The Reformer

Westminster at night

What is a Private Members’ bill?

One of the most noteworthy ways that MPs can push their agendas is through the Private Members’ Bill. Here’s a...

Big Ben

What is an Early Day Motion?

The Early Day Motion (EDM) is a little-known but quietly critical part of Westminster. Here’s a quick guide on some...

Select Committee

What is a Select Committee?

One of the most important aspects of British democracy is the Select Committee. Select Committees are groups of parliamentarians chosen...

Westminster

What is an All Party Parliamentary Group or APPG?

One of the lesser-known institutions of Westminster is the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). Here’s a quick overview on some of...

Westminster Hall Debate

What is a Westminster Hall debate?

You may not know, but there are Parliamentary debates that occur outside of the Commons or Lords and these occur...

The UK has one of the most centralised local government funding systems

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...

41 percent of England’s population now live in areas with some form of mayoral devolution deal

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...

A product of a history of ad hoc piecemeal top-down reforms

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,...

Duverger’s Law is one of the oldest so-called ‘laws’ in political science

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....

More people will bother voting if they feel that their vote won't be wasted

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...

other countries have powerful regional representatives, Britain remains the odd-one-out

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...

There are many ways party leaders and prime ministers are chosen across Europe

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....