Parliament
With less than 36.8% of MEPs being women, raising the number of female representatives should be a key priority for EU democracy
Procedures for raising the number of female politicians in parliaments and governments have been a key focus in several European states over recent decades. Máriam Martínez-Bascuñán writes that the issue should be seen not simply as a procedural one, but as a fundamental element of democracy. She argues thatthe issue of women’s representation is an indicator of […]
The House of Lords leadership row highlights the weaknesses in both Number 10’s decision-making and the current statutory provisions
The Prime Minister has angered peers by appointing Baroness Stowell as Leader of the House of Lords without appointing her to the Cabinet. In a scathing debate last Monday David Cameron was criticised for diminishing the status of the Lords Leader, and thus the chamber itself. Meg Russell and Robert Hazell highlight that the row, and the proposed solutions, […]
Meaningful scrutiny, or a PR stunt? Experts respond to Ed Miliband’s proposal for a ‘Public PMQs’
Is Ed Miliband’s idea for a “public Prime Minister’s Questions” a good one? Following on from part one of our ‘Ask the Experts’ piece, we asked the Hansard Society’s Matt Korris, Huddersfield University’s Andy Mycock, and Christina Leston-Bandeira to join Democratic Audit’s Sean Kippin in giving their view on whether this is a public relations […]
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 […]
Engaging the already engaged, or letting people into politics? Experts respond to Ed Miliband’s proposal for a ‘Public PMQs’
Ed Miliband recently announced his desire for a new kind of Prime Ministers Questions, in which members of the public were invited to put the PM under scrutiny. Democratic Audit asked experts to respond to the proposal, with a seeming consensus that the idea isn’t necessarily a bad one, but doesn’t particularly amount to much […]
The pressure is growing for Commons bill committee reform
In June 2013 the Constitution Unit published Fitting the Bill: Bringing Commons Legislation Committees into Line with Best Practice, proposing a series of changes to Commons bill committees. Last week the issue was brought back into the headlines, as John Bercow emphasised the need for reform, says Meg Russell. Similar PostsThe Speaker election row tells us […]
Despite the reshuffle, we are still a long way from a 50:50 gender balanced Parliament
Much has been made of the addition of a number of extra women to the Cabinet following David Cameron’s recent ministerial reshuffle. But despite the headlines, the UK still lags terribly behind other countries in terms of the levels of women in Parliament. Frances Scott, who is campaigning for a 50:50 balance in Parliament, argues […]
All women shortlists are anti-meritocratic tokenism at its worst
All-women-shortlists are back on the agenda, with the Conservative Party’s Nicky Morgan suggesting that the party would be open to following Labour in their introduction. Here, Annunziata Rees-Mogg – a Conservative candidate at the 2010 General Election – argues against their use, describing them as tokenistic and anti-meritocratic, and puts the case for open primaries as a better […]
Mapping the path to codifying – or not codifying – the UK’s Constitution
Does the UK need a written a constitution? While the case for codifying our rights and putting them beyond the meddling of politicians and civil servants seems to be very strong, some prefer the current collection of legal, social and political customs and convention. In launching a new report on the UK’s constitution, the Chair […]
Connecting knowledge to power: the future of digital democracy in the UK
Since its invention, the internet has been considered a ‘game-changer’ when it comes to democracy, with a worldwide network providing the potential to create a truly participatory democracy. This has yet to happen, but numerous individuals and groups are beginning to ask what can be done to marry the internet with representative democracy, including the […]
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