to risk, does not fully consider.</p>
<p>While secrecy around prepping aims to safeguard accumulated assets from prospective thieves, it also isolates at-risk groups who lack equal means to stockpile for themselves. What duty do neighbours have to share with others if catastrophe (or even a temporary glitch) occurs? The line between rational self interest and morality blurs when survival instincts kick in, yet interconnected resilience may suffer when social cohesion frays beyond repair.</p>
<p>The government may encourage readiness across the whole of society, but this rings hollow if resilience is pursued through the stigma and separation of haves versus have-nots. Promoting preparedness without addressing inequalities, communal ties, emotional resilience and the gendered nature of caretaking labour undermines social cohesion critical for weathering crises.</p>
<p>Real security arises not from isolated stockpiles and individual action, but the establishment of more community-wide plans for preparedness in the event of disaster.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Prepping is fast becoming mainstream, but new government advice fails to address inequality, and could cause division between the haves and have-nots.Ben Kerrane, Professor of Marketing, School of Busines, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityDavid Rowe, Lecturer in Marketing, University of YorkKaty Kerrane, Lecturer in Marketing, University of LiverpoolShona Bettany, Professor of Marketing, School of Business, Education and Law, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183732023-12-27T09:11:25Z2023-12-27T09:11:25ZWhat’s the truth behind the ‘shoplifting epidemic’? Six key questions answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564897/original/file-20231211-23-ybkbik.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=82%2C52%2C4928%2C3351&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is it really true that shoplifting is out of control? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Lightspring</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>According to media reports, in 2023 the UK experienced an unprecedented <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-64057660">wave</a> of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce5rkgpyy2ro">shoplifting</a>. The theory goes that the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66049150">cost of living crisis</a> and poor police responses are driving a crime wave.</p>
<p>Is that really true? Here, we assess six of the most popular assertions made about shoplifting in 2023. Are they myth or reality?</p>
<h2>1. Is there really a shoplifting epidemic?</h2>
<p>Shoplifting has increased – but much of this reflects the fact that it declined <a href="https://crimesciencejournal.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s40163-021-00142-z.pdf">60% in the pandemic</a>. So reports of year-on-year changes are misleading. </p>
<p>Many crime types remain below pre-pandemic levels because we now work from home more than we used to. But by 2023 we were out shopping as much as before. That provided camouflage for shoplifting, so it returned to, and now exceeds, <a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/200708/1/COVIDCrimeStatsBulletin_18_Crime_Trends_to_Apr23.pdf">pre-pandemic levels</a>.</p>
<p>In the first six months of 2023, shoplifting reported to police averaged <a href="https://www.crimrxiv.com/pub/bqkby11t/release/1">7% above</a> the pre-pandemic expected level. It then increased to 20% above the expected level in the summer months. While most shoplifting is not reported to police, the available data suggests that the increase is not as dramatic as some accounts suggest. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Half-myth. To some extent it remains to be determined with better data – but there is a problem. </p>
<h2>2. Has the cost-of-living crisis driven people to theft?</h2>
<p>It has become common to blame the <a href="https://theweek.com/news/crime/961034/cost-of-living-is-shoplifting-on-the-rise">cost-of-living</a> crisis for rises in shoplifting. However, several facts do not fit with this theory. Shoplifting by dependent drug users, for example, is not due to the cost-of-living crisis. </p>
<p>Likewise, when department stores like <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66784250">John Lewis</a> decry theft of their high-end products, this is not a cost-of-living issue – it implies organised gangs are operating for profit. That explanation, put forward by the retailers themselves, contradicts the idea that increased shoplifting is due to cost-of-living issues. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Myth and half-truth. </p>
<h2>3. Are organised gangs to blame?</h2>
<p>Another version of events is more plausible – that <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-66112002">organised</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/shop-theft-has-been-building-for-years-heres-how-to-tackle-retail-crime-and-keep-workers-safe-213624">gangs</a> are the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/15/its-organised-looting-uk-in-grip-of-a-shoplifting-epidemic-say-store-owners">problem</a>.</p>
<p>The pandemic boosted <a href="https://hostingdata.co.uk/online-shopping-statistics-uk/">online shopping</a> which made made e-fencing of stolen goods easier, which in turn drives shoplifting. E-fencing via online marketplaces is more efficient and less risky than face-to-face in the street or pub. </p>
<p>The result is that some gangs now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/24/organised-gangs-are-shoplifting-to-order-in-uk-john-lewis-boss-says">steal to order</a>. A recent estimate suggests stolen and counterfeit goods account for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/selling-buying-shoplifted-stolen-products-online-efencing-facebook-ebay-2023-1?r=US&IR=T">10% of online marketplaces</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as the retail sector expanded, tempting new products are becoming readily available in large and anonymous self-service shops. Increases in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25762466">mini-supermarkets</a> means valuable items are closer to the door with fewer staff between the thief and the exit.</p>
<p>In the long term, then, it is change in the retail sector that inadvertently encourages shoplifting. We need more evidence, but organised crime offers a plausible explanation for increased post-pandemic shoplifting. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Likely reality. </p>
<h2>4. Have the police stopped caring?</h2>
<p>The truth is, police have not been required to attend low-value shoplifting offences for many years. This reflects a long history of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247953176_The_Prevention_of_Shop_Theft_An_Approach_Through_Crime_Analysis">problem shops</a> draining police resources with repeat calls without taking responsibility for preventing thefts. </p>
<p>After all, is it fair to expect taxpayers, who pay for police, to foot the bill? Or should retailers take responsibility for shoplifting just as other businesses are increasingly required to take responsibility for carbon emissions? </p>
<p>Like emitting pollution, creating shoplifting opportunities is <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/Series/Back-to-Basics/Externalities">effectively optional</a>. Pointing the finger at the police deflects some of the blame but it doesn’t address the real problem. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Myth. </p>
<h2>5. Are shops starting to lock up products because of theft increases?</h2>
<p>In 2023 it was claimed that more items such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65764513">cheese, meat and coffee</a> are being locked away or tagged. The truth is that these have been among the most stolen products for <a href="https://www.retailresearch.org/shoplifters.html">many years</a> and tagging has been <a href="https://crimesciencejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40163-017-0068-y">around for ages</a>. </p>
<p>It is part of a decades-long process of incremental improvements to retail security. By 2010, <a href="https://test.routledgehandbooks.com/pdf/doi/10.4324/9781843929680-5">research</a> identified 30 measures used to help shops prevent theft, including locking cabinets and adding <a href="https://blogs.bu.edu/llisa/everything-you-need-to-know-about-rfid-tags/">radio frequency tagging</a> to goods, tethering items or using dummy goods such as packaging with nothing in it. </p>
<p>It takes time, but security measures can evolve to be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1477370820932107">elegant and unobstrusive</a>. Examples already exist – think of wide aisles with clear sight-lines and clever packaging designs that make items difficult to conceal. </p>
<p>When someone meets you and greets you at the door, it’s not just to make shopping pleasant. It shows somebody cares and is watching. The development cycle of security means it sometimes begins as clunky and awkward before becoming something better.</p>
<p>Improved vehicle and household security reduced car crime and burglary by three-quarters since 1992, largely via non-punitive and unobtrusive measures. A suite of invisible car security is now triggered by a key fob, for example, and the best household security is built in as integrated locks on good quality doors.</p>
<p>These measures explain why there are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41300-019-00067-5">fewer young people</a> entering the <a href="https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/YEF-Statistics-update-February-2022-FINAL.pdf#:%7E:text=The%20number%20of%20first-time%20entrants%20to%20the%20youth,weapons%20were%20also%20down%20910%2C%20a%2021%25%20fall.">criminal</a> justice system. What’s more, shoppers are generally respectful of measures to reduce crime and promote safety even when they incur a minor inconvenience, such as tag removal at checkout. Overall, the history of security suggests we should be optimistic. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Myth. </p>
<h2>6. Are social media provocateurs to blame?</h2>
<p>Social media videos that glorify shoplifting and show <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkddq8/tiktok-an">how to do it</a> may be part of the picture. Word of mouth took years to spread information that now spreads globally in seconds. </p>
<p>A spate of thefts of Kia’s and Hyundai cars in the US is attributed to a <a href="https://www.economist.com/cities-are-suing-car-manufacturers-over-auto-theft-they-have-a-case">viral TikTok explainer video</a> and was stemmed only when the vehicle manufacturers issued a <a href="https://www.motortrend.com/news/hyundai-fixing-kia-boys-theft-security-vulnerability-free/">software update</a>. Flash mobs have been coordinated on social media, as when hundreds of youths met to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/oxford-circus-jd-robbery-rampage-tiktok-b2391303.html">rob London’s Oxford Street</a> stores. </p>
<p>Social media platforms are best placed and have the technical know-how to develop measures to stop videos from spreading and to make them less attractive to make and watch. It is not easy but the evidence suggests that <a href="https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/tools/pdfs/displacement.pdf">“offenders”</a> will not just circumvent bans on illegal videos. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Reality but we need information about its impact.</p>
<h2>What is to be done?</h2>
<p>We need better information about the shoplifting problem. But we know that, with concerted effort, it is possible to <a href="https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/shoplifting_2nd_ed.pdf">prevent shoplifting</a>. Crime is always concentrated, so prevention efforts should be focused on the small proportion of shops that disproportionately experience shoplifting and the small number of <a href="https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/tools/PDFs/Understanding_Theft_Hot_Products.pdf">hot products</a> that are popular among thieves.</p>
<p>Online eCommerce platforms are best placed to prevent e-fencing, and social media platforms best placed to disrupt provocateurs. The appropriate role for government is to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0002716218775045">encourage these private sector agents</a> into action through incentives (such as tax breaks for security) and disincentives (such as threat of regulation and fines).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218373/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is the cost of living really driving regular people to crime? And are those security tags on your steak the result of their misdemeanours?Graham Farrell, Professor of Crime Science, University of LeedsRachel Armitage, Professor of Criminology, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2153102023-10-12T14:48:26Z2023-10-12T14:48:26ZBank CEOs set the tone from the top when it comes to risky behaviour — new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553295/original/file-20231011-21-2myd73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3840%2C2160&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-young-charismatic-coach-business-woman-1636779892">KeyStock/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Metro Bank positioned itself as “<a href="https://www.metrobankonline.co.uk/about-us/">a fresh start to banking</a>” when it launched in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. It was set up in 2010 as a challenger to the “big five” banks dominating the UK market post-crisis: HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays and Santander.</p>
<p>But more recently, Metro Bank has <a href="https://otp.tools.investis.com/clients/uk/metro_bank_plc/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=1352&newsid=1720003">caused concern</a> among its investors for not meeting regulatory requirements on its capital levels. These rules dictate the amount of capital the bank must hold based on the riskiness of its assets, so that it can still operate but also meet any customer withdrawal requests. The riskier the bank’s activities, the more capital it must have on hand. </p>
<p>Regulators use such rules to ensure that banks are keeping people’s money safe. Banks can also help by creating a culture that doesn’t value excessive risk-taking. Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176523003981?via%3Dihub#bib0018">new research</a> shows the extent to which top executives at banks set the tone on risk-taking. The way CEOs and even CFOs talk about risk can offer insights into a bank’s likely financial stability. A more relaxed attitude could be a valuable early warning sign of potential bank distress for regulators.</p>
<p>Metro Bank is currently operating normally and there is no reason to think its customer deposits are in danger. It has secured new financing, and plans to open 11 more branches. But <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-fines-metro-bank-plc-decision-notices-two-former-executives">ongoing struggles</a> with regulatory capital levels means its <a href="https://www.fitchratings.com/research/banks/fitch-places-metro-bank-holdings-on-rwn-due-to-capital-constraints-04-10-2023">business model is still being questioned</a> by analysts. </p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_bank">Challenger banks</a> like Metro are often <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a45d50de-f6a1-11e9-9ef3-eca8fc8f2d65">viewed as disadvantaged</a> because they need to keep more money on hand, compared with the UK’s big five. This adds to their costs.</p>
<p>The UK regulator recently rejected Metro Bank’s request to reduce its capital levels, triggering the latest concerns about its stability and causing it to seek more investor funding. The bank subsequently secured this funding, <a href="https://twitter.com/Metro_Bank/status/1711279104308199710">calling it</a> “a new chapter … facilitating the delivery of continued profitable growth over the coming years”.</p>
<h2>Why the regulator won’t relax requirements</h2>
<p>Regulators must maintain a <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-financial-stability">stable financial system</a> that can provide essential services to households and businesses in both good and bad times. Banks are at the heart of this financial system. In the 1980s and 1990s, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/oct/09/big-bang-1986-city-deregulation-boom-bust">deregulation</a> destabilised the industry and led to the 2008 global financial crisis. Many people <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/oct/15/unemploymentdata-recession">lost their jobs</a> and homes as a result, while <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/is-the-global-financial-system-any-safer-than-before">US$15 trillion (£12.2 trillion) of taxpayers’ money</a> was spent globally to prop up the banking sector.</p>
<p>Banks were largely blamed for the <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.99.2.606">reckless risk-taking and careless lending</a> that caused the crisis. But regulators also failed to detect it. </p>
<p>Policymakers around the world introduced extensive reforms to banking and financial regulation after 2008, to protect financial stability and avoid a repeat of this economic catastrophe. This explains the current tough stance by regulators towards relaxing rules for organisations such as Metro Bank.</p>
<p>UK financial authorities have even recently <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/12/18/bank-england-hits-back-rishi-sunaks-plan-liberate-city-london/">called out</a> UK government plans to ease financial regulations under the <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.99.2.606">Edinburgh Reforms</a> and to remove the bankers’ bonus cap, in case it encourages more risk-taking by banks.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bankers-bonus-cap-why-scrapping-it-could-hurt-the-uk-economy-190811">Bankers bonus cap: why scrapping it could hurt the UK economy</a>
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<h2>Recent bank failures: a stark reminder</h2>
<p>Regulators, as well as financial market participants, also remain vigilant after the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/17/credit-suisse-silicon-valley-bank">unexpected failure of a number of banks</a> earlier this year. In particular, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the US was <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/svb-credit-suisse-turmoil-poses-bank-run-challenge-for-european-regulators-75024480">attributed to poor risk management</a>. It fuelled fears about global financial stability and the possibility of yet another devastating crisis.</p>
<p>However, regulation alone is not enough to mitigate excessively risky behaviour. The attitude to risk that runs through a bank – its risk culture – also matters.</p>
<p>A company’s <a href="https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/press/publications/newsletter/2023/html/ssm.nl230215_3.en.html#:%7E:text=Risk%20culture%20is%20a%20set,on%20the%20risks%20they%20take.">risk culture</a> comprises a set of values, attitudes and behaviour related to the awareness, management and control of risks. It shapes decisions about things like who to lend to, what to invest in, and how to manage the risks that arise as a result. </p>
<p>Most banks’ business models rely on balancing risk management with profit maximisation in this way. But it needs to be done responsibly: signs of poor risk culture, such as <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/working-paper/2021/organisational-culture-and-bank-risk.pdf?la=en&hash=81DD3E865BC0159475FD10A78AA2293F0379FB8E">excessive risk taking</a> or misconduct, are red flags to regulators and investors. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Image of Wall Street Journal homepage with headline about SVB failure and image of US treasury secretary Janet Yellen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553296/original/file-20231011-25-2qw88u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553296/original/file-20231011-25-2qw88u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553296/original/file-20231011-25-2qw88u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553296/original/file-20231011-25-2qw88u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553296/original/file-20231011-25-2qw88u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553296/original/file-20231011-25-2qw88u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553296/original/file-20231011-25-2qw88u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March 2023, the second-largest bank failure in US history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/march-10-2023-silicon-valley-bank-2274268829">Domenico Fornas/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But it’s difficult for outsiders, even regulators, to observe and measure a bank’s risk culture. So, our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176523003981?via%3Dihub#bib0018">recent study</a> aimed to quantify the risk culture of 160 US banks, including some of the country’s largest. We did this by analysing the text of conference calls on which their CEOs answered questions about the business from analysts, investors and the media. This allowed us to capture their unscripted views and behaviour when these bank CEOs were put on the spot.</p>
<p>We used a machine learning algorithm to construct a dictionary of words and phrases associated with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221719301936#sec0002">seven different risk culture dimensions</a>, including “risk strategy” and “regulatory requirements”. We used another algorithm to assess whether these phrases were being used in a positive or negative way. </p>
<p>Our analysis showed that words and phrases associated with the “regulatory requirements” risk culture dimension, for example, were mentioned the least by CEOs prior to and during the global financial crisis. Unsurprisingly, use of the term picked up in its aftermath, as CEOs had to explain how tightening banking regulations were affecting their businesses. </p>
<p>By calculating the number of positive and negative occurrences of each phrase, we were able to create a measure of CEO attitudes for each risk culture dimension. We found that a weaker risk culture – characterised by more negative mentions of these phrases – indicated a greater probability of bank insolvency as a result of not having enough capital.</p>
<p>More worryingly, we found similarities in attitudes to risk between collapsed US banks SVB and <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/latest-banking-crisis-failures-silicon-133525079.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADejPCXiax-rs9nNOkrxJsrN71CJ7V381zRYjTDy9eYNcPJ8Mq9HnyyU0jjZKlFddz7olRknKwKo7GWAPh6LeLUFdxmWrNkEElEVs-Qz42kYJvuXNTr4u-sy0cXQsGxjHHQnEgn4N8MWDjKIV9un7wBDx29mkaksHbhsfN-3nuvH">First Republic</a>, and other US banks that are still operating today. </p>
<p>Our research indicates that a strong risk culture in banking starts with the right tone from the top. Executives should be aware of their role model status when making decisions and talking about risk, both within their companies and to the public. Their attitudes cascade down to every other level and, if they are serious about managing risk, this could help maintain financial stability not only of their own bank, but the financial sector as a whole.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215310/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our study shows the way bank bosses talk about risk can negatively affect financial stability.Alper Kara, Professor of Banking and Finance, Brunel University LondonArtur Semeyutin, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of HuddersfieldSaid Kaawach, Lecturer in Economics and Finance, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2106762023-08-03T04:24:34Z2023-08-03T04:24:34ZPsikolog jelaskan “Starseeds”, orang-orang yang mengira mereka adalah alien yang tinggal di Bumi<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539998/original/file-20230728-35026-z38cp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Selamat datang di realitas baru.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/double-exposure-portrait-young-woman-close-1723327936">sun ok/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ada sekelompok orang di Bumi yang percaya bahwa mereka adalah alien.
