How are English local councils funded? While you might think that local councils are wholly funded by council tax, in fact, local government in England is funded by a combination of central government grants and local taxes. What are the problems... Posted 30 Mar 2022
What is a combined authority and what is a metro mayor? Local government in England comes in many different formats, unitary, district and county councils all cover different parts of the country. In recent years, mayoral combined authorities have become an established part of the English... Posted 24 Mar 2022
How is local government organised in England? England’s local government can sometimes be quite confusing. The history of devolution within England is one of ad hoc, piecemeal, top-down reforms united in their lack of a clear vision. This has left different areas... Posted 16 Mar 2022
Duvager’s law – more guidelines than actual rules? Wherever there are two dominant political parties, there is a steady stream of new parties hoping to break the system. Britain has had several over the years and America’s latest is the Forward Party of... Posted 09 Mar 2022
Does proportional representation lead to higher turnout? A healthy democracy requires healthy levels of democratic participation – the most crucial element of which is turnout at general elections. But Britain has one of the lowest turnout rates in the west – a... Posted 10 Feb 2022
How are the members of upper houses chosen around the world? Many countries use a bicameral political system – meaning that they have two chambers in their parliament. These parliaments are comprised of a lower house where the government is formed and day-to-day politics is carried... Posted 27 Jan 2022
How are Prime Ministers chosen around the world? With pressure mounting on Boris Johnson, it’s looking increasingly possible that Britain could well soon have a new Prime Minister. Who it would be, would be a decision for Conservative MPs and, possibly, Conservative party... Posted 19 Jan 2022
How are Presidents elected around Europe? 2022 is a big year for presidential elections in Europe – with the Italian, German and French presidencies all open over the next few months. Posted 05 Jan 2022
As Portugal heads to the polls – how do Portuguese elections work? Portugal is holding a snap election at the end of the month after parliament rejected the budget proposed by António Costa’s government last autumn. Posted 04 Jan 2022
Does First Past the Post stop extremists getting into parliaments? If you listen to supporters of first past the post, you might be forgiven for thinking that British voters are just itching to elect dozens of far-left and far-right MPs - with PR just waiting... Posted 15 Dec 2021