Achieving accountable government
Book Review: The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy from World War I to the Present by David Runciman
In David Runciman’s new book on the nature of democratic crisis, the author looks at a history of such events from the early 20th Century to today. In doing so, he makes the argument that democracy is good at ‘muddling through’ crises, but less good at the long-term planning which averts them. Sean Kippin argues that it is a useful […]
The Pickles-Paterson floods spat highlights the true, top-down nature of UK policymaking
A top-down centralised decision-making process and government functions working in silos are not new features of UK politics, writes Daniel Fitzpatrick. But as communities across the UK experience misery due to flooding, it seems these deeply entrenched pathologies of policymaking are increasingly out of step with the ‘wicked’ issues that society is facing. Similar Posts
The Cabinet Manual is constitutionally problematic because it expresses only the Executive’s views
In 2010, the then-Government published the Cabinet Manual, which was at the time seen as a first step towards the formal codification of the British constitution. While its introduction is likely to have a significant impact on the influence of convention in Government, the domination of the production of the manual and a number of […]
Appointments to public bodies are fraught with issues regarding executive control, politicisation and ministerial accountability
The recent row triggered by the decision of Michael Gove to not re-appoint the Labour Peer Baroness Morgan to a second term as the Chair of Ofsted has been subject to severe criticism, with many observers suggesting that it marks the latest instalment in a systematic purge of non-Conservative figures who head public bodies. In assessing the politics […]
Mark Harper’s resignation may ultimately represent his best route back to ministerial office
The Conservative MP for the Forest of Dean, Mark Harper, recently resigned as Immigration Minister over paperwork irregularities with his cleaner. However, this need not necessarily mean the end of his ministerial career. Indeed, given the Conservatives’ pressing need to win constituencies like his at the 2015 General Election, the extra time he now has […]
More women in Government: time for gender quotas
The current Government is notably male dominated, with both coalition partners having historical difficulties in attracting talented women to their ranks. This under-representation of women has a number of undesirable consequences, including largely shutting half the population out of the policymaking process. Claire Annesley argues that gender quotas in the executive would be the best way […]
British democracy continues to be troubled by the issue of standards in public life
The powerful Committee on Standards in Public Life has had a number of notable achievements in recent years. Despite this, argues David Hine, standards issue continue to be problematic in British democracy. This is due to a number of factors including a trend toward increasingly tough rules, the lack of shared definitions of an ethical […]
The Ofsted row obscures some important facts about public appointments
The decision of the Education Secretary Michael Gove to not renew the Chair of Ofsted Baroness Sally Morgan’s contract has created a political row, both between the Conservatives and Labour on the one hand, and within the Coalition on the other. In assessing the row, the Director of the Institute for Government Peter Riddell argues that there […]
EU’s anti-corruption report shows 69% of UK citizens see our media as corrupt, 55% for Parliament, and 24% for the judiciary
This week, the EU published its first Anti-Corruption Report. It looks at corruption and anti-corruption measures in EU member states – and has naturally been controversial, being therefore serially delayed as the Commission plucked up the courage to publish it. Transparency International’s Robert Barrington argues that the report is a welcome is welcome, timely, and worrying. Similar PostsThe […]
Taking democracy seriously demands that we identify and address the danger of oligarchy
Republican political theory has undergone a renaissance in recent years. Philip Pettit and Quentin Skinner have identified a certain understanding of liberty as central to republicanism and Pettit argues that we must make democratic institutions ‘contestatory’ to secure liberty in this sense. John McCormick, drawing on Machiavelli, argues that we need to be alert to […]
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