Orang-orang bintang, atau <a href="https://brill.com/display/book/9789004435537/BP000031.xml"><em>starseeds</em></a>, adalah individu-individu yang percaya bahwa mereka telah datang ke Bumi dari dimensi lain untuk membantu menyembuhkan planet ini dan membimbing umat manusia menuju “zaman keemasan” - sebuah periode kebahagiaan, kemakmuran, dan pencapaian yang luar biasa. </p>
<p>Mungkin terdengar sedikit tidak masuk akal, tetapi pencarian di internet untuk istilah ini menghasilkan lebih dari 4 juta hasil. Bahkan, banyak orang yang memposting video di TikTok, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/starseed/?hl=en">Instagram</a> dan Facebook percaya bahwa mereka berasal dari dunia lain. Memang, konten dengan istilah <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/starseed?lang=en">#<em>starseed</em></a> memiliki lebih dari 1 miliar penayangan di TikTok.</p>
<p>Tidak seperti “jiwa-jiwa Bumi”, yang dikatakan bereinkarnasi di Bumi, para <em>starseed</em> percaya bahwa mereka telah bangkit kembali dari planet lain untuk dilahirkan di sini. <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Beginners-Guide-to-Starseeds/Whitney-Jefferson-Evans/9781507215364">Mereka percaya</a> bahwa mereka adalah penghubung antara alam ilahi dan Bumi dan bahwa mereka dapat berpindah antar galaksi melalui <a href="https://insighttimer.com/hypnolution/guided-meditations/starseed-activation-meditation">meditasi</a>. <em>Starseeds</em> juga percaya bahwa mereka dapat berkomunikasi dalam “<a href="https://blog.mindvalley.com/light-language/">bahasa cahaya</a>” - sebuah bentuk komunikasi yang dikatakan dapat melewati keterbatasan manusia dan menjadi bahasa jiwa.</p>
<p>Secara luas, ide ini dilontarkan oleh penulis <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/author/brad-steiger/320608">Brad Steiger</a> yang memang banyak menulis tentang hal-hal yang tidak diketahui dan sangat tertarik pada kehidupan alien dan makhluk luar angkasa. Dalam bukunya tahun 1976, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/894911"><em>Gods of Aquarius</em></a>, Steiger memperkenalkan gagasannya bahwa beberapa orang berasal dari dimensi lain. </p>
<p>Para penganutnya mengklaim bahwa ada beberapa cara untuk mengetahui apakah kamu adalah keturunan bintang. Ini termasuk mencari makna dalam hidup dan merasa kurang terhubung dengan lingkungan sekitar. Spiritualitas tinggi serta intuisi yang kuat juga merupakan kualitas dari seorang keturunan bintang.</p>
<p>Mereka juga dikatakan memiliki kemampuan berempati, sensitif, dan memiliki lebih banyak <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=q8L657GHi6kC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=starseed+mental+and+physical+health+problems&ots=YZ263SVYMB&sig=rbmofx2MVrP6MExxKJjQkkmszzX0#v=onepage&q=starseed%20mental%20and%20physical%20health%20problems&f=false">masalah kesehatan fisik dan mental</a> karena jiwa mereka tidak terbiasa dengan tubuh manusia. <em>Starseeds</em> ingin membantu umat manusia. Tapi mereka kewalahan dengan kehidupan di Bumi dan mengisi ulang tenaga dengan menghabiskan waktu sendirian.</p>
<p>Para penganut kepercayaan juga mengatakan bahwa para <em>starseed</em> memiliki keinginan untuk menjelajahi dan mengalami budaya dan lingkungan baru, yang membantu manusia bintang untuk kemudian memberikan wawasan baru tentang keberadaan. Contohnya termasuk <a href="https://theconversation.com/conspiracy-theories-start-to-take-hold-at-age-14-study-suggests-156006">teori (konspirasi) baru</a> tentang masyarakat, intervensi kesehatan holistik, dan juga pemikiran tentang <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/ancient-sites-built-by-aliens">alien dan peradaban kuno</a>.</p>
<h2>Apa itu Starseeds?</h2>
<p>Kamu mungkin mengenali beberapa aspek dari dirimu sendiri dalam deskripsi di atas. Banyak orang, misalnya, melaporkan <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/11/18/finding-meaning-in-what-one-does/">mencari makna dalam hidup</a> bersamaan dengan <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00332747.2015.1015867">merasa terlantar</a> atau seperti <a href="https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/newsroom/newsn/11261/feeling-like-you-dont-belong-racial-and-identity-based-insults-and-slights-can-lower-self-esteem-and-damage-quality-of-life">tidak terhubung</a> pada saat-saat tertentu. </p>
<p>Memang, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00332747.2015.1015867#:%7E:text=Kesimpulan%3A%20Sense%20of%20belonging%20adalah,dalam%20pengobatan%20depresi.">penelitian menunjukkan</a> bahwa rasa memiliki keterhubungan yang rendah sering dikaitkan dengan depresi. Namun, apa yang membuat beberapa orang yang mengalami perasaan seperti itu <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/17/eva-wiseman-conspirituality-the-dark-side-of-wellness-how-it-all-got-so-toxic">langsung mengambil kesimpulan</a> bahwa mereka pasti berasal dari planet lain? Terutama karena tidak ada kehidupan di luar Bumi yang pernah ditemukan dan <a href="https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/about/">tidak ada bukti</a> bahwa kehidupan asing pernah mengunjungi Bumi.</p>
<p>Selamat datang di <a href="https://neurofied.com/barnum-effect-the-reason-why-we-believe-our-horoscopes/">Efek Forer</a>. Istilah itu berasal dari <a href="http://apsychoserver.psych.arizona.edu/jjbareprints/psyc621/forer_the%20fallacy%20of%20personal%20validation_1949.pdf">Bertram Forer</a>, psikolog yang pertama kali menemukan bahwa cukup mudah untuk membuat orang setuju dengan deskripsi yang tidak jelas tentang diri mereka sendiri - horoskop contohnya.</p>
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<p>Konsep <em>starseeds</em> adalah sebuah bentuk <a href="https://www.icsahome.com/articles/what-is-new-age-langone">kepercayaan zaman baru</a>. Istilah ini mengacu pada <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_78-1">praktik spiritual alternatif</a> yang berkembang pada 1970-an. </p>
<p>Meskipun setiap <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/01/new-age-beliefs-common-among-both-religious-and-nonreligious-americans/">kepercayaan zaman baru</a> berbeda, filosofi-filosofi tersebut memiliki kesamaan ciri-ciri: mereka memandang keberadaan dalam kaitannya dengan alam semesta dan fokus pada spiritualitas serta <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10253860500241930?casa_token=Rz5YQdqjZhcAAAAA%3A_g8SOXBuZsO5Ftgb4lWC7AnBRgnbB1TtAFM9LJUS1Ru7K9jTJvLlz4pIt8e1eLj9LBWyDH6UEO">diri</a>. Misalnya, kristal, penyembuhan energi, dan <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-why-so-many-people-believe-in-psychic-powers-102088">kemampuan psikis</a>.</p>
<p>Fitur lainnya termasuk <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705678/#:%7E:text=Reinkarnasi%20adalah%20agama%20atau,dari%20tindakan%20kehidupan%20sebelumnya.">reinkarnasi</a>, <a href="https://www.livescience.com/41462-what-is-karma.html">karma</a> dan kemungkinan untuk mencapai <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136466131630002X">tingkat kesadaran yang lebih tinggi</a>.</p>
<p>Dukungan untuk <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-21330-003">kepercayaan zaman baru</a> - seperti <em>starseeds</em> - sedang <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/01/new-age-beliefs-common-among-both-religious-and-nonreligious-americans/">meningkat</a>. Hal ini berasal dari <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/distrust-in-science-is-causing-harm-but-these-researchers-have-a-plan#:%7E:text=Ketidakpercayaan%20terhadap%20ilmu%20pengetahuan%20adalah%20sebuah%20ketidakpercayaan%20yang%20lebih%20kuat%20dari%20kebenaran%20yang%20adalah%20kebenaran%20sebenarnya">ketidakpercayaan terhadap ilmu pengetahuan</a> dan keraguan terhadap <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-reality-a-game-of-quantum-mirrors-a-new-theory-suggests-it-might-be-162936">persepsi konvensional mengenai realitas</a>. Khususnya, sinisme tentang <a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-technology-health-government-and-politics-new-york-cfb56a95aec23dddbabcf3ebbe839f05">masyarakat modern</a> dan upaya untuk menemukan makna hidup.</p>
<h2>Karakter dan kepribadian orang-orang Starseeds</h2>
<p>Karakteristik kepribadian tertentu juga dapat membuat beberapa orang percaya pada gagasan tentang <em>starseeds</em>. Misalnya, jika kamu adalah orang yang <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/11/overactive-imagination-you-might-have-a-fantasy-prone-personality-type-13247464/">mudah berkhayal</a> dan sering mencampuradukkan khayalan dan peristiwa nyata, kamu mungkin melihat teori kesadaran alien sebagai sesuatu yang mendalam dan menarik.</p>
<p>Dalam istilah psikologi, hal ini dikenal sebagai <a href="https://escholarship.org/content/qt2t1731dw/qt2t1731dw.pdf"><em>source monitoring error</em></a>, yang merupakan jenis kesalahan memori bawah sadar di mana seseorang menjadi bingung antara apa yang nyata dan akurat dengan apa yang tidak nyata dan khayalan. </p>
<p>Hal ini umumnya terlihat pada skizofrenia. Penelitian telah menemukan hubungan antara <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165178117312301">gangguan kepribadian skizotipal</a> - gangguan umum yang dianggap sebagai bentuk skizofrenia ringan - dan kepercayaan pada teori konspirasi.</p>
<p>Efek lebih lanjut yang dapat mendorong kepercayaan semacam itu adalah apa yang dikenal sebagai <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244018809874#:%7E:text=Kebingungan%20ontologis%20adalah%20sebuah%20kekeliruan,%20yang%20mungkin%20disebabkan%20oleh%20penyimpangan%20kategorikal">kebingungan ontologis</a>. Hal ini terjadi ketika orang tidak dapat membedakan antara <a href="https://www.psypost.org/2018/11/people-who-are-religious-and-ontologically-confused-are-more-likely-to-share-pseudo-profound-bullshit-52583#:%7E:text=Sebagai%20contoh%2C%20kebingungan%20antologis%20orang%20lebih%20mungkin%20disebabkan%20oleh%20kategori%20melanggar%20kategori%20">metaforis dan faktual</a> pernyataan seperti: “Furnitur tua mengetahui banyak hal tentang masa lalu.” Hal ini dapat ditafsirkan secara lebih harfiah daripada secara metaforis sehingga lebih memungkinkan orang untuk mendukung teori-teori pseudosains dan transendental.</p>
<p>Hal ini terutama terjadi ketika sumber informasi dianggap dapat dipercaya dan berpengetahuan luas. Dijuluki <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/the-einstein-effect-people-trust-nonsense-from-scientists-more-than-spiritual-gurus#:%7E:text=Penulis%20memikirkan%20hasil%20penelitian%20mereka,%20kredibilitas%20sosial%20yang%20mereka%20memiliki.">efek Einstein</a>, ini adalah saat di mana sumber informasi tepercaya diberikan kepercayaan lebih karena kredibilitas sosial yang mereka miliki. </p>
<p>Dalam kasus <em>starseeds</em>, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/letters-to-a-starseed/rebecca-campbell/9781788175876">beberapa buku</a> yang diterbitkan oleh <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/The-Beginners-Guide-to-Starseeds/Whitney-Jefferson-Evans/9781507215371">penerbit besar</a> dapat memberikan kesan keaslian. Begitu juga dengan fakta bahwa beberapa di antaranya merupakan buku terlaris. Tampaknya kehidupan yang kita kenal, memang tidak sesederhana yang kita bayangkan.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Rahma Sekar Andini dari Universitas Negeri Malang menerjemahkan artikel ini dari bahasa Inggris</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210676/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Para penulis tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi di luar afiliasi akademis yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Kami telah menghabiskan waktu lama untuk mempelajari orang-orang yang berpikir bahwa mereka berasal dari planet lain, jadi kamu tidak perlu melakukannya.Ken Drinkwater, Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Cognitive and Parapsychology, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityAndrew Denovan, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of HuddersfieldNeil Dagnall, Reader in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073092023-06-28T15:07:44Z2023-06-28T15:07:44ZHow metro mayors are getting things done – even if they have limited money and power<p>The word “mayor”, in the English governance landscape, refers to many different roles. Until the turn of the 21st century, it mostly described <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/nov/21/what-are-mayors-manchester-osborne">non-partisan ceremonial leaders</a> of towns and boroughs in England and Wales, most often elected by councillors. The further ceremonial title of Lord Mayor was conferred by royal letters patent on the leaders of the nation’s biggest cities. </p>
<p>Directly elected mayors, by contrast, are a new phenomenon. The first, introduced in 2000, was the Mayor of London – currently Sadiq Khan – who is responsible for the Greater London Authority, a collection of 19 local authorities.</p>
<p>Two distinct types of elected mayor have since emerged. Local authority mayors, like Marvin Rees in Bristol and Paul Dennett in Salford, are put in place by voters within the boundaries of a single local authority.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/everything-need-know-metro-mayors/#whatis">Metro mayors</a>– of which there are now nine – are voted in by residents of all the local authorities of a combined authority. In <a href="https://theconversation.com/metro-mayors-are-all-men-but-womens-voices-are-needed-for-the-best-pandemic-recovery-158920">May 2021</a>, elections for metro mayors saw a <a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/everything-need-know-metro-mayors/">reported</a> 10 million people around England head to the polls in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, West of England, West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Greater London.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526133571/">new book</a>, Devolution in Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region, asks if the metro mayors amount to a constitutional revolution in English local government or a limited and temporary experiment. Comparing Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, we have found, through interviews with local political leaders, that by working with and through their combined authorities, metro mayors can make a notable difference to their local areas. </p>
<h2>Personality matters</h2>
<p>Metro mayors deploy considerable leadership skills and convening powers. During the pandemic, Burnham very publicly challenged the government’s lockdown policies. Along with his ten council leaders, he criticised the imposition of <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-pandemic-has-pitted-englands-mayors-against-london-148288">tier-three restrictions</a> as discriminatory. </p>
<p>Working with the council leaders or directly elected mayor of each local authority in the region, no matter their political allegiance, is crucial to metro mayors’ success. Local authority leaders can veto metro-mayoral policies – as happened when <a href="https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/blow-for-gmsf-as-stockport-quits/">Stockport</a> withdrew its support in December 2020 for Burnham’s plans to allow green-belt construction across Greater Manchester.</p>
<p>One Greater Manchester council leader we interviewed put it bluntly:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We have to work with a mayor we did not want while he has to work with a cabinet he did not choose. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Working with with central government and its various departments is crucial too. As are relationships with the political parties and interest groups and, ultimately, the electorate – none of which are static. These relationships both enable and constrain the metro mayors who must engage in policy areas that are thick with existing actors and strategies. </p>
<p>Burnham has demonstrated his worth to voters through returning the bus network to public control, with Wigan and Bolton being the first to benefit, from September 2023. All boroughs in Greater Manchester are to follow suit, by January 2025. Our interviews with key political, civic and business leaders in Greater Manchester emphasised that doing so was Burnham’s primary task and the reason he was elected. For most residents, buses are the essential form of transport and public control will mean cheaper, more accessible and a more reliable bus network.</p>
<p>Similarly, Rotheram was crucial in advocating for the Shakespeare North Playhouse in Knowsley, a deprived borough of the Merseyside region. The idea was that this would deliver economic benefits through a growth in tourism, while extending cultural opportunities beyond Liverpool itself, to the outer boroughs. </p>
<p>These achievements have not been easy to come by, however. Although metro mayors hold devolved powers distinct from those of local authorities, these do not automatically translate into the ability to get things done. </p>
<h2>Transactional politics</h2>
<p>The powers of the metro mayor and those of the combined authority are set out in <a href="https://theconversation.com/whitehalls-centralised-system-cant-deliver-boris-johnsons-promises-to-level-up-176300">devolution deals</a> negotiated with central government, which is not something local authority mayors have to do. These powers generally relate to economic development, planning, transport and adult skills. </p>
<p>Quite how though varies depending on the combined authority. Greater Manchester was the only combined authority to have health and social care included in its first devolution deal in 2014. Liverpool City Region, meanwhile, was unique in prioritising culture in its original devolution agreement. </p>
<p>These deals, though, are simply the starting point. In February 2022, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, Michael Gove, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/levelling-up-the-united-kingdom">singled out</a> the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester as exemplifying the difference devolution can make to a region. </p>
<p>However, the initiatives Gove highlighted – Burnham’s rough sleeping campaign, <a href="https://aboutgreatermanchester.com/fairer/a-bed-every-night/">A Bed Every Night</a>, and Rotheram’s pandemic support for local voluntary organisations, <a href="https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/metro-mayor-unveils-480000-grants-fund-for-community-and-voluntary-organisations-using-returns-on-successful-investments/">LCR Cares initiative</a> – were in policy areas to which the devolution deals had afforded neither power nor budget. But Burnham and Rotheram went ahead regardless, effectively expanding their role beyond what the government’s deal had laid out.</p>
<p>Such metro-mayoral wins might be categorised as micro-achievements. But even small changes matter. </p>
<h2>Lack of power</h2>
<p>Burnham made young people his priority right from the start of his term. He has developed the <a href="https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/news/young-people-unveil-new-our-pass-name-and-design/">Opportunity Pass</a>, to provide free bus travel for 16-18 year olds, along with free access to various culture and leisure facilities. </p>
<p>Since November 2018, Liverpool too has provided free bus travel, for apprentices aged 19-24. From July 2019, they have enjoyed <a href="https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/metro-mayor-announces-half-price-rail-travel-for-young-apprentices-in-the-liverpool-city-region/">half-price rail travel</a>. </p>
<p>But our interviewees expressed frustration at setbacks related to a lack of power and resources which have made policy wins hard to achieve. Like elected local authority mayors, metro mayors have had to reckon with ever deepening austerity cuts to public spending – of which local councils have borne the brunt. The subsequent cost of the pandemic has only made things worse. </p>
<p>On the question of HS2, the power that central government retains has been evident. The underground station at Manchester Piccadilly that Greater Manchester wanted to use to accommodate the high speed rail line was dismissed by Whitehall in favour of extending the existing surface station. This saw Manchester Evening News reporter Charlotte Cox <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/plans-hs2-cheap-threaten-turn-24267660">accuse the government</a> of “doing it on the cheap”. She highlighted the local council’s analysis showing that this would “rob the region’s economy of £333 million a year by 2050”. </p>
<p>Local councils, whatever model of governance they use, can marry statutory authority with democratic legitimacy – a potent combination. By contrast, metro mayors enjoy, as yet, <a href="https://theconversation.com/mayors-could-be-a-guiding-light-in-post-brexit-britain-but-theyll-need-greater-powers-106132">fewer statutory powers</a>. But when they’re willing to advocate for their city-region – and persist in their demands of central government – they really can make things happen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207309/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When directly elected mayors doggedly advocate for their city-region, they can make things happen, regardless of budgetary and devolution constraints.Georgina Blakeley, Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning, University of HuddersfieldBrendan Evans, Professor of Politics, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2079382023-06-23T13:39:43Z2023-06-23T13:39:43ZHouse prices are falling, but that doesn’t mean you should buy now – here’s what first-time buyers should consider<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533158/original/file-20230621-17-zukczo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=616%2C174%2C5518%2C3228&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-young-lesbian-women-family-couple-2297606011">Andrii Iemelianenko/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>House prices in the UK fell by 3.4% in the last year, the biggest annual fall in <a href="https://www.nationwidehousepriceindex.co.uk/reports/annual-house-price-growth-slips-back-in-may">nearly 14 years</a>. The inflation-adjusted average house price is now what it was in 2014.</p>
