Full recall would be a free-for-all of unintended consequencesA spate of recent controversies has renewed demands for ‘full recall’ – where ten percent of voters can sign a petition, triggering a local referendum on whether an MP should lose their seat and a...Posted 19 Jan 2018
100 years after women won the right to vote, there’s still a long way to go2018 marks one hundred years since a major landmark in the history of our democracy – the first time women in the UK had the right to vote. The Suffrage movement saw women organise and...Posted 17 Jan 2018
Politicians should stop presuming and start listening on BrexitIt is hard to turn on the TV now without one politician or another telling us what the ‘British people’ want from Brexit. On one side, one argues that only leaving the single market will...Posted 12 Jan 2018
Voting patterns in the House of Lords rubbish claims of its independenceArticle first published by Politics.co.uk. It is anticipated that Theresa May will appoint up to a dozen Tory peers this month – which could be joined by a handful of Labour members and some from the DUP. It is...Posted 11 Jan 2018
Referendum spending is a murky world – when it should be crystal clearNegotiations on the UK’s exit from the European Union will dominate much of the political agenda this year. But 18 months on from the Brexit referendum, questions are still being asked about whether campaigners played by...Posted 08 Jan 2018
Political parties are too reliant on big donors – and it has to changeHuge swathes of the public believe big donors hold too much political sway – and yet again it has been revealed just how reliant parties are on the cash of very few. The Mirror today published research findings showing that 39% of...Posted 05 Jan 2018
Ministers are ignoring the elephant in the room when it comes to boundariesThe government’s Minister for the Constitution has claimed that millions of voters living in oversized constituencies are being under-represented. Speaking about the current boundaries, Chris Skidmore MP said: “It is an affront to democracy that 27 million people are under-represented.” ...Posted 03 Jan 2018
There’s a lobbying scandal brewing in the House of LordsThe House of Lords has long been a home for party donors and lobbyists. But now it turns out even those who have supposedly retired are taking advantage of the unelected House. As if the...Posted 02 Jan 2018
There’s another way of doing BrexitBy Dr Alan Renwick A battle broke out in Parliament last week, as MPs across the House successfully pushed for a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal. It was an attempt to make our...Posted 18 Dec 2017
Wales needs a stronger Senedd that’s fit for the futureIn 20 years of its existence – through the growth in the Assembly’s responsibilities to the expansion of the Welsh Government and its powers, one thing has changed very little: the Senedd’s capacity to scrutinise,...Posted 12 Dec 2017