Achieving accountable government
‘Supply side’ deficiencies in our parties, parliament, and local government each contribute to our democratic malaise
Explanations for the decline in political disengagement often focus on what can be loosely termed the ‘demand side’, with the electorate seeming to foot the blame of not fully understanding the complexities and limitations of our democratic system, but is this right? Colin Talbot argues that more attention should be paid to the ‘supply side’, […]
Data journalism may be helping to solidify the divide between those who can afford to be in engaged in the political process and the rest
Many have welcomed the increased role of data journalism, praising its capacity to shed light on the cold hard facts which were often at the mercy of ideology and conjecture. But what role doesit play in fostering (or discouraging) citizen engagement? Tom Felle argues that it may in fact help to solidify the emerging gap […]
The House of Commons is the most vulnerable to lobbying of any of the UK’s legislatures
How concerned should we be about lobbying? Very, according to the campaign organisation Transparency International in this blog by their director Robert Barrington. Their new report argues that lobbying is a serious problem, that it cannot be tackled in isolation from other related issues, that the system is beset by loopholes, and that the House […]
The ‘Je suis Charlie’ movement is indeed polarising and divisive, but the division it creates is necessary for the enjoyment of liberal freedoms
In the wake of the attack in Paris on the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, discussion has centred around freedo of speech and whether Charlie Hebdo had gone too far in offending others. Paula Zoido-Oses writes that being offended is the small and unavoidable fee we all have to pay in order to enjoy liberal freedoms. Far from being […]
The tyranny of the short-term: why democracy struggles with issues like climate change
Climate scientists are almost united on the reality of climate change, and the dangers its possesses. But democratic governemnts worldwide seem to be falling short of the challenge of halting it, or at least mitigating its worst effects. Jørgen Randers argues that the tyranny of the short term is preventing democracy from bringing forward the necessary […]
Why the UK needs improved caretaker conventions before the May 2015 general election
In 2010, the UK’s underspecified caretaker conventions caused the “Squatter in Downing Street” controversy, when Gordon Brown remained in office after Labour’s election defeat, pending the completion of the coalition negotiations. Pollsters predict another hung parliament in May this year and potentially protracted coalition negotiations. Yet, the country still lacks adequate rules to govern caretaker […]
The expansion of arms-length government is not necessarily at odds with democratic accountability
How democratic is arms-length government? Catherine Durose, Jonathan B. Justice and Chris Skelcher argue that those who consider it to be an undemocratic phenomenon over-simplify, and make the case for assessing the question in a more citizen and community focussed manner. Similar PostsNot all scrutiny is equal: how parliaments vary in scrutinising the implementation of legislationWhen […]
Political gridlock may be coming – and it may be no bad thing
The United States has seen legislative gridlock take hold under successive congresses, with representatives and senators either unable or unwilling to work across party lines for largely political reasons. Anthony Painter argues that the same might be about to happen in the UK, with an indecisive election likely in May of this year. He further […]
20 things we learned about democracy in January 2015
Christmas is over, 2015 is here, and the General Election we are constantly being told is only a matter of (tens of) days away. As the locomotive that is British democracy chugs back into gear after its winter break, we are left, as ever, questioning whether we actually learned anything new. Fortunately, Democratic Audit UK’s Sean […]
Constitutional issues look set to only have a marginal influence on the General Election, at least in England
The referendum on Scottish independence held in late September of last year brought constitutional issues to the fore of the political debate on both sides of the border, with Westminster parties seeming to agree that the proposals of the Smith Commission should be implemented sooner rather than later. Paul Cairney argues that despite this newfound focus on […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.