<p>While this may seem like good news, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right time to get on the property ladder. Today, many in their 20s and 30s face difficulties buying their first house mainly due to increasing borrowing costs. </p>
<p>Average mortgage lending rates (based on a two-year fixed rate with a 10% deposit) are now close to 6% compared to <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/visual-summaries/quoted-household-interest-rates">2% in January 2022</a>. For a £200,000 mortgage, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/915977/average-value-of-mortgage-granted-in-the-united-kingdom/">the average for UK households</a>, this 4% difference increases monthly payments by almost <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-reduce-your-mortgage-repayments-in-2023-and-why-rates-have-risen-so-high-196327">£480 a month</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-youre-less-likely-to-get-rich-these-days-if-your-parents-arent-already-wealthy-194321?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Why you’re less likely to get rich these days if your parents aren’t already wealthy</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/managing-people-for-the-first-time-expert-tips-on-how-to-succeed-198615?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Managing people for the first time: expert tips on how to succeed</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/owning-houseplants-can-boost-your-mental-health-heres-how-to-pick-the-right-one-202197?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Owning houseplants can boost your mental health – here’s how to pick the right one</a></em></p>
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<p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12196322">Soaring inflation</a> is not helping either. It is becoming more difficult to afford basic living expenses (including <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/indexofprivatehousingrentalprices/march2023">rental costs</a>), and also to save for a deposit required for a mortgage.</p>
<p>The benefit of decreasing house prices may be offset by interest rate hikes and inflation. What’s more, the prices for typical first-time-buyer properties, such as flats, have not eased as much as the other sectors of the market. Since the start of the pandemic, the price increase, and the recently observed drops, have been less for flats and maisonettes than for other properties.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Chart showing that prices for flats and maisonettes have not increased or dropped at the same levels as other properties." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533128/original/file-20230621-18-2m3krj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533128/original/file-20230621-18-2m3krj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533128/original/file-20230621-18-2m3krj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533128/original/file-20230621-18-2m3krj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533128/original/file-20230621-18-2m3krj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533128/original/file-20230621-18-2m3krj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533128/original/file-20230621-18-2m3krj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alper Kara/Land Registry Data</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>What to ask a mortgage adviser</h2>
<p>The idea of buying a first home is exciting. However, it is best to act with caution and consider the various factors carefully. One important factor is, of course, what mortgages are available. </p>
<p>Mortgage comparison <a href="https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/best-buys/">websites</a> are a good starting point. Once you familiarise yourself with those, the best approach is to use a qualified, independent mortgage adviser. They often have access to mortgages exclusive to them, often with better rates, than those available publicly or from a bank.</p>
<p>After checking that they are a regulated and independent adviser, and asking about their fees, here are three important questions to ask and discuss with the broker. Don’t be shy, and make sure you are comfortable with all the details before deciding.</p>
<h2>1. How much can I borrow?</h2>
<p>Find out how much you can borrow <a href="https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/how-much-mortgage-borrowing/">using a mortgage calculator</a>. Often, couples who are both in work are at an advantage and can borrow more. </p>
<p>Be on the conservative side when considering how much you can pay for a mortgage after living expenses. Don’t stretch your income to the limit, as interest rates could increase in the future. It is best to talk to a mortgage adviser if you are worried about this.</p>
<p>If you are renting, compare your current rent payment to what you would potentially be paying for a mortgage. If they are similar, then it may be worth buying as a mortgage helps you to own your home over time.</p>
<h2>2. What are my deposit options?</h2>
<p>Check the size of the deposit needed for the property you want to buy. With the government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-extends-mortgage-guarantee-scheme">mortgage guarantee scheme</a>, this could be as low as 5%. To support first-time buyers, there are also <a href="https://www.skipton.co.uk/press-office/press-release-article?BlogID=%7B13A47958-66DB-4D1A-B686-F7BFCF3FD742%7D">0% deposit mortgages</a>. However, be aware that a no-deposit mortgage comes with risks. If house prices fall further, you may be left in negative equity instantly – meaning that your house is now worth less than your outstanding mortgage. </p>
<p>Other mortgage products may be available if you have support from <a href="https://www.nationwide.co.uk/mortgages/family-deposit-mortgage/">family</a> or <a href="https://www.generationhome.com/">friends</a> for a deposit. Bear in mind that deposit size matters as banks charge lower rates if you have a higher deposit – this is known as the <a href="https://www.halifax.co.uk/mortgages/help-and-advice/what-is-loan-to-value.html">loan-to-value ratio</a>.</p>
<h2>3. What other costs might I face?</h2>
<p>Buying and selling properties involves high extra costs, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/money-mentor/answer/hidden-costs-house-buying/">such as legal, survey, mortgage or estate agent fees</a>. The good news is that first-time buyers are <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers">exempt from stamp duty</a>, a substantial cost, for properties up to £300,000. </p>
<p>Make sure you have savings beyond your deposit. If you anticipate needing to move again soon, for example, to move in with a partner or be closer to family, then it may not be the best option to buy a home before you settle.</p>
<p>Also, be aware that <a href="https://www.gov.uk/leasehold-property/service-charges-and-other-expenses">leasehold properties</a> (typically flats or apartments) often have monthly service charges, usually <a href="https://www.redbrickpm.co.uk/blog/how-are-the-average-service-charges-for-flats-calculated/#:%7E:text=What%20is%20the%20average%20service,London%20and%20new%2Dbuild%20flats.">between £1,000 to £2,000 a year</a>. </p>
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<img alt="A young man and woman sitting on a couch, looking stressed. He is looking at a document, she has her head in her hands." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533156/original/file-20230621-27-7iw1na.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533156/original/file-20230621-27-7iw1na.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533156/original/file-20230621-27-7iw1na.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533156/original/file-20230621-27-7iw1na.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533156/original/file-20230621-27-7iw1na.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533156/original/file-20230621-27-7iw1na.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533156/original/file-20230621-27-7iw1na.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">There are more financial factors to consider than house price.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/frustrated-young-couple-checking-financial-documents-1902150268">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Understanding mortgage products</h2>
<p>Understanding mortgage products and comparing them is a daunting task. It is best to discuss these in detail with a mortgage adviser to make the right choice. A key feature of mortgages is interest charged. You’ll need to have a plan for how to pay this, especially as interest rates go up. </p>
<p>A fixed-rate mortgage gives you certainty for a period of time (typically two to five years). With a fixed rate your monthly payments will not change, regardless of the <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/the-interest-rate-bank-rate">Bank of England base rate changes</a>. There are now also <a href="https://www.moneysupermarket.com/mortgages/ten-year-fixed-rate/">ten-year fixed rates</a> offered in the market, but such deals would not allow you to benefit from any long-term drop in the interest rates.</p>
<p>A variable-rate mortgage is adjusted automatically to Bank of England rate changes. So your monthly payments may increase or decrease unexpectedly. The <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65966723">higher than expected inflation figures</a> could be a signal that interest rates may increase further in the coming months. </p>
<p>Check if a deal allows you to <a href="https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-overpayment-calculator/#:%7E:text=Note.,more%20than%20once%20a%20year.">overpay</a> your mortgage, typically around 10% of the borrowed amount. In a high-interest-rate environment like now, having the option to make additional payments whenever you can, will reduce your overall borrowing costs.</p>
<p>Buying your first home is likely the most important financial decision of your life so far. Don’t rush into things. Speak to experts, and consider inflation and other costs. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is not intended to be in-depth financial advice. If you have questions about your situation, talk to a qualified, independent mortgage adviser.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207938/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alper Kara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The questions you should be asking a mortgage broker.Alper Kara, Professor and Head of Department - Accounting, Finance and Economics, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2072732023-06-22T16:04:34Z2023-06-22T16:04:34ZYour rented house is falling apart – here are your rights to getting it repaired<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531711/original/file-20230613-29-4q2205.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C1%2C971%2C648&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/side-view-shocked-young-woman-looking-1246978822">Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Waking up to the sight of black mould spreading across your bedroom walls would be distressing for anyone, but if you live in rented accommodation, there is an added layer of anxiety. </p>
<p>Complaining about the disrepair in your rented house could lead to a section 21 eviction notice – a retaliatory action often dubbed a “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-47613386">revenge eviction</a>”. It’s a distressing reality faced by many private renters in England who find themselves living in substandard conditions. </p>
<p>Nearly a quarter of private renters live in homes that fail to meet the government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-decent-home-standard-promises-to-force-landlords-to-make-homes-safer-but-it-will-only-work-with-enforcement-176961">Decent Home Standard</a>. This amounts to roughly 1 million rented properties that contain dangerous hazards, are not in a reasonable state of repair or lack suitable heating. </p>
<p>According to recent data, approximately <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7328/CBP-7328.pdf">14% of privately rented properties contain a “category 1” hazard</a> under this standard, which poses a serious and immediate risk to health and safety. From faulty wiring to damp and mould, these hazards can have profound effects on tenants’ health and wellbeing, or can lead to <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/awaab-ishak-toddlers-death-from-mould-triggers-review-of-landlord-guidance-12786323">tragic consequences</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/cost-of-living-crisis-what-are-your-rights-if-your-landlord-wants-to-increase-your-rent-189089?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Cost of living crisis: what are your rights if your landlord wants to increase your rent?</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-be-a-good-housemate-to-your-parents-206300?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Five ways to be a good ‘housemate’ to your parents</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/expert-advice-for-budding-uk-entrepreneurs-during-a-cost-of-living-crisis-202531?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Expert advice for budding UK entrepreneurs during a cost of living crisis</a></em></p>
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<p>While living in a rented property offers flexibility, it also comes with inherent vulnerabilities. In England, tenants often have short-term tenancy agreements, usually lasting between six months and a year. These agreements can be be ended easily by the landlord serving a <a href="https://theconversation.com/landlords-will-be-forbidden-from-evicting-tenants-for-no-reason-but-reform-has-only-just-begun-115589">section 21 notice</a>. </p>
<p>In this “no fault” eviction, landlords can give renters two months’ notice to leave the property without any reason needed. This means that renters may hesitate to assert their rights, fearing the repercussions of speaking up about disrepair issues.</p>
<p>Renters in England have rights when it comes to repairs and ensuring that their rented homes are fit for habitation. Landlords are subject to over <a href="https://www.nrla.org.uk/campaigns/managing-tenancies/legislation-affecting-private-landlords-england">150 laws and regulations</a> designed to safeguard the wellbeing of tenants, from fire safety measures to electrical and gas safety checks. </p>
<p>These rules cover a wide range of areas, including health and safety standards, maintenance requirements and provisions for repairs. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/70">Landlord and Tenant Act 1985</a> requires landlords to maintain their properties in <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/landlord_and_tenant_responsibilities_for_repairs?_its=JTdCJTIydmlkJTIyJTNBJTIyNzhlMGViMzItN2I3ZC00MWYzLTljZGItY2VkNTRjNjE1Y2ViJTIyJTJDJTIyc3RhdGUlMjIlM0ElMjJybHR%2BMTY4NjU3OTg1M35sYW5kfjJfODUxOTlfc2VvX2ZkYzg2OTRkYWYxMzY3MzY0NGNlMzhlOGJkMTlmNWM0JTIyJTJDJTIyc2l0ZUlkJTIyJTNBMTE5NzglN0Q%3D">a reasonable state of repair</a>. This includes addressing structural damage, plumbing and heating problems or issues with the electrics. </p>
<h2>Taking action</h2>
<p>If you have mouldy walls or faulty plumbing, it’s important to take action and assert your rights. As soon as you notice an issue, inform your landlord or letting agent promptly. </p>
<p>Make sure to document the problem with photographs and provide a clear description in writing. This serves as evidence and creates a record of your communication, which is crucial should the situation escalate.</p>
<p>Once you’ve reported the problem, your landlord or letting agent is required to take action within a reasonable time frame. While the law does not specify an exact period, it is generally expected that urgent repairs, such as addressing mould or heating problems, should be resolved promptly. </p>
<p>For less pressing issues, the time frame may vary based on the complexity of the repair. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, not all landlords promptly respond to repair requests or address them adequately. If you find yourself in this situation, you do have options. </p>
<p>You can report the issue to the local authority. They possess the power to inspect the property and use the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-health-and-safety-rating-system-guidance-for-landlords-and-property-related-professionals">housing health and safety rating system</a> to check for health hazards, serve notices to the landlord and even take legal action if necessary.</p>
<h2>Revenge evictions</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/cymraeg/amdanom-ni/about-us1/media/press-releases/complain-and-youre-out-research-confirms-link-between-tenant-complaints-and-revenge-eviction/">Research</a> suggests that renters who make complaints about disrepair are more likely to face section 21 eviction notices – an unsettling practice known as “revenge evictions”.</p>
<p>If you are served with a section 21 notice, you may be able to challenge its validity. In certain cases, renters can be shielded from revenge evictions if the local authority takes formal enforcement action against the landlord. </p>
<p>This involves serving an improvement notice to address the disrepair, and can protect you from eviction for a period of six months. </p>
<p>However, as I’ve found in my research, the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329444035_The_Postcode_Lottery_of_Local_Authority_Enforcement_in_the_Private_Rented_Sector">level of response</a> differs across authorities. Some opt for an <a href="https://housingevidence.ac.uk/publications/improving-compliance-with-private-rented-sector-legislation/">informal approach such as verbal requests before resorting to formal action</a>, leaving renters vulnerable to eviction. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young couple sits on a couch under a leaking ceiling, the man is on the phone and the woman is holding a saucepan in her lap to collect water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531712/original/file-20230613-19-6emojk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531712/original/file-20230613-19-6emojk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531712/original/file-20230613-19-6emojk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531712/original/file-20230613-19-6emojk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531712/original/file-20230613-19-6emojk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531712/original/file-20230613-19-6emojk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531712/original/file-20230613-19-6emojk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Step one when you notice a problem: call your landlord.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-man-calling-plumber-while-woman-1023018733">Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a last resort, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018/guide-for-tenants-homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018">Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018</a> provides you with a route to take your landlord to court if the property is not fit to live in. </p>
<p>In dire cases, seeking guidance from legal advisers and housing charities becomes crucial. Organisations like <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs">Shelter</a> and <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-privately/">Citizens Advice</a> can provide support and advise on the best course of action. </p>
<p>The government has promised action to tackle poor quality properties. The recently introduced <a href="https://theconversation.com/renters-reform-bill-protections-for-renters-are-overshadowed-by-new-powers-for-landlords-205853">renters (reform) bill</a> intends to end section 21 evictions in England and support renters to assert their rights. </p>
<p>But even this proposed legislation has a number of loopholes, such as increasing landlords’ powers to evict over antisocial behaviour, that may still have a chilling effect on renters reporting disrepair.</p>
