Meet the contrarians

Ali Miraj | Issue 5 | Comment, Magazine

From the Archive

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 20: The newly restored Painted Hall is pictured at the Old Royal Naval College on March 20, 2019 in London, England. The Painted Hall, designed by Sir Christopher Wren as a ceremonial dining room in the early 18th centrury, reopens to the public on March 23, 2019 after a two and a half year £8.5 million conservation project.  (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 20: The newly restored Painted Hall is pictured at the Old Royal Naval College on March 20, 2019 in London, England. The Painted Hall, designed by Sir Christopher Wren as a ceremonial dining room in the early 18th centrury, reopens to the public on March 23, 2019 after a two and a half year £8.5 million conservation project. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

As an increasing number of people are being silenced for challenging the status quo, the Contrarian Prize recognises individuals who dare to be different

The opthalmologist Li Wenliang was first to raise the alarm on Covid, yet he was to die from the disease just months after his appeal. Wenliang, who worked at Wuhan Central Hospital, had noticed unusual symptoms and suspected a serious new respiratory illness. He was summoned by the authorities and made to sign a statement in which he was accused of spreading rumours and disrupting social order. Wenliang’s assertion that “there should be more than one voice in a healthy society” was a brave one to make in a totalitarian state. The UK and the US are supposed safe havens of liberalism and democracy, but those values are crumbling. Li Wenliang would be disappointed, and so should we.  Infected institutions It is no longer enough to silence those whose views are considered objectionable. No, they must be “cancelled” – that is, rounded upon, bullied and harassed until the baying mob has satisfied itself by destroying the reputation and often the career of the unfortunate individual who has ...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



The Silent Engine: Why we must stop kicking the Civil Service and learn to love our Civil Servants

Neil Woollard | April 28, 2026

As the Charity for Civil Servants marks its 140th anniversary, Neil Woollard argues that the officials who keep Britain functioning are too often caricatured, underpaid and overlooked —

UK’s economic stability starts at sea, says the CEO of the Chamber of Shipping

Mace | April 28, 2026

Shipping moves 95 per cent of the UK’s trade. Most of the time, this happens smoothly until there is a global crisis, writes Rhett Hatcher, CEO of the

Modern history shows the Open University is key to rehabilitating extremists — so why are we making cuts to prison education?

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | April 28, 2026

Amid cuts to prison education hours in England, Lucy Carrier-Pilkington looks back at the historic success of the Open University in Northern Ireland and why it is still

A lobby system not fit for purpose

Mace | April 22, 2026

CIPR's latest poll of 250 public affairs professionals makes clear that there is majority backing for radical reform of lobbying rules to make the profession more transparent.

Mobile phone ban in schools: lobby groups say “it’s about time”

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | April 22, 2026

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will be amended to introduce a legal ban on mobile phones in schools in England.

Future-facing industries need 120,000 technicians

Dr Kelly Vere MBE | April 22, 2026

Dr Kelly Vere MBE, Director of the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy and Director of Technical Strategy for the University of Nottingham highlights the technical skills

Whitehall continues to throw Starmer under the bus as the Robbins saga continues

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | April 21, 2026

As the blame game between Keir Starmer and Olly Robbins unfolds, Lucy Carrier-Pilkington argues this is just the latest in a pattern of governments pinning responsibility on civil

Forty years after Big Bang, the City cannot write its own rules for growth

Mick McAteer | April 21, 2026

Greater deregulation for the financial sector in the City is not the way forward, writes Mick McAteer.

Starmer’s successor may not be Labour’s knight in shining armour

Ted Newson | April 21, 2026

With Ed Milliband poised to be one of the favourites to succeed Starmer as Prime Minister, we must remember what a Milliband premiership would look like, writes Ted

Hiding in plain sight – The UK’s rising accident crisis

Matilda Smith | April 20, 2026

For too long, preventable accidents have been viewed as an afterthought, but more should be done to ensure they do not occur in the first place, writes Matilda