Building sub-national government
20 things we learned about democracy in August 2014
Parliament was in recess throughout August, despite calls for its recall. Even so, none of this meant that British democracy stopped last month, with numerous interesting facts, factoids, and observations revealing themselves. Sean Kippin of Democratic Audit selects the best and most interesting. Similar Posts20 things we learned about democracy in March 201520 things we […]
As Scotland decides its future, lie back and think of England
England is unique amongst the constituent nations of the United Kingdom in being directly governed from Whitehall and Westminster, with Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland all enjoying differing degrees of autonomy over their own affairs. Recent polling has showed that the English people are broadly in favour greater powers for England and Eunice Goes argues that […]
Scotland and Catalonia would face very real challenges in making a seamless transition to EU membership after independence
Independence campaigners in both Scotland and Catalonia have advocated retaining their EU membership post-independence. Merijn Chamon and Guillaume Van der Loo assess the legal basis on which subnational entities could maintain EU membership after declaring independence. They write that while the EU treaties make no explicit reference to this situation, it would be difficult for a seamless transition to […]
Even decentralised parties aren’t immune from the instinct to centralise
Green Parties are often decentralised and highly internally democratic. But how do decentralised party arrangements respond to power, or proximity to power? Looking at the case of the Australian Greens, Narelle Miragliotta and Stewart Jackson find that there has been gradual growth of the party’s national level, even in spite of formal provisions which guarantee the […]
If Westminster politicians think that a No vote in the referendum represents a final victory, they are in for a rude surprise
The Scottish independence referendum is now coming into clear sight, with only a month or so to go before polling day. Here, Emran Mian argues that a ‘No’ vote, which looks increasingly likely, would not necessarily represent a final victory over Scottish nationalism. Instead, much would still be up for debate, and the prospect of Alex […]
If the rest of the country is to catch up to London, we need a Great North Plan
Since the introduction of the London mayoralty, London has enjoyed a level of strategic planning which has allowed it to speak with one voice in putting the case for greater infrastructure and economic development. The rest of the country does have this advantage, and IPPR North’s Bill Davies argues that in order to bridge the […]
The Darling-Salmond TV debate offered a poor account of Scottish democracy
The much anticipated debate between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling occurred yesterday. Craig McAngus summarises the debate, writing that, though civic engagement is alive and well in Scotland thanks to the referendum debate which has stimulated discussion amongst Scots at the grassroots level about key existential questions, the ‘big debate’ was a very poor example of democracy in action. […]
The Scottish currency issue has mercilessly exposed the contradictions between the SNP’s twin postures of liberation and compromise
The Scottish National Party had long advocated a policy of European integration combined with independence from the UK, however the financial and Eurozone crises have seen the SNP become stuck between the competing poles of liberation and compromise. James Stafford argues that the the financial crisis has transformed the debate over Scottish independence – to […]
Democratic round-up: the Salmond/Darling Scottish independence debate
Last night, the First Minister of Scotland, the Scottish National Party’s Alex Salmond went head-to-head with the Better Together campaign’s Chairman, and the former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alastair Darling. Here, Democratic Audit’s Sean Kippin rounds up the response from the blogosphere, academia, and our esteemed newspaper columnists. Similar Posts20 things we learned about […]
20 things we learned about democracy in July 2014
July 2014 was a quieter month for democracy, with things settling down into a lull for the summer. But that doesn’t mean that nothing of note happened, with Sean Kippin bringing you the latest instalment of our 20 things we learned about democracy series, which is once again bursting with choice nuggets of democracy information […]
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