<p>In today’s rental sector, where the law gives landlords significant powers over tenants, it’s important to remember you have rights. Next time you find your rented accommodation in less than decent quality, document the issue, inform your landlord, and if necessary, seek advice and contact your local authority.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is not intended to be in-depth legal advice. If you have questions about your situation, talk to a housing advice charity such as Shelter or Citizens Advice.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207273/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Simcock receives funding from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Citizens Advice, and the European Union. Tom has previously received funding from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in partnership with the Scottish Government, the Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Ireland, SafeDeposits Scotland Charitable Trust, and the Residential Landlords Association. Tom is the Secretary and on the Board of the Housing Studies Association. Tom is Chair of Renting Evidence, a knowledge-exchange initiative to bring together researchers and policymakers to share knowledge on renting.</span></em></p>Many tenants might fail to report problems out of fear of being evicted.Tom Simcock, Research Fellow, Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2058532023-05-18T15:44:39Z2023-05-18T15:44:39ZRenters reform bill: protections for renters are overshadowed by new powers for landlords<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527032/original/file-20230518-17-532y9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=105%2C105%2C5329%2C3512&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-above-rooftops-run-down-2285666757">Clare Louise Jackson/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK government has tabled the long awaited <a href="https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3462">renter’s reform bill</a>, the first step to change in England’s troubled private rented sector. The bill’s headline reform is to <a href="https://theconversation.com/landlords-will-be-forbidden-from-evicting-tenants-for-no-reason-but-reform-has-only-just-begun-115589">end “no fault” evictions</a>, something Theresa May announced plans to do when she was prime minister in 2019. </p>
<p>But while it proposes fundamental reform and greater protection for renters, at the same time it gives landlords a host of new powers – including to evict.</p>
<p>Currently, under section 21 of the Housing Act, landlords can give renters two months’ notice to leave the property without any reason needed. Renters then have to leave the property or risk being taken to court. And, unless the landlord has not fulfilled their responsibilities, the court has to grant an eviction. </p>
<p>“No fault” evictions are a significant cause of renter insecurity. Renters often don’t <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13676261.2016.1184241">feel at home in their property</a>, nor can they easily put down roots in their community. And research has shown that renters had a <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/our-work/policy/policy-research-topics/housing-policy-research/Touch-and-go/">46% chance of receiving an eviction notice</a> if they <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65114284">complained about their landlord</a> to the council. </p>
<p>Insecure tenancies mean that renters often don’t have the confidence to challenge <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-decent-home-standard-promises-to-force-landlords-to-make-homes-safer-but-it-will-only-work-with-enforcement-176961">dangerous conditions</a>. The tragic death of <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/awaab-ishak-toddlers-death-from-mould-triggers-review-of-landlord-guidance-12786323">Awaab Ishak</a> has brought to the fore the devastating impact unsafe housing can have on health. </p>
<p>To this end, the bill does not follow through on the government’s levelling-up promise to apply the decent home standard to the private sector. The standard – currently under review – is a legal requirement in the social rented sector. It sets out the criteria a home must meet to be considered “decent”, meaning safe and of good quality. </p>
<p>The government has committed to introducing further legislation within the current parliament to address this, and it’s needed urgently – more than <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2021-to-2022-headline-report/english-housing-survey-2021-to-2022-headline-report">one in five privately rented homes</a> don’t meet the standard. </p>
<h2>Reforms for renters</h2>
<p>Under current rules, renters may be offered a six or 12-month tenancy before this turns into a “periodic” tenancy. The bill proposed that all future tenancies will be open ended, giving renters more flexibility to move at short notice, for instance, to take a job. To assure landlords, renters will be required in most cases to give two months’ notice to end the tenancy.</p>
<p>The bill also seeks to enshrine in law the right to ask the landlord for permission for a pet. This would require landlords to grant that permission unless they have a good reason. </p>
<p>Under the <a href="https://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2016/10/04/tenant-penalties-breaching-tenancy-rules-pets/?doing_wp_cron=1684404688.0722620487213134765625">Consumer Act 2015</a>, blanket bans on pets were already unenforceable, but this will give pet-owning renters greater security. However, the good news is really for landlords, as it will allow them to ask the renter to have insurance in place to cover for pet damage. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A ginger cat sleeping on top of a radiator." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527037/original/file-20230518-26-ihbs8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527037/original/file-20230518-26-ihbs8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527037/original/file-20230518-26-ihbs8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527037/original/file-20230518-26-ihbs8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527037/original/file-20230518-26-ihbs8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527037/original/file-20230518-26-ihbs8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527037/original/file-20230518-26-ihbs8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The bill is good news for pet owners.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/funny-ginger-cat-resting-on-warm-2073297152">Sharomka/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This bill will also introduce new requirements on private landlords. They will have to be a member of a new ombudsman scheme (someone for renters to complain to if things go wrong). </p>
<p>There is not yet a lot of detail on what types of complaints the ombudsman will handle, but it appears that it may be able to require landlords to compensate renters in some situations. Landlords will also be able to use the ombudsman as a mediation service when they have issues with their renters. </p>
<p>Landlords will also have to register all of their properties as part of a new, national “property portal”, to help councils tackle bad landlords. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329444035_The_Postcode_Lottery_of_Local_Authority_Enforcement_in_the_Private_Rented_Sector">Past research</a> has shown that councils struggle to crack down on illegal activity by landlords, largely because of lack of <a href="https://housingevidence.ac.uk/publications/improving-compliance-with-private-rented-sector-legislation">access to data</a>. </p>
<p>However, with local authorities <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46988310">struggling financially</a>, more funding will be required to translate these policies into action. </p>
<p>Landlords will also be controlled in how they can <a href="https://theconversation.com/cost-of-living-crisis-what-are-your-rights-if-your-landlord-wants-to-increase-your-rent-189089">increase the rent</a>. While some of these powers already exist, these are being strengthened. </p>
<p>Under this bill, landlords will now only be able to increase the rent once every 12 months, and renters will be able to challenge the rent increase in a tribunal. </p>
<h2>More powers to landlords</h2>
<p>The bill expands landlord powers to evict tenants for anti-social behaviour. They will now be able to serve notice for eviction for behaviour “capable to cause” nuisance or annoyance to the landlord, neighbours or housemates. </p>
<p>Landlords will be able to apply for a court order as soon as the notice is served. The ground remains discretionary – which means the court has to decide whether there is enough evidence to evict. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dahalliance.org.uk/news-events/news/#">Domestic abuse charities</a> are concerned about these new rules, as victims of domestic abuse are often punished for antisocial behaviour that was caused by their abusive partner.</p>
<hr>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-antisocial-behaviour-according-to-my-research-no-one-really-knows-202690">What is antisocial behaviour? According to my research, no one really knows</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The bill also allows landlords to evict at short (two months’) notice if they want to sell or move into the property. These powers cannot be used within the first six months of a tenancy and landlords would be barred from letting the property again for three months. Landlords could face a fine of up to £30,000 or prosecution for misuse of these powers.</p>
<p>In the current format, this could still be abused. The onus is on the renter to keep track of whether the property was re-let. </p>
<p>Expanding the proposed landlord property register to be a register of tenancies, including information on rent levels and reasons for ending tenancies, could act as a route for councils to identify breaches. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A row of Victorian terraced houses with some To Let signs in front." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527038/original/file-20230518-29-z4chlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527038/original/file-20230518-29-z4chlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527038/original/file-20230518-29-z4chlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527038/original/file-20230518-29-z4chlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527038/original/file-20230518-29-z4chlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527038/original/file-20230518-29-z4chlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527038/original/file-20230518-29-z4chlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protections for renters are paired with power for landlords.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/row-typical-british-terraced-houses-around-1118047508">I Wei Huang/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>What the bill leaves out</h2>
<p>Having a secure and safe home is a fundamental need for all. Improving security for renters by ending no fault evictions and limiting the frequency of rent increases is a good first step. Landlords should be reassured that they will be able to evict if things go wrong and the relationship can not be repaired. </p>
<p>However, there is more action needed to improve the situation for renters, which the bill does not address. To start, the bill does not include any concrete plans to stop landlords from having <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53821317">blanket bans</a> on benefit claimants or tenants with children. </p>
<p>Tenants who claim benefits have been found to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-dss-how-private-landlords-and-letting-agents-exclude-tenants-on-benefits-102118">widely discriminated against</a>. And with rising waiting lists for social housing, low-income renters are <a href="https://housingevidence.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Housing_challenges_faced_by_lowincome_renters_evidence_review_Sept_2022.pdf">forced to accept poor quality housing</a>. </p>
<p>Finally, it does nothing to resolve the growing financial pressures faced by renters, as many struggle with the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-65558256">cost-of-living crisis and rapidly increasing rents</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205853/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Simcock receives funding from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Citizens Advice, and the European Union. Tom has previously received funding from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in partnership with the Scottish Government, the Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Ireland, SafeDeposits Scotland Charitable Trust, and the Residential Landlords Association. Tom is the Secretary and on the Board of the Housing Studies Association. Tom is Chair of Renting Evidence, a knowledge-exchange initiative to bring together researchers and policymakers to share knowledge on renting.</span></em></p>An expert breaks down the new proposals.Tom Simcock, Research Fellow, Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2053362023-05-17T10:46:24Z2023-05-17T10:46:24ZMortgage lenders are relaxing their rules – here’s why that could be risky for borrowers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526553/original/file-20230516-17-melcmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=137%2C47%2C3856%2C2443&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Budgeting to buy a home.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/buying-selling-houses-real-estate-prices-1032268546">Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Bank of England increased its base rate yet again in May 2023 to 4.5%, pushing borrowing costs to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/bank-of-england-interest-rate-rise-why-this-could-be-the-last-increase-for-a-while-205337">highest level in almost 15 years</a>. More than <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability-report/2022/december-2022">6 million UK households</a> will now see their mortgage payments increase by the end of 2025, with more than <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability-report/2022/december-2022">4 million</a> experiencing this in 2023.</p>
<p>For an average household this would mean an increase from <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability-report/2022/december-2022">£750 to £1,000 in monthly payments</a> – or around 17% of average pre-tax income compared to 12% in June 2022. As the pressure of increasing interest costs, as well as rising house prices, weighs on households, mortgage lenders are developing and offering borrowers different kinds of products in response. </p>
<p>UK lender Skipton Building Society <a href="https://www.skipton.co.uk/press-office/press-release-article?BlogID=%7B13A47958-66DB-4D1A-B686-F7BFCF3FD742%7D">recently launched a 100% or no-deposit mortgage</a> as “a lifeline to tenants across the country, to help them break out of their trapped rental cycles and onto the property ladder for the first time”. Alternatively, <a href="https://www.ftadviser.com/mortgages/2019/06/26/most-mortgages-now-have-40-year-terms/?utm_campaign=FTAdviser+news&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=">home loans that last as long as 40 years</a> – so-called <a href="https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-12079901/63-000-thats-extra-cost-150-000-marathon-mortgage.html">marathon mortgages</a> – are on the rise. They can make it easier for some people to get on the property ladder by stretching out payments over a longer period.</p>
<p>But mortgage lending criteria were <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616718.2011.548585?scroll=top&needAccess=true&role=tab&aria-labelledby=full-article">tightened for good reason after the 2008 global financial crisis</a>. And while these recent relaxations may be designed to help struggling would-be borrowers trapped in rising interest rate, rent and house price hell, hopeful homeowners should be very cautious about the risks involved.</p>
<h2>Long-term loans</h2>
<p>Prior to 2007, mortgage terms were rarely longer than 25 years. Only about 21% of first-time borrowers and 8% of remortgages opted for such a long term in December 2007. While <a href="https://www.zoopla.co.uk/discover/property-news/uk-lender-offers-40-year-fixed-rate-mortgage/">one lender</a> started offering a 40-year fixed rate product at the end of 2021, marathon mortgages are long-term loans but don’t typically offer a fixed rate for the length of the loan. By 2022 more than 55% of first-time borrowers and 34% of remortgagers had <a href="https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/2023-03/Household%20Finance%20Review%202022%20Q4.pdf">home loans with terms of more than 30 years</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Mortgage terms are getting longer</strong></p>
<p>This recent resurgence is most likely due to the affordability benefits of marathon mortgages. <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-reduce-your-mortgage-repayments-in-2023-and-why-rates-have-risen-so-high-196327">Extending the term of a loan allows borrowers</a> to stretch out the repayment costs of a mortgage over time. It also allows people to purchase a more expensive home – an important benefit in today’s market where average house prices have rocketed from £190,000 in 2009 to just shy of £300,000 in 2023.</p>
<p><strong>House prices have been rising</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526300/original/file-20230515-25-mdvsxb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Line chart showing rising UK average house prices since 2005." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526300/original/file-20230515-25-mdvsxb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526300/original/file-20230515-25-mdvsxb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526300/original/file-20230515-25-mdvsxb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526300/original/file-20230515-25-mdvsxb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526300/original/file-20230515-25-mdvsxb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526300/original/file-20230515-25-mdvsxb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526300/original/file-20230515-25-mdvsxb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/housepriceindex/previousReleases">Office for National Statistics UK House Price Index</a></span>
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<p>Long-term mortgages also help borrowers qualify for mortgages under the <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/new-mortgage-rules-come-force">stricter affordability rules</a> introduced by the UK’s financial regulator in 2014. These rules require lenders to ensure that borrowers have sufficient monthly income to cover living expenses and other debts after their mortgage payments. </p>
<p>Spreading the cost to around 40 years allows marathon mortgage holders to reduce monthly costs, passing affordability assessments. Marathon mortgages do not seem to be a current concern for the regulator.</p>
<p>Of course, a marathon mortgage borrower could shorten their term over the years as they remortgage to avoid the lender’s standard variable rate. Also, if the base rate decreases over time, interest payments will fall and the overall mortgage will become more affordable. And, of course, any future increase in income allows a borrower to overpay during the term of the loan.</p>
<p>On the the other hand, long-term borrowing means significantly higher interest payments. For example, <a href="https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-rate-calculator/">a household borrowing £250,000 at a rate of 5% for 25 years</a> would pay a total of £188,600 in interest over the lifetime of the mortgage (assuming, for simplicity, that the interest rate does not change over the life of the mortgage). But borrowing for 40 years would result in total interest payments of £328,930 – a staggering £140,330 difference.</p>
<p>Marathon mortgages may also mean borrowers must make repayments <a href="https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/2023-03/Household%20Finance%20Review%202022%20Q4.pdf">well into their 70s</a> considering the <a href="https://www.money.co.uk/mortgages/first-time-buyer-mortgages/statistics">average age for first-time buyers outside London is now around 33</a>. For some this may mean continuing to pay a mortgage into retirement. This should be a key consideration when considering long-term borrowing. It would certainly impact financial security after retirement so careful planning and independent financial advice is crucial.</p>
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<img alt="Hands cupped underneath chart showing rising house values." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526552/original/file-20230516-24-pw785y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526552/original/file-20230516-24-pw785y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526552/original/file-20230516-24-pw785y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526552/original/file-20230516-24-pw785y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526552/original/file-20230516-24-pw785y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526552/original/file-20230516-24-pw785y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526552/original/file-20230516-24-pw785y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<h2>No-deposit mortgages</h2>
<p>Rising rents, coupled with <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/0ebcf348-a664-442c-9311-5443e2d80f53">soaring prices of other essential expenses</a> such as food and energy bills, have left many first-time buyers struggling to save for a deposit. No-deposit products help first-time buyers break this cycle by swapping rental costs with mortgage payments, allowing them to eventually own their home. </p>
