If you are a regular visitor to this blog, you might have noticed that we are a somewhat eclectic mix of contributors, with a fairly eclectic selection of things to say about a rather eclectic range of topics. That is actually quite a good representation of our home institution – the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. 

The best part of elections when I was growing up was that they involved a day off school. My primary school was a designated polling place, so a general election meant a day away from the classroom. That said, it also meant a trip back to the school with whichever parent was at home looking after us in order to cast a vote.

Before we bid adieu to 2014 and open our hearts to the mystery of the New Year, however, we would like to take a moment to reflect on what has been and gone. As such, in what follows, the brightest and best of IANS staff contemplate what made the past year great, what it made it awful and, above all, what made it memorable.

Another day, another warning about climate change. Or so it feels at times. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), recently published their latest scientific report, pointing to causes and effects

In what follows, the best and the brightest of IANS editors, staff writers and contributors discuss why they intend to vote the way they do. We then finish off our discussion with a short consideration of the alternative: devo plus.