Building sub-national government
Devolution in the North of England: time to bring the people into the debate?
The referendum in Scotland has created impetus for a redistribution of power within England, with attempts to bring greater devolution to the North of England in particular. But who will determine the shape of this – Westminster, local elites or local citizens, asks Arianna Giovannini. In the wake of the Scottish independence referendum, the ‘English Question’ has […]
A political earthquake is forecast for Scotland – but will there be a ‘genderquake’?
The aftermath of the Scottish Independence Referendum has seen an enormous spike in support for the Scottish National Party, with polling showing that Labour north of the border may find themselves reduced to a rump of MPs in the House of Commons. But what role has gender played in these events, ask Meryl Kenny and […]
A referendum on Britain’s EU membership is a sure fire way to encourage the breakup of the UK
David Cameron has pledged to hold a referendum on the UK’s EU membership if his Conservative party wins a majority at the British general election in May. Jo Murkens writes on the impact an EU referendum would have on the UK’s place in Europe and on the UK as a whole. He argues that the […]
The Wales Bill could have far reaching consequences for the governance of the whole UK
Amidst the noise of the fallout from the Scottish independence referendum, the issue of what will happen next in Wales has been largely missed. Although independence isn’t on the cards, the forthcoming Wales Bill, if it survives current political wrangling, could have a profound effect on governance of Wales and the whole UK, argues David S. […]
20 things we learned about democracy in February 2015
February is the shortest month of the year, but with May’s General Election waddling ever closer, democracy factoids are never far away. Here, Democratic Audit UK’s Sean Kippin rounds up 20 more inane, amusing, and occasionally interesting bits of trivia and research for your amusement. Similar Posts20 things we learned about democracy in March 201520 […]
Four options for configuring the British constitution
With the SNP surging in Scotland and the break up of the union as plausible as it has ever been. What are the different options for configuring the UK state? In this article, Andrew Blick writes about what the constitutional future might look like. Similar PostsThe Smith Commission Report is short, but packs a big […]
‘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’, […]
A good servant but a poor master: the difficulties of proposing a written UK constitution in aftermath of the independence referendum
How do you write a constitution for a state in which 45% of the population of one of its founding partners voted to leave a political Union which it helped to create over 300 years ago? It certainly is difficult, and probably impossible. Why should that be? David McCrone does his best to answer. Similar PostsAn […]
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 […]
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