<p>Skipton Building Society’s recent launch of a <a href="https://www.skipton.co.uk/mortgages/track-record-mortgage">“100% mortgage”, which means borrowers don’t need a deposit</a>, aims to help first-time buyers of homes of up to £600,000 get onto the property ladder. </p>
<p>Such products were commonly available before the 2008 financial crisis. But the sharp fall in house prices since – mainly the 20% drop between 2007 and 2009 – <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f067f31e-56c8-11de-9a1c-00144feabdc0">is reported to have left around a million households stuck in negative equity</a>. This is when your home is worth less than the mortgage you owe on it, leaving you unable to sell your properties.</p>
<p>The danger now is that the average house price today is much higher than the pre-financial crisis period (£300,000 versus £190,000). So, if such price drop were to happen in the near future, the impact would be even more devastating for no-deposit mortgagers. Although a crash does not seem to be on the cards, <a href="https://www.halifax.co.uk/assets/pdf/april-2023-house-price-index.pdf">downward pressure on house prices is expected</a>. </p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/uk-house-prices-history-says-the-market-is-in-for-a-long-slowdown-not-a-crash-186072">UK house prices: history says the market is in for a long slowdown not a crash</a>
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<p>As we experienced in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, relaxed lending criteria combined with borrowing beyond means can have dire consequences. It’s important for borrowers to be aware of these risks and to be very cautious when thinking about borrowing for the long term, particularly without a deposit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205336/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alper Kara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New mortgage products designed to help struggling first-time buyers hark back to the pre-2008 market and so should come with a warning.Alper Kara, Professor and Head of Department - Accounting, Finance and Economics, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2042012023-04-21T12:02:47Z2023-04-21T12:02:47ZTwitter drops ‘government-funded’ label for media organisations – here’s what it should use instead<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522152/original/file-20230420-18-jkcnd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=134%2C42%2C4570%2C3080&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/professional-microphone-radio-station-studio-on-1932559997">Andrei_Diachenko/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After objections from a number of major media organisations, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-removes-state-affiliated-media-tags-some-accounts-2023-04-21/">Twitter appears to have dropped</a> its media account labels. The labels drove <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/canada-public-broadcaster-joins-npr-in-quitting-twitter-over-label-uproar-db812525">at least two</a> media organisations from the platform, and enraged followers <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/17/twitter-adds-more-government-funded-labels-to-global-news-outlets">of many others</a>. </p>
<p>The BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65226481">pushed back</a> against its initial designation of “government-funded media”. This was highly misleading given that the BBC is funded primarily through licence fees paid directly by the public.</p>
<p>“Our goal is simply to be as truthful and accurate as possible. We’re adjusting the label to be ‘publicly-funded’, which I think is perhaps not too objectionable,” Twitter CEO Elon Musk told the BBC <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlCKYTm4jGc">in an interview</a>.</p>
<p>US public radio station NPR was the first to stop tweeting after being labelled “government-funded”. More than 99% of its funds do not come from federal sources, and it retains editorial independence from the US government. Even this label was a step down by Twitter, which had first assigned it “state-affiliated”. Canada’s CBC followed a week later. </p>
<p>All of these designations risk muddling the already misunderstood world of media funding. But Twitter doesn’t need to concoct a new label. There is already a term that exists to describe these organisations: public service media.</p>
<p>Twitter’s use of designations fundamentally misunderstands how public service media is funded and operates. And, as global association the Public Service Media Alliance has <a href="https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/pma-calls-for-nprs-state-affiliated-designation-to-be-revoked">pointed out</a>, at a time of heightened disinformation it risks turning people away from accurate, reliable and trustworthy sources of information.</p>
<p>Public service media has its origins in the UK in the 1920s. Recognising the power in the ability to communicate simultaneously with millions of people across large geographic areas, the BBC was established as a public service broadcaster to ensure that no single government had the ability to wield that power. </p>
<p>Funding was essential to this model. The licence fee introduced in the 1920s was designed to limit the government’s ability to control the BBC by interfering with its funding. It also instilled the ethos of the BBC as an organisation funded and owned by the people of the UK, not the state. </p>
<p>Crucially, with public funding also comes regulation. Remits and laws set out the responsibilities of public service media organisations and hold them accountable to independent regulatory bodies (Ofcom in the UK). Although funding public service media directly from taxation can open the doors to government interference, independence can be secured through robust legislation and a <a href="https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/resources/psm-funding-models">strong, independent regulator</a>.</p>
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<h2>The danger of mislabelling</h2>
<p>The danger of Twitter’s mislabelling of public service media as government-funded or state-affiliated is that it blurs the boundaries between media services that are owned and run by the state, and those that are independent from state control. </p>
<p>This is already a misunderstood subject. In my team at the University of Huddersfield’s <a href="https://research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/cpc/ourprojects/routes/#:%7E:text=Routes%20to%20Content%20addresses%20the,connected%20and%20on%2Ddemand%20viewing.">research with UK audiences</a>, we found significant variety in people’s understanding of public service media. Some believed that the BBC was funded by government, others that the UK didn’t have a public service media system at all. Public service media organisations that are state-funded are likely to be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333247527_Public_Service_Media_in_Europe_Exploring_the_Relationship_between_Funding_and_Audience_Performance">less trusted and seen as less independent</a>.</p>
<p>It also leaves the door open for confusion between state-funded public service media – legislated to be independent from government – and state-run media. These organisations, such as the China Media Group and Russia Today, act as mouthpieces for the government itself. Labelling independent public service media organisations as government-funded could confirm misguided assumptions that government funding = government control.</p>
<p>Partly because of the remit for independent and accurate news, strong public service media leads to <a href="https://www.ebu.ch/publications/research/login_only/infographic/the-value-of-psm">stronger democracies</a>. Research <a href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/research/files/Analysis%2520of%2520the%2520Relation%2520Between%2520and%2520Impact%2520of%2520Public%2520Service%2520Media%2520and%2520Private%2520Media.pdf">indicates</a> that public service media have a net positive impact on levels of political knowledge and may increase political participation.</p>
<h2>Public service, government influence?</h2>
<p>In reality, however, the role of public service media is becoming murkier in the UK. While legislation instils the importance of the BBC’s independence, in effect this is undermined by the fact that the government appoints the BBC’s chair, makes appointments to its board, and determines the level and nature of its funding.</p>
<p>The current chairman, Richard Sharp, is <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d2ee7d01-0fe4-48f9-b134-993395a1c5d2">under investigation</a> for failing to divulge his role in facilitating a loan for the former prime minister, Boris Johnson. </p>
<p>The UK government can also exert control over the BBC because it sets the terms and amount of the licence fee. There have been <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2022/02/11/time-for-fresh-and-radical-thinking-on-the-licence-fee/#:%7E:text=The%20government's%20announcement%20for%20BBC,2024%20to%2031%20March%202028">significant cuts</a> over the past decade, and more recently, rumours about <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/media/bbc-licence-fee-will-be-axed-and-replaced-by-government-grant-and-subscription-john-whittingdale-predicts-1371762">removing the licence fee</a> and replacing it with a subscription model. This would fundamentally undermine that key tenet of public service media being owned by and serving the whole nation. </p>
<p>In this regard, Elon Musk is right. It does matter how the media is funded, and government influence over media funding (whether state controlled or public service) can undermine independence and trust. </p>
<p>Mislabelling public service media organisations will not help this situation. Greater independence from government control over funding for public service media would. A good start in the UK would be to follow the <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2015/07/15/lessons-from-germany-for-the-bbc/">German model</a> where an independent body is responsible for setting the terms of funding, much as already exists in the UK in relation to MPs’ pay. </p>
<p>This debacle also raises uncomfortable questions about the significant power Musk is able to wield through his ownership of Twitter. Whether that is in reportedly being able to control how visible and prominent <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/14/23600358/elon-musk-tweets-algorithm-changes-twitter">his own tweets are</a>, to setting the terms by which media organisations are understood by the public.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204201/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Johnson receives funding from UKRI and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. She is a member of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) College of Experts. </span></em></p>Calling media organisations ‘government-funded’ risks turning people away from reliable sources of information.Catherine Johnson, Professor in Media and Communication, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2028912023-04-21T09:06:05Z2023-04-21T09:06:05ZShakespeare’s environmentalism: how his plays explore the same ecological issues we face today<p>Climate change, urban sprawl, air pollution, deforestation, depleted fish stocks, biodiversity and species loss: these are not exclusively modern problems that only sprang up in the last few hundred years. In fact, the common but misleading phrase “industrial revolution” masks the <a href="https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/507339/1/A%20once%20and%20future%20extractive%20history%20of%20Britain.pdf">long history of resource extraction</a> and ecological degradation in the British Isles stretching back at least to the arrival of the <a href="https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/life-in-roman-britain/mining-in-roman-britain/">tin-hungry Romans</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/key-features-of-renaissance-culture">Renaissance England</a> was reeling from the effects of all these problems. Often hailed as the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/English-literature/Elizabethan-and-early-Stuart-drama">golden age of English literature</a>, the Renaissance was also the apex of the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-original-climate-crisis-how-the-little-ice-age-devastated-early-modern-europe-178187">little ice age</a>”, in which a cooler climate produced poorer harvests.</p>
<p>These food shortages were especially difficult because England’s <a href="https://www.gale.com/intl/essays/matthew-clark-tudor-society">human population surged</a> fourfold in the 16th century, while the <a href="https://tudorhistory.org/glossaries/e/enclosure.html">enclosure of common lands</a> forced more country-dwellers to flock to London. Given how heavily these environmental concerns weighed on a society coping with chronic scarcity, it should come as no surprise that we can find traces of them in the works of England’s greatest playwright.</p>
<h2>King and countryside</h2>
<p>When <a href="https://www.royal.uk/james-i">King James</a> became his patron in 1603, Shakespeare was tasked with writing plays to entertain a keen outdoorsman and hunter who was as much preoccupied with the material state of the British countryside as with matters of state. No wonder, then, the Shakespearean stage encompasses a remarkable variety of landscapes and features an abundance of animal imagery to rival the <a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-tower-of-london-menagerie/#gs.ujqfoc">royal menagerie</a> – basically King James’s private zoo – and compensate for England’s dwindling numbers of wild game.</p>
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<p><em>This article is part of our <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/william-shakespeare-14574">First Folio 400</a> series. These articles mark the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio, the first collected edition of William Shakespeare’s plays.</em></p>
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<p>It would, of course, be an anachronism to dub Shakespeare an environmentalist. But he was acutely aware of what we would term the environmental issues of his era. In particular, the plays Shakespeare composed during the reign of James frequently intervene in environmental policy disputes at the Stuart court about how best to carve up the natural riches of the realm.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bl.uk/works/macbeth">Macbeth’s</a> famous depiction of the “blasted heath” reflects the increasingly negative views of this terrain as a sterile abode of witches and <a href="https://www.ourmigrationstory.org.uk/oms/romani-gypsies-in-16th-century-britain">Romani</a> people that should be transformed into private farmland.</p>
<p>Although James dreaded witches, he and parliament sought to protect heathland as a habitat for game animals and birds. He would have relished Shakespeare’s comparing Macbeth to a poacher and a <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/conservation-and-sustainability/safeguarding-species/case-studies/red-kite/">kite</a>, a species then classified as vermin. Macbeth’s killing of Duncan and Macduff’s (pronounced Macdove) family simulates illegal net-hunting, nest-robbing, and the raiding of estate buildings known as <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/architecture/what-is-a-dovecote">dovecotes</a>, which housed pigeons and doves for food and feathers. </p>
<h2>Enduring environmental issues</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.rsc.org.uk/pericles/the-plot">Pericles</a>, Shakespeare wades into pan-European squabbles about fishing rights amid a crash in North Sea fishing stocks. Its conclusion mirrors James’ plan to end the <a href="https://www.deruyter.org/uploads/media/5acf9125b45c4.pdf">herring wars</a> (the ongoing feud between England and its coastal neighbours over territorial control of fishing areas) by forging dynastic alliances through the marriage of his heirs.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Pericles also plays on fears of coastal erosion. Shakespeare adapted the story from a writer whose father had proposed the existence of a flooded land-bridge linking Britain to the continent (now known as <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/doggerland/">Doggerland</a>.</p>
<p>While the shipwrecked king refutes claims to rule the unruly seas, the costumes donned by Shakespeare’s actors would have told a different story. Pericles and his family almost certainly appeared in robes of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180801-tyrian-purple-the-regal-colour-taken-from-mollusc-mucus">Tyrian purple</a>. This dye, made in Pericles’ home town from crushed sea snails, could only be worn by royalty and would thus have been a striking visual symbol of royal dominion over the ocean. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-winters-tale">The Winter’s Tale</a> comments on the inhumanity of the fur trade. The famous bear that pursues Antigonus off stage may have been played by an actor in a polar bear’s pelt captured by fur traders, while Queen Hermione is a personification of an <a href="https://ztevetevans.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/stoats-in-folklore-and-heraldry/">ermine</a>.</p>
<p>Spelled “ermion” in Shakespeare’s day, an ermine is a stoat in its white winter coat. Ermines were symbols of chastity since it was believed they would rather die than befoul their white fur. </p>
<p>Hermione acts like her namesake when she exclaims she too would rather die than stain her name as an adulteress. The trial scene in which she would be stripped of her white fur re-enacts the flaying of an animal, while the scene in which her statue is reanimated captures a fascination with the new, death-defying art of taxidermy. </p>
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<p><a href="https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/king-lear/">King Lear</a> proclaims humans no better than beasts and is a tour de force demonstration of our vulnerability to both extreme weather and darkness. In <a href="https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/cymbeline">Cymbeline</a>, Shakespeare expresses a newfound appreciation for mountain wilderness as a preserve not only of game animals but also of Britishness and masculinity.</p>
<p>Few people realise <a href="https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/tempest/">The Tempest</a> is based on legends of a demon-battling hermit from the English fens. Its notorious monster Caliban voices the outrage of fenland communities dispossessed by schemes to drain and enclose their wetlands.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/measure-measure/">Measure For Measure</a> reveals how <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/plague/History">the plague</a> stoked fears of urban overpopulation, while <a href="https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/timon-athens/">Timon of Athens</a> offer’s a scathing satire on the mining lobby and its cornucopian economics: the notion that the earth’s wealth is inexhaustible. </p>
<p>In inserting these environmental issues into his plays, Shakespeare forced his audience to reflect on the political, moral, and spiritual implications of early modern England’s growing power to transform the natural world. His fascination with kings might seem old-fashioned, but in our brave new era of the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-the-anthropocene.html">Anthropocene</a>, in which our species has become the dominant geological force, we can better appreciate how he often uses kingship as a metaphor for human tyranny over nature. </p>
<p>Shakespeare’s profound sympathies for the disempowered outsider also extend to non-human creatures. When his high and mighty despots have their comeuppance out in the wilds, learning that the earth doesn’t exist to bend to them, Shakespeare’s plays are teaching us all to relinquish the delusion that we are entitled to dominate the planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202891/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Todd Andrew Borlik does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Worrying environmental issues dominated the time of William Shakespeare as they do now, from depleted fish stocks and food shortages, to overpopulation and animal exploitation.Todd Andrew Borlik, Reader in Renaissance Drama, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2016192023-03-23T14:57:12Z2023-03-23T14:57:12ZWhy mortgage rates will not return to recent lows any time soon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517182/original/file-20230323-18-o6h8zl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=206%2C98%2C5730%2C3799&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mortgage rates are set to stay high for some time.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/housing-cost-red-house-british-currency-642056482">Ink Drop/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Bank of England base rate <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/the-interest-rate-bank-rate">has increased steeply</a> from 0.25% in January 2022 to 4.25% in March 2023. More than <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability-report/2022/december-2022">4 million UK households</a> now have significantly higher mortgage costs as a result, while also dealing with the impact of soaring prices for other items such as food and energy. </p>
