Author Archive: Democratic Audit UK
Can Scotland avoid Brexit? It depends on politics, not law
The UK has voted to leave the European Union (EU), but 62% of Scottish voters, including a majority in every local authority area, backed Remain. This has triggered a debate about what power Scotland has to prevent itself being pulled out of the EU against the wishes of its government, parliament and voters. Akash Paun […]
Between the system and lifeworld: Despite adopting social media tools, public administrators remain in a legitimacy dilemma
Social media platforms theoretically align with many aspects of Habermas’ ideal of “authentic communication”. However, Claire Knox writes that this does not make them automatically applicable to public participation in governance structures. For example, while we see evidence of “cautious experimentation” among public administrators, there remains a lack of “institutional imagination” to maximise the democratic […]
Westminster must choose between leaving the EU and retaining the UK
What is more in Westminster’s interest – to follow through the result of the referendum by leaving the EU, or to secure the survival of the United Kingdom? Jo Murkens continues his discussion on Britain’s constitutional arrangement arguing that the power-sharing with Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland since 1997 has changed the UK constitution, allowing space for […]
Elected Chairs do not seem to have brought a new kind of parliamentarian to Select Committees
The Wright reforms have been widely credited with revitalising Parliamentary Select Committees. However, drawing on their research, Mark Goodwin, Stephen Bates and Steve McKay question whether the reforms have improved rates of turnover, attendance or gender balance. They write that commentators and MPs should avoid complacency in assuming that the reforms are a sufficiently powerful […]
Parliamentary arrangements after a Labour split might be easily solved, but bigger questions will be more difficult
In the post-referendum turmoil facing the Labour Party, there are increasing questions about whether the party might split. Despite shadow cabinet resignations and a Parliamentary Labour Party vote of no confidence, Jeremy Corbyn seems determined to hang on, and to force a contest if necessary. If that proceeds, a split looks very likely. But what […]
Why would anyone want to be Prime Minister?
The challenges are awesome, if not terrifying, for whoever wins the Conservative leadership. Following the vote in favour of Brexit, Cameron’s successor will take control of a divided party, a divided country and significant forces pulling the UK apart. In this light, Ben Worthy considers what motivates those who aspire to be Prime Minister. Similar […]
Building an ‘anger radar’: Ideas for better democracy post Brexit
We have so many aspirations for big data and evidence based policy, but apparently a fatally limited capacity to see the obvious: voters were furious about immigration during the EU referendum campaigns. Techniques exist to build better empirical evidence regarding issues that matter to citizens; we should use them or risk a repeat of the referendum, argues Jimmy Tidey. Similar Posts
Book Review: Players and Arenas: The Interactive Dynamics of Protest edited by James M. Jasper and Jan Willem Duyvendak
Players and Arenas: The Interactive Dynamics of Protest, edited by James M. Jasper and Jan Willem Duyvendak, employs a strategic interaction perspective to the study of social movements, bringing to the fore the relational dynamics between various players across different social arenas. In the face of mounting criticism of the movement-centric nature of the scholarship in […]
Long Read: Brexit, the Referendum and the UK Parliament: Some questions about sovereignty
The Leave campaign fought the referendum with the slogan of ‘taking back control’, but what does this mean in practice? Sionaidh Douglas-Scott writes that there are at least three notions of sovereignty that are relevant in the context of Brexit, namely parliamentary, popular and external sovereignty. Here she outlines in detail the extent to which they conflict with each […]
The constitutional settlement of the UK has been thrown into flux – an overarching polity is urgently needed
The Brexit result has revealed the weaknesses of the liberal outlook and highlighted the endurance of identity politics, a pattern that has been seen across the globe in recent years. But Sean Swan writes that while global issues are important, we need to focus on the local and recognise the UK state is no longer […]
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