New Statesman - <![CDATA[Mark Easton]]> http://www.newstatesman.com/writers/mark_easton en <![CDATA[The survival of the happiest]]> http://www.newstatesman.com/200604240016 http://www.newstatesman.com/200604240016 Mon, 24 Apr 2006 12:00:00 GMT Mark Easton Instead of simply making us richer, politicians should aim to make Britain happier, say the "new utilitarians". Mark Easton reports on the strategists pushing the feel-good factor

The waxen lips might soften, the hay-stuffed corpse may settle more comfortably into its mahogany cabinet. No one is sure why the philosopher Jeremy Bentham insisted that his body be preserved, but perhaps he has been waiting for vindication: only when happiness is at the heart of government can the "Father of Utilitarianism" rest in peace.

The time may be close. A quiet revolution is under way in Whitehall, and [...]

]]> <![CDATA[A new map of Britain]]> http://www.newstatesman.com/200509120008 http://www.newstatesman.com/200509120008 Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:00:00 GMT Mark Easton With just a click or two, we can now tell how many immigrants live near us. Do we need this? Absolutely

This month, the BBC publishes an online interactive map of Britain of a kind not seen before. It shows where the foreigners live. In a few clicks, users can see how many "immigrants" there are in their area, which countries they came from, and how that group is faring economically. Based on censuses and other official data, the map was commissioned by the left-of-centre Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), [...]

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