Academy of Ideas

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe DAMSELS IN DISTRESS? THE WOMEN'S SAFETY DILEMMA https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/damsels-in-distress-the-womens-safety-dilemma/ Women’s safety is certainly making headlines. The gross abuses of the grooming rape gangs have revealed a huge state cove...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe BEYOND TERF ISLAND: GENDER IDENTITY WORLDWIDE https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/beyond-terf-island-gender-identity-worldwide/ Beyond ‘TERF Island’, gender-identity ideology remains hardwired into policymaking across Europe. Only last year, Germany pa...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe RELIGIOUS FERVOUR: THE RISE OF FAITH OR CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY? https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/religious-fervour-the-rise-of-faith-or-cultural-christianity/ Lots of people are converting to Christianity and, across the country, church attendance is...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe BATTLE BOOK CLUB: TERF ISLAND - HOW THE UK RESISTED TRANS IDEOLOGY https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/meet-the-author-fiona-mcanena-on-terf-island-how-the-uk-resisted-trans-ideology/ TERF Island is the story of the brave and determined women who led t...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe IS THERE A RIGHT TO DIE: THE MORAL DILEMMAS OF ASSISTED DEATH https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/is-there-a-right-to-die-the-moral-dilemmas-of-assisted-death/ Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is still being discussed...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe THE RISE OF THE WORKPLACE SPEECH POLICE https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/the-rise-of-the-workplace-speech-police/ The British workplace is now too often a toxic environment, a hotbed of grievance culture, lawfare and an ever-expanding number of disc...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe DEEPFAKES: THE MEDIA'S NEW CHALLENGE https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/deepfakes-the-medias-new-challenge/ The proliferation of Al-generated imagery now means our social-media feeds are filled with the likes of popes in padded jackets, Studio Ghibli...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe AFTER THE SUPREME COURT: THE END OF TRANS IDEOLOGY? https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/after-the-supreme-court-the-end-of-trans-ideology/ In April this year, the Supreme Court ruled that, in relation to references in equalities law, ‘women’ are biolog...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe BEWARE OF THE MANOSPHERE? MISOGYNY AND TOXIC MASCULINITY https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/beware-the-manosphere-misogyny-and-toxic-masculinity/ Netflix’s hit series Adolescence seemed to capture the current anxiety surrounding young men and what the...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe NET ZERO OR 'DRILL, BABY, DRILL'? THE FUTURE OF UK ENERGY https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/net-zero-or-drill-baby-drill-the-future-of-uk-energy/ In June 2019, the Conservative government amended the Climate Change Act to insert a target of ‘net zero...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe TAKING THE PIP: WHO CAN REFORM WELFARE? https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/from-pips-to-motability-who-can-reform-welfare/ The government suffered serious embarrassment earlier this year when its attempts to rein in Personal Independence Payments (PIP...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe FROM BUD LIGHT TO JAGUAR: BRANDS CAUGHT IN THE CULTURE WARS https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/what-is-the-purpose-of-marketing-with-purpose-brands-caught-in-the-culture-wars/ Marketing with purpose, rather than solely for profit, hit the mainstream 2...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe FROM STEEL TO RAILWAYS: CAN THE STATE REVITALISE BRITISH INDUSTRY? https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/can-the-state-save-british-industry/ Not long ago the consensus was that the West was under the sway of so-called ‘neoliberal’ ideas, implying a zeal...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe CHINA'S TRUMP CARD? RARE EARTHS AND GEOPOLITICS https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/chinas-trump-card-rare-earths-and-geopolitics/ One consequence of Donald Trump’s trade war with China has been increasing attention to a group of minerals called ‘rare...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe PLOUGHING ON? THE STATE OF BRITISH FARMING https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/ploughing-on-the-state-of-british-farming/ In last autumn’s Budget, Rachel Reeves announced that full agricultural property relief for inheritance tax on farms would be limi...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe DECLINE… AND FALL? THE UK ECONOMY https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/decline-and-fall-the-uk-economy/ After a year of a Labour government, the UK is heading for a ‘debt-crisis cliff edge’, if it is not already in a ‘debt doom-loop’. Things are in many...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe REBUILDING BRITAIN: THE INFRASTRUCTURE CRISIS https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/rebuilding-britain-the-infrastructure-crisis/ The UK’s infrastructure is at a crossroads. Decades of underinvestment and misdirected investment have left transport networ...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe IS THERE A CASE FOR TARIFFS TODAY? https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/protection-measures-is-there-a-case-for-tariffs-today/ On 2 April, President Trump announced ‘Liberation Day’, imposing swingeing tariffs on imports, even on friendly countries with...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe WHY IS MY ENERGY BILL SO HIGH? https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/why-is-my-energy-bill-so-high/ Heating or eating? That has become a burning question for many people. From struggling households to steel works and factories, energy prices remain a hot...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe JAILBREAK: CAN WE SOLVE THE PRISON CRISIS? https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/jailbreak-can-we-solve-the-prison-crisis/ ‘Our prisons are on the point of collapse’ declared the then lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, when Labour came to power in 2024 as...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe SHOULD 16 YEAR OLDS HAVE THE VOTE? https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/should-16-year-olds-have-the-vote/ Under plans being drawn up by the Labour government, anyone over the age of 16 will be allowed to vote in the next UK General Election. According...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe SCHOOL'S OUT: THE RISE OF HOME EDUCATION https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/schools-out-the-rise-of-home-education/ The number of children being home schooled is rising rapidly and the government is cracking down. Until now, the law recognised that it...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe A CRISIS IN LAW MAKING? THE CASE OF ASSISTED DYING https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/is-law-making-fit-for-purpose-the-case-of-assisted-dying-legislation/ Prior to MPs approving the Assisted Dying Bill, concerns were raised about the way proposed leg...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe LAWLESS BRITAIN? https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/lawless-britain/ Mexico – a country where cartel violence claims tens of thousands of lives each year – recently warned its citizens about the risks of visiting Britain: ‘Robberies and physical assau...

Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack for more information on the next Battle and future events: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe TAX ON PRIVATE SCHOOLS: SOCIAL JUSTICE OR SPITE? https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/taxing-school-fees-social-justice-or-spite/ In January 2025, as promised in its manifesto, the Labour government imposed VAT on private school fees, justifying the pol...