Achieving accountable government
Straitjacketing the state: Local and national governments have lost power over specific areas of public service governance to Brussels
When it comes to public service delivery, Europeanisation is becoming a ‘ball and chain’ for domestic policy-makers, argues Judith Clifton. She claims that the EU has, gradually and subtly, created an ever more important layer of governance over how public services can be delivered, effectively straightjacketing the state. Similar PostsThe future for Local Government in England […]
Parliamentary administrations: an important pillar in the parliamentary scrutiny of EU affairs
National Parliaments were given new powers of control in the most recent European Treaty, the Treaty of Lisbon. The aim was to bring EU issues closer to the citizens and to generate more political debate on a European Union that is often seen as being overly bureaucratic and technocratic. However, parliaments are not just composed […]
Reforming laws on free movement will be a headache for any future government
Immigration will be one of the defining issues of the General Election, with Labour and the Conservatives responding to UKIP’s hardline, anti-EU stance with tough and supposedly crowd-pleasing measures of their own. Here, Marley Morris argues that freedom of movement rules are something that any party is going to struggle to reform after the general election. […]
20 things we learned about democracy in March 2015
The General Election is (nearly) here! And here at Democratic Audit UK, we’ve been ferreting away trying to find the most interesting clumps of information, conjecture, opinion and miscellaneous. Collating it all for your pleasure, as ever, is Sean Kippin, who has been helped enormously by the launch of the Democratic Dashboard – a new voter resource bringing […]
Implementing the recommendations of the Digital Democracy Commission: Where to now?
Last week saw a Westminster Hall debate to discuss the report of the Speaker’s Commission on Digital Democracy. Andy Williamson argues that while concrete steps are being taken to implement some of the recommendations, greater drive will be needed to create a coherent long-term programme for the digital modernisation of Parliament. Similar PostsDigital technology can […]
As long as politicians continue to ignore the concerns of the public, satisfaction with democracy will continue to decline
Political disengagement is one of the defining challenges of our time, with multiple theories as to why the public continues to drift away from democracy and the political system. Stefanie Reher argues that one factor in advanced democracies is the perceived inability of the political class to pay attention to the actual opinions and concerns […]
Why political context is key in determining the parties interest groups choose to collaborate with
When interest groups choose to collaborate with political parties what determines the type of party they opt to work with? Anne Rasmussen and Simon Otjes write that the two key elements shaping this decision are typically the ideological similarities between the interest group and the party, together with how powerful the party is in terms of […]
Should the UK stay or go? The economic consequences of Britain leaving the EU
How would a British exit from the EU affect the UK’s economy? Swati Dhingra, Gianmarco Ottaviano and Thomas Sampson outline the economic consequences of a Brexit, writing that reduced integration with EU countries is likely to cost the UK economy far more than is gained from lower contributions to the EU budget. Similar PostsThe ‘Britain Alone’ scenario: how […]
It is time to adopt a different approach to appointing members of the Intelligence and Security Committee
The Intelligence and Security Committee which oversees Britain’s Security Services (MI5, SIS, and GCHQ) has come under sustained scrutiny for its perceived reluctance to exert scrutiny over those it is tasked with watching. Andrew Defty argues that recent events show the need to change the appointments procedure in order to buck the trend of appointing […]
Political motivation is crucial for parliamentary behaviour in the EU’s Early Warning System
Since the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, national parliaments have had the right to intervene early on in the decision making process of European Union. Katjana Gatterman and Claudia Hefftler share research which shows that parliamentary activity in what is called the Early Warning System is particularly triggered by party political contestation over EU integration and […]
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