Achieving accountable government
Book review | Lobbying for Change, by Alberto Alemanno
In Lobbying for Change: Find Your Voice to Create a Better Society, Alberto Alemanno seeks to demystify and democratise the practice of lobbying by inspiring readers to become ‘citizen lobbyists’. Serving as both a galvanising wake-up call and an accessible, positive and practical guide to those looking to influence public policy, this book will awaken your inner citizen lobbyist, help […]
Audit 2017: How democratic is the basic constitutional law of the UK?
The foundations of any liberal democracy lie with its constitutional arrangements, which in the UK are famously diverse and uncodified, with no single written ‘constitution’ document. As part of our 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Michael Gordon looks at how to assess the democratic basis of constitutional law, and how well recent experience suggests that the […]
Audit 2017: How democratic and effective are the UK’s core executive and government system?
As part of our 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Patrick Dunleavy looks at how well the dominant centre of power in the British state operates – spanning the Prime Minister, Cabinet, cabinet committees, ministers and critical central departments. How effectively does this ‘core executive’, and the rest of Whitehall government, consistently serve UK citizens’ interests? How […]
Tilting at linguistic windmills: a million Welsh speakers
The target of creating one million Welsh speakers in Wales by 2050 announced by the Welsh Government as the central goal of its Welsh Language Strategy (‘Cymraeg 2050. A million Welsh speakers’) has captured the headlines: and why should it not? After all, that would mean effectively doubling the number of Welsh speakers. It would […]
Book review | The Politics of Evidence, by Justin Parkhurst
In The Politics of Evidence: From Evidence-Based Policy to the Good Governance of Evidence, available open access, Justin Parkhurst provides a detailed synthesis of the debates surrounding evidence-based policy (EBP) as well as a governance framework for managing EBP. This is a comprehensive overview of the advantages and limitations of this approach that offers constructive insight into ensuring the judicious […]
Audit 2017: How democratic is the protection of workers’ rights within the UK?
During the 20th century, developed societies increasingly accepted that democracy could not stop at politics, and had to extend to aspects of the economy as well. Democracy in the economy began – and continues – with workers’ rights. As part of the 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Ewan McGaughey and the Democratic Audit team explore how far they have […]
Long read: Public opinion, legitimacy and Tony Blair’s war in Iraq
The Labour Party is still living with the consequences of Tony Blair’s decision to join the US in waging war in Iraq. It destroyed Blair’s credibility and fed the backlash against the ‘moderate’ wing of the party which eventually led to Jeremy Corbyn’s election. In this post, based on his new book, James Strong traces […]
The absent demos: radical ideas for transforming the way MEPs are elected
Brexit has pushed European law-makers to seriously talk about rebuilding the EU. Miriam Sorace argues that calls for democratising the EU political system have to be addressed immediately, and that priority should be given to reforms of the European elections. She advocates a uniform Open-List Proportional Representation System with small constituencies and the possibility for national parties to […]
Audit 2017: How democratic is the devolved government of London?
Devolved government in London – focusing on the executive Mayor and Greater London Assembly – started as a radical innovation in 2000. Its generally successful development has sparked a slow, ‘organic’ spread of executive Mayors to other English cities and conurbations. As part of the 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Andrew Blick and Patrick Dunleavy explore how democratically and […]
The DUP’s extremist links make it unfit to join a Conservative alliance
Theresa May’s plans to broker a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party not only endanger the 1998 Belfast Agreement, writes James Hughes. They are likely to sour relations with the Republic of Ireland – just as sensitive negotiations over the border begin – and conveniently overlook the DUP’s links to violent extremism. Arlene Foster at a Remembrance […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.