Tag: Politics

Is British gas and oil really 4x as good for the environment as imported fuel?

The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, recently declared that he's going to enable a huge expansion of North Sea gas and oil extraction. There is a lot to criticise about this plan to say the least. But here I will endeavor to restrict myself to digging into one of his more surprising claims about this … Continue reading Is British gas and oil really 4x as good for the environment as imported fuel? →

The Great Resignation of British Ministers

Last week was a pretty dramatic week for UK politics. On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, the UK's chancellor and health secretary respectively, resigned from their cabinet posts within minutes of each other, citing the incompetency and impossibility of working with Prime Minister Boris Johnson as their motivation. Over the next couple of days, … Continue reading The Great Resignation of British Ministers →

Are you (statistically) smarter than a politican?

Time to test yourself! Give the below three questions a go, before proceeding 1. If you toss a fair coin twice, what is the probability of getting two heads? 2. Suppose you roll a 6-sided die. The rolls are: 1, 3, 4, 1, and 6. What is the mean value? 3. And what is the mode value? 4. Suppose there was a diagnostic test for a virus. The false-positive rate (the proportion of people without the virus who get a positive result) is one in 1,000. You have taken the test and tested positive. What is the probability that you have the virus?

What people claim to believe: Hillary Clinton edition

Back to political opinion polls today I'm afraid. Yep, the UK's Brexit is all done and dusted (haha) but now our overseas friends seem to be facing what might be an even more unlikely choice in the grand US presidential election 2016. Luckily, the pollsters are on hand to guide us through the inner minds and … Continue reading What people claim to believe: Hillary Clinton edition →

Is the EU referendum actually a great conspiracy?

(Sorry to anyone bored by the great/hideous Brexit referendum - this is the last post on the topic, well, at least until the event actually happens 🙂 ) Today is the day!  All us UK citizens can cast our direct-democracy vote as to whether the UK should remain in the EU, or say goodbye. It's been a long, torrid, at times revolting, … Continue reading Is the EU referendum actually a great conspiracy? →

Brexit: Which newspapers support Leave and which Remain?

Being a glutton for punishment, another Brexit question struck me. Which newspapers are formally standing in the Leave camp, and which in the Remain? This question might strike you as beyond obvious based on the typical political outlook they adhere to and the output of their columnists - but it turns out it's not as straightforward as I … Continue reading Brexit: Which newspapers support Leave and which Remain? →

The EU referendum: do voters understand what they’re voting on?

The UK's EU referendum is now less than a week away. We're each going to individually vote on something that could dramatically affect the future of our lives and even the structure of society the UK, so it's a potentially important one. Recent sick tragedies have added to the mess that is the provably wrong claims from the Leave camp, and the responses that seem … Continue reading The EU referendum: do voters understand what they’re voting on? →

The EU referendum: voting intention vs voting turnout

Next month, the UK is having a referendum on the question of whether it should remain in the European Union, or leave it. All us citizens are having the opportunity to pop down to the ballot box to register our views. And in the mean time we're subjected to a fairly horrendous  mishmash of "facts" and arguments as … Continue reading The EU referendum: voting intention vs voting turnout →

Unsafe abortions: visualising the “preventable pandemic”

In the past few weeks, I was appalled to read that an UK resident was given a prison sentence for the supposed "crime" of having an abortion. This happened because she lives in Northern Ireland, a country where having an abortion is in theory punishable by a life sentence in jail - unless the person in need happens … Continue reading Unsafe abortions: visualising the “preventable pandemic” →