<p>This pain will only continue as those households that secured low fixed rates before the recent rake hikes start to roll off their current mortgage deals in the coming months and years. But <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/research-datasets#:%7E:text=Inflation%20Attitudes%20Surveys-,Bank%20of%20England/NMG%20household%20survey%20data,-This%20annual%20survey">Bank of England data</a> shows that many UK borrowers expect rates to fall back to recent lows again by 2027. Signals from central banks, continued rising inflation and a relatively improved economic picture, however, mean that such expectations are unlikely to be met any time soon, if ever.</p>
<p>Commercial banks look at a range of factors when setting mortgage rates, particularly for fixed-rate mortgages. For example, mortgage lenders tie their rates closely to long-term (typically five-year) government bond rates because this is where they would invest despositors’ money if they weren’t lending it out to mortgage borrowers. Therefore, when the cost of borrowing for government increases, so do mortgage rates.</p>
<p>Banks also factor in additional risk (called a risk premium) to their mortgage rates. Unlike the Bank of England or the government, households and individuals can default as their mortgage repayments hinge on their financial wellbeing. When calculating this risk, lenders typically consider how much they are lending you versus the deposit you have for a home (called the loan-to-value or LTV ratio), as well as your credit history, ability to make your repayments and future job stability. </p>
<p>The Bank of England’s base rate also plays a key role in your mortgage rate. This is <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/the-interest-rate-bank-rate">the single most important interest rate</a>
in the UK economy because it determines how much the central bank pays the commercial banks that hold money with it. As such, it sets the benchmark for the cost of borrowing and lending and so it determines how banks calculate what you must pay in mortgage interest.</p>
<p>For the 13 years between 2009 and 2021, interest rates were historically low. The Bank of England base rate has not been at this level at any other time in its <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/monetary-policy/baserate.xls?la=en&hash=EEB8729ABFFF4B947B85C328340AE5155A99AD0F">325-year history</a>.</p>
<p><strong>UK base rate over time:</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516809/original/file-20230321-2560-twi6a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Line chart showing changes to the Bank of England base rate over time." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516809/original/file-20230321-2560-twi6a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516809/original/file-20230321-2560-twi6a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516809/original/file-20230321-2560-twi6a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516809/original/file-20230321-2560-twi6a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516809/original/file-20230321-2560-twi6a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516809/original/file-20230321-2560-twi6a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516809/original/file-20230321-2560-twi6a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/the-interest-rate-bank-rate">Author provided using Bank of England data.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, rates for new mortgages had <a href="https://www.bsa.org.uk/BSA/files/5c/5c180498-5e52-4a41-b022-5821c25f3cbd.pdf">never been below 4%</a> before this time, at least since banking records began in 1853.</p>
<p><strong>Changing mortgage rates:</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516810/original/file-20230321-3754-zw9gr2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Line chart showing changing mortgage interest rates over time." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516810/original/file-20230321-3754-zw9gr2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516810/original/file-20230321-3754-zw9gr2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516810/original/file-20230321-3754-zw9gr2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516810/original/file-20230321-3754-zw9gr2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516810/original/file-20230321-3754-zw9gr2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516810/original/file-20230321-3754-zw9gr2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516810/original/file-20230321-3754-zw9gr2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided using Building Societies Association data</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>People that bought their first home during this period have never experienced anything other than historically low mortgage rates. This means that the current soaring prices and increasing mortgage costs has been even more of a shock to the system for this group.</p>
<p>There also seems to be an expectation among many borrowers that interest rates will return to historical lows. In a 2022 <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/research-datasets#:%7E:text=Inflation%20Attitudes%20Surveys-,Bank%20of%20England/NMG%20household%20survey%20data,-This%20annual%20survey">survey by the Bank of England</a>, 40% of the participants (excluding “don’t know” responses) said they expect the base rate to be below 2% by 2027 – a level rarely seen even in previous low rate periods.</p>
<h2>Why mortgage rates will defy expectations</h2>
<p>So what should you expect from mortgage rates in the coming months and years? Certainly not a return to low rates.</p>
<p>Central banks across the world have been <a href="https://www.bis.org/statistics/cbpol.htm">increasing</a> their interest rates to tackle the sharp surge in inflation. <a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/open-vault/2019/january/fed-inflation-target-2-percent">Many central banks want inflation to be around 2%</a> but it has been recently five times that in the UK and in the European Union. While inflation (caused by recovering economic activity <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/ar/2022/in-focus/covid-19/">post-COVID</a>, supply chain bottlenecks and the Ukraine invasion) has started to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/088d3368-bb8b-4ff3-9df7-a7680d4d81b2">slow down</a>, interest rates are unlikely to fall soon for three reasons.</p>
<p>First, at least in the UK, the Bank of England will need to monitor inflation in the coming months – particularly after the most recent unexpected increase in the headline rate <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c3a1726b-1724-41d8-bde4-94a11d5f5996">to 10.4% in March 2023</a>. </p>
<p>Second, central banks have <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/5d020eb0-eace-4654-907c-b88498056bcd">already been criticised</a> for failing to react quickly enough before last year to suppress inflation. Rather than large interest rate hikes that we saw in the late 1970s, they have chosen to steady increases. Changing this course too quickly could cause credibility issues because it might make them seem indecisive and erratic.</p>
<p>Third, if central banks reduce rates from where they are by a small margin it could make very little difference on the ground for borrowers, but could give mixed signals to the markets. Again, this would dent their credibility. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Couple calculating bills at home using laptop. Couple working on computer while calculating finances." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517192/original/file-20230323-17-k5up58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517192/original/file-20230323-17-k5up58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517192/original/file-20230323-17-k5up58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517192/original/file-20230323-17-k5up58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517192/original/file-20230323-17-k5up58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517192/original/file-20230323-17-k5up58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517192/original/file-20230323-17-k5up58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Financial planning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mature-couple-calculating-bills-home-using-2003674967">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fighting inflation</h2>
<p>So does this mean central banks’ have completely given up on the effectiveness of rates as their most trusted inflation-fighting tool? Two recent incidents suggest they are certainly more willing to try methods other than rate cuts at the moment.</p>
<p>When the Bank of England had to <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2022/september/bank-of-england-announces-gilt-market-operation">intervene</a> following the UK’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/emergency-budget-announcement-expert-reaction-to-new-uk-chancellors-attempt-to-calm-financial-markets-192669">mini-budget saga</a> to support financial institutions, it used other means, namely quantitative easing. It purchased sovereign bonds to increase the flow of money into the financial system rather than lowering rates.</p>
<p>More recently, amid the ongoing financial turmoil around the Credit Suisse <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-03-20/credit-suisse-ubs-takeover-how-a-166-year-old-bank-collapsed?leadSource=uverify%20wall">takeover</a>, the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve have gone <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-european-central-bank-seems-to-have-got-away-with-raising-interest-rates-in-the-middle-of-a-banking-crisis-heres-why-202052">ahead with increases</a> in their key policy rates. </p>
<p>Further, the ECB has <a href="https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2023/html/ecb.mp230316%7Eaad5249f30.en.html">continued to scale back</a> its quantitative easing programme and declared the European banking sector to be <a href="https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2023/html/ssm.pr230320%7E9f0ae34dc5.en.html">resilient, with robust levels of capital and liquidity</a>. These announcements reflect a lack of desire to use rate cuts to ease market turmoil.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/silicon-valley-bank-biggest-us-lender-to-fail-since-2008-financial-crisis-a-finance-expert-explains-the-impact-201626">Silicon Valley Bank biggest US lender to fail since 2008 financial crisis – a finance expert explains the impact</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>So, there is no sign that any of the major central banks plan to lower interest rates any time soon. While the governments’ cost of borrowing in some of these countries have come down lately, compared to the last decade they are still <a href="https://uk.investing.com/rates-bonds/uk-5-year-bond-yield">relatively high</a>. Since interest rates for businesses and households are decided partly based on these bonds, it means mortgage payments may not come down significantly in the foreseeable future either.</p>
<p>And of course, the improving economic outlook in both the <a href="https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2023/">UK</a> and <a href="https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pressconf/shared/pdf/ecb.ds230316%7E34822c9f1d.en.pdf">Europe</a> – with better growth figures now expected for later this year versus four months ago – also reduces pressure to cut interest rates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>UK borrowers are expecting mortgage rates to fall again. Here’s why this looks unlikely in the current economic environment.Alper Kara, Professor and Head of Department - Accounting, Finance and Economics, University of HuddersfieldMuhammad Ali Nasir, Associate Professor in Economics, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1972912023-03-13T16:38:54Z2023-03-13T16:38:54ZStarseeds: psychologists on why some people think they’re aliens living on Earth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514273/original/file-20230308-24-wolhb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C0%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Welcome to the new reality.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/double-exposure-portrait-young-woman-close-1723327936">sun ok/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s a new group of people on Earth who believe they’re aliens.
Star people, or <a href="https://brill.com/display/book/9789004435537/BP000031.xml">starseeds</a>, are individuals who believe they have come to Earth from other dimensions to help heal the planet and guide humanity into the “golden age” – a period of great happiness, prosperity and achievement. </p>
<p>It might sound a little crazy but an internet search for the term brings up over 4 million results and there are scores of people posting videos on TikTok, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/starseed/?hl=en">Instagram</a> and Facebook who believe they originate from another world. Indeed, content with the term <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/starseed?lang=en">#starseed</a> has over 1 billion views on TikTok.</p>
<p>Unlike “Earth souls”, who are said to reincarnate on Earth, starseeds believe they have reawakened from another planet to be born here. <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Beginners-Guide-to-Starseeds/Whitney-Jefferson-Evans/9781507215364">Starseeds believe</a> they are conduits between divine realms and the Earth and that they can transport between galaxies via <a href="https://insighttimer.com/hypnolution/guided-meditations/starseed-activation-meditation">meditation</a>. Starseeds also believe they can communicate in “<a href="https://blog.mindvalley.com/light-language/">light language</a>” – a form of communication that is said to bypass human limitations and be the language of the soul.</p>
<p>The idea is widely credited to the author <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/author/brad-steiger/320608">Brad Steiger</a> who wrote prolifically about the unknown and was keenly interested in alien life and extraterrestrials. In his 1976 book, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/894911">Gods of Aquarius</a>, Steiger introduced his notion that some people originate from other dimensions. </p>
<p>Believers claim there are several ways to tell if you are a starseed. These include searching for meaning in life and feeling a lack of belonging. Being spiritual and possessing a strong sense of intuition (knowing) are also qualities of a starseed. </p>
<p>They are also said to be empathetic, sensitive and have more <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=q8L657GHi6kC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=starseed+mental+and+physical+health+problems&ots=YZ263SVYMB&sig=rbmofx2MVrP6MExxKJjQkkmszX0#v=onepage&q=starseed%20mental%20and%20physical%20health%20problems&f=false">physical and mental health issues</a> as their souls aren’t used to having a human body. Starseeds want to help humanity. But they get overwhelmed by life on Earth and so recharge by spending time alone.</p>
<p>Believers also say that starseeds have the desire to explore and experience new cultures and spheres, which help star people to then provide novel insights into existence. Examples include <a href="https://theconversation.com/conspiracy-theories-start-to-take-hold-at-age-14-study-suggests-156006">new (conspiracy) theories</a> about society, holistic health interventions along with thoughts on <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/ancient-sites-built-by-aliens">ancient aliens and civilisations</a>.</p>
<h2>Choose your reality</h2>
<p>You might recognise some aspects of yourself in the above description. Many people, for example, report <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/11/18/finding-meaning-in-what-one-does/">searching for meaning in life</a> along with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00332747.2015.1015867">feeling displaced</a> or like they <a href="https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/newsroom/newsn/11261/feeling-like-you-dont-belong-racial-and-identity-based-insults-and-slights-can-lower-self-esteem-and-damage-quality-of-life">don’t belong</a> at times. </p>
<p>Indeed, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00332747.2015.1015867#:%7E:text=Conclusions%3A%20Sense%20of%20belonging%20is,in%20the%20treatment%20of%20depression.">research shows</a> that a low sense of belonging is often linked to depression. But what makes some people who are experiencing such feelings <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/17/eva-wiseman-conspirituality-the-dark-side-of-wellness-how-it-all-got-so-toxic">jump to the conclusion</a> that they must be from another planet? Particularly given that no life beyond Earth has ever been found and there is <a href="https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/about/">no evidence</a> that alien life has ever visited Earth.</p>
<p>Welcome to the <a href="https://neurofied.com/barnum-effect-the-reason-why-we-believe-our-horoscopes/">Forer effect</a>. Named after <a href="http://apsychoserver.psych.arizona.edu/jjbareprints/psyc621/forer_the%20fallacy%20of%20personal%20validation_1949.pdf">Bertram Forer</a>, the psychologist who first figured out that it was pretty easy to get people to agree with vague descriptions about themselves – see horoscopes.</p>
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<p>The concept of starseeds is a form of <a href="https://www.icsahome.com/articles/what-is-new-age-langone">new age belief</a>. The term refers to <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_78-1">alternative spiritual practices</a> that developed during the 1970s. </p>
<p>Although each <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/01/new-age-beliefs-common-among-both-religious-and-nonreligious-americans/">new age belief</a> is different, philosophies share common features: they view existence in terms of the universe and focus on spirituality as well as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10253860500241930?casa_token=Rz5YQdqjZhcAAAAA%3A_g8SOXBuZsO5Ftgb4lWC7AnBRgnbB1TtAFM9LJUS1Ru7K9jTJvLlz4pIt8e1eLj9LBWyDH6UEO">the self</a>. Think crystals, energy healing and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-why-so-many-people-believe-in-psychic-powers-102088">psychic abilities</a>.</p>
<p>Other features include <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705678/#:%7E:text=Reincarnation%20is%20the%20religious%20or,of%20the%20previous%20life's%20actions.">reincarnation</a>, <a href="https://www.livescience.com/41462-what-is-karma.html">karma</a> and the possibility of reaching a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136466131630002X">higher level of consciousness</a>.</p>
<p>Support for <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-21330-003">new age beliefs</a> – such as starseeds – is <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/01/new-age-beliefs-common-among-both-religious-and-nonreligious-americans/">on the rise</a>. It comes from a <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/distrust-in-science-is-causing-harm-but-these-researchers-have-a-plan#:%7E:text=Distrust%20of%20science%20is%20a,often%20stickier%20than%20the%20truth.">distrust of science</a> and doubts about <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-reality-a-game-of-quantum-mirrors-a-new-theory-suggests-it-might-be-162936">conventional perceptions of reality</a>. Particularly, cynicism about <a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-technology-health-government-and-politics-new-york-cfb56a95aec23dddbabcf3ebbe839f05">modern society</a> and an attempt to find meaning in life. </p>
<h2>Fantasy v fiction</h2>
<p>Certain personality characteristics may also incline some people to believe in the notion of starseeds. For instance, if you are <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/11/overactive-imagination-you-might-have-a-fantasy-prone-personality-type-13247464/">fantasy prone</a> and often confuse imaginary and real events you may see the theory of alien consciousness as profound and desirable.</p>
<p>In psychological terms, this is known as a <a href="https://escholarship.org/content/qt2t1731dw/qt2t1731dw.pdf">source monitoring error</a>, which is a type of unconscious memory error whereby a person gets confused between what’s real and accurate and what’s unreal and imagined. </p>
<p>It’s commonly seen in schizophrenia and research has found links between <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165178117312301">schizotypal personality disorder</a> – a common disorder considered to be a mild form of schizophrenia – and belief in conspiracy theories.</p>
<p>A further effect that can encourage such beliefs is what’s known as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244018809874#:%7E:text=Ontological%20confusion%20is%20a%20set,possibly%20caused%20by%20categorical%20trespassing.">ontological confusion</a>. This occurs when people cannot discriminate between <a href="https://www.psypost.org/2018/11/people-who-are-religious-and-ontologically-confused-are-more-likely-to-share-pseudo-profound-bullshit-52583#:%7E:text=For%20example%2C%20ontologically%2Dconfused%20people,more%20likely%20to%20be%20shared.">metaphorical and factual</a> statements such as: “Old furniture knows things about the past.” These may be interpreted more literally than metaphorically and so make it more likely that people then endorse pseudoscientific, transcendental theories. </p>
