The Conversation UK
Expert analysis by academics on politics, science, health, business, and more.
Wales is looking at a huge shake-up in the Senedd – so why are voters so disenchanted?
Wales is going to the polls on May 7 to elect members to the Senedd (Welsh parliament). And the results could bring big change to the country. The polls are suggesting that this election will result in the biggest shake-up to the political landscape since the creation of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999. Labour looks likely to lose sig
School dinners are changing: the strong emotions and memories around these meals reflect their social, economical and cultural importance
The UK government has launched its first review of school food standards in over a decade, alongside plans to extend free school meals to an additional 500,000 children in families receiving universal credit. Much of the coverage has focused on specific menu changes, including the possible removal of sugary desserts such as steamed sponge. Th
After a year of Reform UK in local government, the cracks are starting to show
Reform UK is expected to expand its foothold in local government in England this week. More than 5,000 seats across 136 councils are being contested, making this one of the largest electoral tests in recent years. It builds on Reform’s breakthrough in 2025, when the party took control of ten local authorities – its first real experience of po
Probiotics: what are we swallowing?
Standing by the counter at the pharmacist waiting to pick up my prescription, I couldn’t help noticing the prominent display of probiotics on the counter. It was two years ago, and I was reading everything I could find on microbiomes and probiotics – whether in books, journals or in shops – in preparation for writing my book The Microbiome: W
Massive marine heatwave caused Caribbean coral reefs to collapse much faster than predicted – new research
For decades, coral reefs throughout the Caribbean have been suffering from disease, pollution, overfishing and rising sea temperatures, yet most have continued to grow – until now. In 2023 and 2024, surface temperatures climbed to record highs in the world’s oceans, and a marine heatwave of unprecedented length and intensity spread across the
Europe’s dilemma – to use China’s turbines to meet its renewable targets or not
Europe’s wind turbines have become part of a wider struggle over energy security, industrial power and the west’s dependence on China. European wind power capacity has surged dramatically in recent years. Wind energy now supplies 17% of EU electricity up from 13% in 2019. Offshore wind has expanded particularly rapidly, with installed capacit
The Iran war has brought many old Gulf faultlines to the fore – and is creating new ones
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on April 28 that it will leave the global oil producers’ cartel Opec. Its decision is the latest sign that the war in the Middle East has not only deepened animosities between Iran and its Gulf neighbours, but among the Gulf states too. Founded in 1960, Opec is a rare success story among multilateral o
How Britain’s housing crisis contributes to its declining healthy life expectancy
People in the UK are now spending fewer years in good health than they did a decade ago, according to a new analysis by the Health Foundation. The UK now sits near the bottom of a 21-country comparison, ahead only of the US. A drop in healthy life expectancy is explained through many causes: obesity, alcohol, drugs, suicide, chronic disease,