<p>This is especially true when the source of the information is perceived to be trustworthy and knowledgeable. Dubbed <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/the-einstein-effect-people-trust-nonsense-from-scientists-more-than-spiritual-gurus#:%7E:text=The%20authors%20think%20their%20results,the%20social%20credibility%20they%20possess.">the Einstein effect</a>, this is where trusted sources of information are given more credence because of the social credibility they possess. </p>
<p>In the case of starseeds, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/letters-to-a-starseed/rebecca-campbell/9781788175876">several books</a> published by <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/The-Beginners-Guide-to-Starseeds/Whitney-Jefferson-Evans/9781507215371">big publishing houses</a> may provide a sense of authenticity and so too does the fact that a number of them are bestsellers. Indeed, it seems life as we know it, may not be as straightforward as we once imagined.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197291/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We’ve spent ages learning about the people who think they’ve come from another planet, so you don’t have to.Ken Drinkwater, Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Cognitive and Parapsychology, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityAndrew Denovan, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of HuddersfieldNeil Dagnall, Reader in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2000242023-02-17T14:12:28Z2023-02-17T14:12:28ZHow Sylvia Plath’s profound nature poetry elevates her writing beyond tragedy and despair<blockquote>
<p>I cannot stop writing poems! … They come from the vocabulary of woods and animals and earth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong><em>From a letter from Sylvia Plath to her mother, 1956</em></strong></p>
<p>Popular perceptions of Sylvia Plath tend to dwell on a deeply troubled version of the young poet due to her well-documented difficulties with depression and the <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49000/lady-lazarus">morbid imagery</a> found in some of her poetry. So the idea that nature inspired her writing may come as a surprise. </p>
<p>This despairing Plath is a far cry from the poet I have come to know and admire – a poet who writes about the <a href="https://mywordinyourear.com/2021/10/22/watercolour-of-grantchester-meadows-sylvia-plath-comments/">simple beauty of meadows</a> and the <a href="https://allpoetry.com/poem/8498359-Mushrooms-by-Sylvia-Plath">tenacity of fungi</a> as well as the splendours of <a href="https://allpoetry.com/Two-Campers-In-Cloud-Country">rugged wilderness</a>.</p>
<p>Plath’s fascination with the natural world began in childhood, as she makes clear in her essay <a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/ocean-1212-w-by-sylvia-plath">Ocean 1212-W</a>, in which she details the importance of the sea to her poetic imagination. This interest in nature continued into adulthood, when she read the work of biologists such as Rachel Carson, whom she writes about in her <a href="https://www.faber.co.uk/journal/on-sylvia-plaths-letters/">letters</a>.</p>
<p>Any other poet with this background would at least be credited with a passing interest in the natural world. However, Plath’s untimely death by suicide has skewed much interpretation of her poetry. The well-versed argument that Plath only uses nature in her poetry as a “<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-iG8AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false*%22">mirror to look deeper into herself</a>, has pervaded critical writing on her work from the 1960s to the 21st century.</p>
<p>It is this blinkered view of Plath which has led to an oversight of the ecological significance of her poetry. As we move past the 60th anniversary of Plath’s death, it is time to embrace more nuanced interpretations of her work and to reimagine what her poetic legacy might look like.</p>
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<h2>Grand-scale natural beauty</h2>
<p>Plath loved the vast landscapes of national parks as well as smaller-scale wildernesses like those of England’s Yorkshire moors. In letters from 1956, she describes "the great luminous emerald lights” of the Yorkshire countryside, concluding that she has “never been so happy” in her life as among the “wild, purple moors”.</p>
<p>These excerpts from her letters resonate with the celebratory assertion in the poem <a href="https://allpoetry.com/Wuthering-Heights">Wuthering Heights</a> that “there is no life higher than the grasstops or the hearts of sheep”.</p>
<p>She found similar beauty in the national parks of America and Canada, which she visited in the summer of 1959. In letters from this period, she remarks that she has never seen “such wonderful country anywhere in the world”. No doubt these experiences inspired the sublime depiction of the “dominance of rocks and woods” and “man-shaming clouds” in the poem <a href="https://allpoetry.com/Two-Campers-In-Cloud-Country">Two Campers in Cloud Country</a> as well as the spectacular “splurge of vermilions” she describes in the sunsets over Algonquin National Park in Canada.</p>
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<h2>Beauty in smaller places</h2>
<p>However, it is not these grand poetic depictions of the natural world which resonate the most with me. Even the most ardent city enthusiast can pause for a moment of wonder in front of millennia-old mountains, but few among us can render the seemingly prosaic aspects of the natural world with the lyrical grandeur evident in much of her writing.</p>
<p>Plath’s <a href="https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/reviving-the-journals-of-sylvia-plath">journal entries</a>, written from the Yaddo writers’ retreat in upstate New York in the autumn of 1959, demonstrate a sensitive interest in small details of the natural world which many deem mundane or insignifcant. Coming across a patch of toadstools in the gardens at Yaddo, she observes these “round battering rams” with their “orange ruddy tops” and “pale lemon stems”.</p>
<p>Her poem <a href="https://allpoetry.com/poem/8498359-Mushrooms-by-Sylvia-Plath">Mushrooms</a> captures much of this detail with the “soft fists” of the mushrooms which heave aside the garden “bedding”. “Nobody sees us”, the collective voice of the mushrooms in the poem declares, before claiming:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We shall by morning<br>
Inherit the earth.<br>
Our foot’s in the door. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this poem, Plath emphasises the magnificent elements of the natural world that many of us overlook or disregard. She highlights the dangers, as environmental historian <a href="https://williamcronon.net/writing/Trouble_with_Wilderness_Main.html">William Cronon suggests</a>, in appreciating only the kind of big majestic landscapes found in national parks. By doing so, Plath infers, we neglect the significance of nature in more familiar and ordinary places.</p>
<p>While Plath may well be remembered for the melancholic despair of <a href="https://allpoetry.com/Sheep-In-Fog">Sheep in Fog</a> or the angry, flame-haired women of poems such as <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49000/lady-lazarus">Lady Lazarus</a>, it is also important that she is remembered for the ecological significance of her writing.</p>
<p>Despite personal difficulties in her marriage and worsening mental health, Plath’s interest in nature continued to inspire much of her late poetry. Her 1962 poem <a href="https://genius.com/Sylvia-plath-among-the-narcissi-annotated">Among the Narcissi</a>, for example, captures a poignant but ordinary moment of kinship between an elderly man, who loves the “little flocks” of flowers in his garden, and the flowers themselves who “look up” from the flowerbeds towards him, “like children”.</p>
<p>Just like the small flock of lilac crocuses I was surprised to find growing amid the broken paving in my own much-neglected garden, Plath’s poetry continually surprises me with its uncanny ability to see the unseen in nature. Such deeply felt attunement to nature deserves to be recognised as part of the rich and multifaceted legacy of her work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200024/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nassim Jalali does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Plath’s sublime nature poetry deserves widespread appreciation for its unfettered joy and deep attunement to the natural world.Nassim Jalali, Final year PhD student researching Sylvia Plath's nature poetry, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1988502023-01-31T17:15:07Z2023-01-31T17:15:07ZTax returns: scams are rising rapidly – how to spot a fake phone call and avoid falling victim<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507212/original/file-20230130-6879-li686o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C0%2C4600%2C3353&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If only it was this easy to detect a scam phone call.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/illustration-depicting-phone-scam-call-concept-294261113">Sam72/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tax deadlines, such as the annual <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/almost-57-million-customers-still-to-file-their-tax-return">January 31 deadline</a> for filing UK self-assessment tax returns, typically cause <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hmrc-warns-of-landline-scams-threatening-households">an uptick</a> in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dirty-dozen">tax scams</a>. This year, for example, an ad for a costly connection service <a href="https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/bills/hmrc-phone-number-scam-charged-calls-free-2093547">disguised as the British tax authority’s phone number</a> is appearing at the top of search engine results for the agency’s contact details. </p>
<p>But it’s much more common for tax fraudsters to rely on unsolicited phone calls to extract information and money from victims. Each year the UK’s HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the US Inland Revenue Service (IRS) post warnings and updated lists of such bogus calls and phishing schemes. At any one time there are <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/files/1926122/NFA_report3_16.12.09.pdf">many different types of tax scammers</a> attempting to trick unsuspecting people into <a href="https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud-category/other">handing over money</a> to pay fake penalties and charges.</p>
<p>HMRC <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/self-assessment-customers-could-be-a-target-for-fraudsters-hmrc-warns">responded to more than 180,000 reports</a> of suspicious contact made by people in the 12 months to August 2022, and almost 81,000 of them were scams offering fake tax rebates to access victims’ bank details. In the US, similar <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/2022-isac-annual-report.pdf">reports of such suspicious activity</a> grew from around 2 million to 8 million between 2021 and 2022, according to figures from the IRS.</p>
<p>When <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/general/online-services/identity-security-and-scams/scam-alerts/?=redirected_ScamAlerts">tax agencies warn</a> people of such scams, they generally detail “phishing” attempts. This is when people are contacted and asked for <a href="https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/lawyer-irs-phishing-emails-become-todays-nigerian/docview/1883110572/se-2">private or sensitive information</a> by someone pretending to be an official agency. This could happen because your contact information was stored in a database that has been hacked by criminals, exposing this private information to scammers.</p>
<p>During the tax filing period in particular, fraudsters have been known to <a href="https://www.icaew.com/insights/viewpoints-on-the-news/2021/april-2021/why-hmrc-impersonation-scammers-are-so-successful">impersonate government employees</a> in an attempt to persuade or even threaten victims into handing over money or personal details. If you receive such a call, it might look like a legitimate number and could even include background noise that resembles a call centre to make the scam seem more authentic. </p>
<p>The fraudsters might pressure you to wire money through services such as Western Union or MoneyGram or to send a bank transfer. There have even been reports of scammers asking for <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/05/would-you-pay-those-back-taxes-with-itunes-gift-cards.html">payment of back taxes using gift cards</a>.</p>
<p>The scammers might say you’ve miscalculated your tax payment in a previous year and must now pay to avoid a penalty, for example. They may provide a reference number, again to make the call seem more realistic, or a fake identification number for the officer that calls you. The amounts requested could vary from hundreds to thousands.</p>
<p>And although anyone can fall victim, <a href="https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/reports-and-publications/reports-and-briefings/safe-at-home/rb_oct17_scams_party_conference_paper_nocrops.pdf">the elderly</a> and <a href="https://www.icaew.com/insights/viewpoints-on-the-news/2021/april-2021/why-hmrc-impersonation-scammers-are-so-successful">immigrants</a> are among those that tend to be at greater risk of being successfully targeted by these scammers. Aside from the obvious financial cost, such loses can devastate victims, with some people even <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0004865814521224">attempting suicide</a> due to misplaced embarrassment or shame at being tricked and losing money. </p>
<h2>How to spot a tax scam</h2>
<p>There is little research into this type of scam, which can make it difficult to identify common features. Plus, the operators often work internationally or are <a href="https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/news/cra-phone-scam/">based in other countries</a>, particularly <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/tech-support-scam-baiters-india-call-centre-big-money-2876366">those</a> in which western authorities find it hard to prosecute <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/multiple-india-based-call-centers-and-their-directors-indicted-perpetuating-phone-scams">the groups involved</a>.</p>
<p>Our research looked at <a href="http://web.nacva.com/JFIA/Issues/JFIA-2020-No1-10.pdf">recordings of calls with scammers</a> to determine some common features. Unsurprisingly, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344808384_Profiling_HMRC_and_IRS_Scammers_by_Utilizing_Trolling_Videos_Offender_Characteristics">we found that</a> tax scammers use fake names and often adopt accents and language that matches with the country of the targeted taxpayer.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.academia.edu/21409525/Rhetorical_structure_and_persuasive_language_in_the_subgenre_of_online_advertisements">specific language used to persuade potential victims</a> can include common or phrases that sound official such as “tax miscalculation”, but also informal or even emotive words. The idea is to draw you in and encourage you to believe the scam and become worried about the consequences of not paying out. </p>
<p>So, if victims are confrontational or don’t comply, the caller might raise their voice and use insults. It is very unlikely that this would happen on a call with a real HMRC or IRS employee.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Stressed angry man with beard shouting into a phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507218/original/file-20230130-12322-aabw4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507218/original/file-20230130-12322-aabw4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507218/original/file-20230130-12322-aabw4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507218/original/file-20230130-12322-aabw4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507218/original/file-20230130-12322-aabw4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507218/original/file-20230130-12322-aabw4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507218/original/file-20230130-12322-aabw4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If you don’t pay up, a scammer might get angry on the phone, unlike a real tax agency professional.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stressed-stock-broker-screaming-on-phone-16138654">Dundanim/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Tax scam scripts</h2>
<p>Scam callers often speak from a “<a href="https://www.journals.vu.lt/IM/article/view/23510">scam script</a>” designed to make them sound more official and authentic, increasing the victim’s <a href="http://publications.ut-capitole.fr/42207/">trust that the call is really from HMRC or the IRS</a>. As part of our research we <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11896-022-09520-y">compiled examples of steps</a> often included in these scripts. The scripts might be adapted based on the victim, conversation or the level experience of the scammer, but the below chart shows an example of how such a phone scam might play out.</p>
<p><strong>Tax scam call script</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507209/original/file-20230130-12170-uzucpw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A flow chart showing a typical tax scam script for a phonecall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507209/original/file-20230130-12170-uzucpw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507209/original/file-20230130-12170-uzucpw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507209/original/file-20230130-12170-uzucpw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507209/original/file-20230130-12170-uzucpw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507209/original/file-20230130-12170-uzucpw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507209/original/file-20230130-12170-uzucpw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507209/original/file-20230130-12170-uzucpw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, how can you protect yourself from tax scammers?</p>
<p>Both <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-wraps-up-2022-dirty-dozen-scams-list-agency-urges-taxpayers-to-watch-out-for-tax-avoidance-strategies">the IRS</a> and <a href="https://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/hm-revenue-customs-hmrc/pressreleases/hmrc-warns-of-landline-scams-threatening-households-2842389">HMRC issue warnings</a> and information about how to distinguish between a scam phone call and one from an actual government department. This information is updated regularly, particularly during and right after tax filing season when scams can increase.</p>
<p>So, be aware and be vigilant; don’t engage with random callers. The IRS and HMRC will never contact you to demand money or threaten you with a penalty. Even if you have made a mistake with your taxes, tax authorities such as HMRC only call about <a href="https://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/hm-revenue-customs-hmrc/pressreleases/hmrc-warns-of-landline-scams-threatening-households-2842389">payments you already know about</a> – either from an official letter or because you have reported the debt yourself, through your self-assessment tax return, for example.</p>
<p>If you receive a suspicious call, never call back, dial any number they provide, or respond to a voicemail. Search for the official number of your country’s tax office online (in the UK this will end with “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/">gov.uk</a>” and in the US “<a href="https://oig.hhs.gov/notices/official-site.asp">.gov</a>”) to speak to someone about your concerns and check if you really do owe money.</p>
<p>And, if you do receive a call like this, inform your country’s tax agency so they can update their records and make sure people remain aware of the latest tax scams.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198850/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tax agencies often report details of common tax scams in the run-up to filing deadlines such as January 31.Calli Tzani, Senior Lecturer in Investigative Psychology, ACPC Deputy Director and ADM Forensic Editor, University of HuddersfieldMaria Ioannou, Professor in Psychology, University of HuddersfieldThomas James Vaughan Williams, Postgraduate Researcher - Part-time lecturer, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1979482023-01-18T12:02:52Z2023-01-18T12:02:52ZWelcome to Chippendales: why the Disney brand won’t be harmed by provocative programming<p>A true crime series about male strippers, arson and murder-for-hire, marketed with lines like “Women get horny!” and “Blood will spill”? It’s safe to say that Disney+ isn’t the most obvious destination for a show like <a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/series/welcome-to-chippendales/5Xes8hB719ux">Welcome to Chippendales</a>.</p>
<p>On the surface, the commission looks risky – a borderline negligent brand mismatch. Surely Welcome to Chippendales’ violent and sexual content threatens the wholesome, family-friendly reputation Disney has spent decades <a href="https://archive.org/details/understandingdis0000wask/page/n1/mode/2up">building up, exploiting and preserving</a>? Surprisingly, no – but this isn’t anything to do with the series itself.</p>
<p>Welcome to Chippendales is a great example of the control Disney now has over its brand and the ways it takes advantage of <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315396828/online-tv-catherine-johnson">streaming technologies</a> to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/0163443717736118">ensure shows circulate with the “right” audiences</a>.</p>
<p>Central to the emergence of edgy, adult-only content on Disney+ was the introduction of its new, adult-oriented Star content hub in February 2021. Nomad (the agency behind the Disney/Star branding) <a href="https://www.nomadstudio.com/work/disney-star">explained</a> that “the new identity system serves as a protective layer between [Star’s] content and the Disney brand, ensuring the two worlds never collide.”</p>
<p>Releasing provocative content such as Welcome to Chippendales under “Star Originals” rather than Disney reduces the chances of unwanted associations rubbing off on the House of Mouse.</p>
<h2>Separation or synergy?</h2>
<p>Brand managers call this “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/000812560004200401">brand architecture</a>” – the ways conglomerates manage the relationship between their different brands. The dilemma is whether to aim for separation (shielding brand identities from the potential failings of others) or synergy (encouraging cross-promotion and valuable brand overlaps).</p>
<p>Disney is well known for its hybrid approach, running a number of divisions that are clearly branded as arms of Disney (such as its parks and resorts, Disney Cruises and Disney Stores), while others appear to outsiders as autonomous companies (for example, Marvel and ESPN).</p>
<p>Star originally came into the Disney fold in 2019 as part of a <a href="https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/disney-fox-deal-complete-1203167374/">US$71 billion (£58 billion) deal to acquire 21st Century Fox</a>. Since then, Star has emerged as the conglomerate’s go-to label for separating its more provocative Disney+ titles from the rest of its content.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A phone screen displays both the Disney+ and Starlogos." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504958/original/file-20230117-22-56po1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504958/original/file-20230117-22-56po1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504958/original/file-20230117-22-56po1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504958/original/file-20230117-22-56po1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504958/original/file-20230117-22-56po1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504958/original/file-20230117-22-56po1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504958/original/file-20230117-22-56po1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Star came to Disney as part of its deal to acquire 21st Century Fox.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/disney-plus-star-logo-on-smarthphone-2144109683">Miguel Lagoa</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s a strategy the company has used for the best part of 30 years, with varying degrees of success. When Disney acquired Miramax in 1993, the studio was the most exciting name in indie cinema, responsible for distributing films like Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989) and Reservoir Dogs (1992).</p>
<p>It behoved Disney to get into bed with such a hot property, enabling it to reach discerning new audiences, university educated with high incomes. But keeping the two brands separate at the corporate level was not always enough to stop their reputations bleeding into one another.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504960/original/file-20230117-11104-eon4h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Kevin Smith in an all black suit wearing round glasses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504960/original/file-20230117-11104-eon4h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504960/original/file-20230117-11104-eon4h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504960/original/file-20230117-11104-eon4h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504960/original/file-20230117-11104-eon4h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504960/original/file-20230117-11104-eon4h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1017&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504960/original/file-20230117-11104-eon4h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1017&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504960/original/file-20230117-11104-eon4h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1017&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Writer and director of Dogma, Kevin Smith.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Critics worried that Disney might sanitise Miramax, while Miramax’s devil-may-care attitude towards controversy looked like a Disney PR disaster waiting to happen. As Miramax released films like Kids (1995) – featuring sexually active, drug-using teenagers – and Kevin Smith’s divisive religious satire Dogma (1999), the relationship became a major problem.</p>
<p>The backlash to Kids was fierce enough that <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Indie_Inc.html?id=9PrkDAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">protest groups called for a Disney boycott</a>. Miramax owners Harvey and Bob Weinstein had to resort to extreme measures to resolve the fiasco, buying the rights themselves and creating a standalone, unaffiliated distribution company purely for Kids.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Miramax sold Dogma’s North American rights to Lionsgate, sacrificing millions in box office revenue in order to avoid the wrath of the US religious right.</p>
<h2>Same show, different label</h2>
<p>Disney has spent decades engaged in internal gerrymandering, looking to create separations or synergies between its sub-brands. But in today’s streaming era, the studio can shift its borders more easily than ever before.</p>
<p>This is especially evident with Welcome to Chippendales, because the series appears under a different company name depending on how and where you encounter it.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DchtacgVLbQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The US trailer for Welcome to Chippendales makes no mention of Disney.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, when it debuted in the US in November, Welcome to Chippendales wasn’t on Disney+ at all and there was no Disney branding to be seen on any of its promotional materials. As was the case with the sexually explicit Pam & Tommy (2022) and addiction-themed Dopesick (2021).</p>
<p>These series were branded in the US as Hulu Originals. Hulu is owned by Disney, but has its own platform with different content.</p>
<p>In the UK, the distinction between brands is less stark. Welcome to Chippendales appears under the Star tile, but is part of the same platform as the content from other Disney divisions and sub-brands (appearing in “New to Disney+”).</p>
<p>Intriguingly, the Star brand is featured more heavily on the platform itself, whereas UK marketing materials for the series have focused almost exclusively on Disney, not mentioning Star at all. Presumably this is because of Star’s lower brand recognition in the UK and the need to direct consumers to the viewing platform. </p>
<p>For Disney, all of this represents an unprecedented level of control over its intellectual property. Circulation can now be tailored to the whims and habits of different territories and demographics, without any need for elaborate or last-minute changes to distribution deals. </p>
<p>It’s as quick – and impressive – as ripping off a pair of Velcro trousers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197948/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard McCulloch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sub-brands such as Star and Hulu have allowed Disney to experiment with adult-themed content while protecting its core brand.Richard McCulloch, Senior Lecturer Media and Film, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1963272023-01-16T18:11:54Z2023-01-16T18:11:54ZFive ways to reduce your mortgage repayments in 2023 – and why rates have risen so high<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504639/original/file-20230116-22-bzn80r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C8%2C943%2C556&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many people are trying to tighten their belts right now.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/our-debt-almost-paid-off-cropped-2129742779">PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around 4 million UK households will <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability-report/2022/december-2022">face higher mortgage costs in 2023</a> with average monthly payments expected to increase from £750 to £1,000.</p>
<p>Banks’ lending rates are <a href="http://bankofengland.education/mortgage-rates/index.html">directly influenced</a> by the Bank of England’s base rate, which rose nine times in the year to December 2022 to 3.5% and is <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/955b568a-c924-421a-bc0f-caa85d37007b">expected to reach around 4.5%</a> in 2023. Mortgage rates are even higher than this base rate because banks add a premium to account for the risk of borrowers not repaying their home loans. Average mortgage rates are now around <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/visual-summaries/quoted-household-interest-rates">6% versus 1.9% in early 2022</a>. </p>
<p>Households with variable-rate mortgages, which adjust as the base rate rises, are already feeling this change. But in 2023 around 1.8 million people with fixed-rate mortgages will come to the end of their current deals. They face an even greater shock because their payments will shoot up almost overnight.</p>
<p>Mortgage costs <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/buying-mortgages/london-homeowners-mortgage-payments-third-of-income-b1033570.html">currently make up 22% of the average UK household budget</a>, so it’s important for those looking for a new deal or trying to remortgage to understand how mortgage payments work. This will not only help you choose the best deal but could also help reduce your repayment burden.</p>
<h2>How mortgage repayments work</h2>
<p>Mortgage payment calculations are complex, so use a <a href="https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-rate-calculator/">mortgage calculator</a> (available from your bank or <a href="https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/homes/buying-a-home/mortgage-calculator">online</a>). I used one <a href="https://www.mortgagecalculator.uk/">to calculate repayments</a> for John, a fictional homeowner borrowing £100,000 to buy a house worth £110,000 (so he has a £10,000 deposit). John chooses a one-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 2% interest rate and a repayment term of 20 years. </p>
<p>This is a <a href="https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/homes/buying-a-home/mortgage-repayment-options">repayment mortgage</a> so John’s payments to the bank comprise two parts: the interest (the amount the bank charges John to lend him the money) and the capital repayment (which covers the total amount – £100,000 – the bank lent to John for his house). </p>
<p>His monthly payments will be nearly £506.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Table showing mortgage details & repayments for a 2% interest rate." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504470/original/file-20230113-20-ewniaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504470/original/file-20230113-20-ewniaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=199&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504470/original/file-20230113-20-ewniaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=199&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504470/original/file-20230113-20-ewniaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=199&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504470/original/file-20230113-20-ewniaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504470/original/file-20230113-20-ewniaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504470/original/file-20230113-20-ewniaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.mortgagecalculator.uk">Data from www.mortgagecalculator.uk</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Looking at the breakdown of yearly payments, John will pay over £1,962 in interest for the year that his rate is fixed at 2% (marked in red below) – an average of £164 per month. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Table showing interest and capital paid and mortgage balance, yearly" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504467/original/file-20230113-25-2c1u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504467/original/file-20230113-25-2c1u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=119&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504467/original/file-20230113-25-2c1u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=119&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504467/original/file-20230113-25-2c1u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=119&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504467/original/file-20230113-25-2c1u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=149&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504467/original/file-20230113-25-2c1u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=149&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504467/original/file-20230113-25-2c1u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=149&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.mortgagecalculator.uk">Data from www.mortgagecalculator.uk</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For the capital repayment, John will pay back just over £4,108 of the amount he borrowed (in blue above) in the year he has fixed his rate at 2%, for an average monthly capital payment of £342.</p>
<p>But, because he has a one-year fixed-rate mortgage, John will have to remortgage in 12 months. So what would happen if interest rates had increased by then to 5%, for example?</p>
<p>Subtracting the £4,108, John’s mortgage amount would be £95,892 and the term would be 19 years, while his new monthly payment would be just over £652.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A table showing mortgage details for a 5% rate and a monthly repayment total of £652.33" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504474/original/file-20230113-20-tl2i65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504474/original/file-20230113-20-tl2i65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=199&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504474/original/file-20230113-20-tl2i65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=199&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504474/original/file-20230113-20-tl2i65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=199&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504474/original/file-20230113-20-tl2i65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504474/original/file-20230113-20-tl2i65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504474/original/file-20230113-20-tl2i65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.mortgagecalculator.uk/">Data from www.mortgagecalculator.uk</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>John will be shocked to see his interest payments have jumped to slightly above £4,724 – £394 monthly on average versus £164 during his last mortgage. He will also be paying less capital back now (about £3,103 for the year versus £4,108 before his rate rose):</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Table showing new interest and capital paid, and mortgage balance, with a 5% interest rate." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504696/original/file-20230116-16-kra1tp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504696/original/file-20230116-16-kra1tp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=124&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504696/original/file-20230116-16-kra1tp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=124&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504696/original/file-20230116-16-kra1tp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=124&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504696/original/file-20230116-16-kra1tp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504696/original/file-20230116-16-kra1tp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504696/original/file-20230116-16-kra1tp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.mortgagecalculator.uk">Data from www.mortgagecalculator.uk</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But if John lived in a different area, he could be paying even more. With a £200,000 mortgage – <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/915977/average-value-of-mortgage-granted-in-the-united-kingdom/">closer to the UK average</a> – the monthly interest payment would increase from £327 to £822 if rates jumped from 2% to 5%.</p>
<p>So is there any way to soften the blow of rising mortgage rates? If you do your homework it might be possible to reduce your mortgage payments, depending on your household’s specific circumstances. </p>
<p>Here are five ways it’s possible to reduce your mortgage burden <em>(please note, the following information is not financial advice)</em>:</p>
<h2>1. Consider your mortgage options</h2>
<p>There is a range of things you could do to provide temporary relief during the current economic downturn – but always remember to ask your lender for details of fees incurred for any changes. </p>
<p>For example, temporary options include switching to <a href="https://www.unbiased.co.uk/discover/mortgages-property/buying-a-home/what-is-an-interest-only-mortgage-how-do-repayments-work">interest-only repayments</a> for some short-term flexibility – but remember you must still plan to pay off the capital borrowed. Or extending your mortgage term so you pay less per month but over a longer period. If John extended his term from 19 to 30 years, for example, his monthly capital repayment would drop from £259 to £177.</p>
<p>You could also use some savings to reduce your loan amount while borrowing rates are high. Borrowing 90% of your house price (that is, you have a 10% deposit), will probably incur a higher interest rate than if you can put down a 25% deposit. And once you have a mortgage, overpaying whenever possible will cut your interest payments.</p>
<h2>2. Avoid the standard variable rate</h2>
<p>Once your fixed-rate period ends, your mortgage usually automatically moves to the lender’s standard variable rate – often the highest rate charged. Try to secure a new deal before your current rate ends to avoid this.</p>
<h2>3. Keep your help-to-buy loan</h2>
<p>If you bought your home with the government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/help-to-buy-equity-loan">help-to-buy scheme</a> (no longer available to new borrowers) it may be worth keeping it, rather than moving to a new mortgage provider once the interest-free period ends. This is because <a href="https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/homes/buying-a-home/help-to-buy-scheme-everything-you-need-to-know">interest rates charged by these schemes</a> are currently much less than market mortgage rates.</p>
<p>But probably the best thing you can do, especially if struggling financially, is to speak to someone.</p>
<h2>4. Use a mortgage adviser</h2>
<p>Independent mortgage advisers often have access to better mortgage rates than those available to anyone on the internet or from a high street bank, for example. For a £200,000 mortgage over 20 years, for example, a 5% rate versus 5.25% would save you around £500 a year.</p>
<h2>5. Talk to your lender</h2>
<p>Many UK banks <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/456b41ec-ae6f-48c5-b4e2-d35c877799e8">pledged to ease pressure on struggling mortgage holders</a> last year. This means that if you are struggling or worried about your finances, your bank may be able to help you switch to a more suitable deal without having to take another affordability test, for example. </p>
<p>Your bank needs to know that you’re worried in advance, so keep an eye on your finances. And while it’s best to speak up before you miss a payment, even if you fail to do so, you can still seek help and advice from your bank or other services such as <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/mortgage-problems-debt-and-money/how-to-sort-out-your-mortgage-problems/">Citizens Advice</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196327/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alper Kara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mortgage rates – and repayments – have risen significantly since this time last year.Alper Kara, Professor and Head of Department - Accounting, Finance and Economics, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.