Parliament
Democratic round-up: Parliamentary scrutiny of the UK’s security services
Tomorrow, for the first time, the heads of the three main UK security services will be questioned in public by members of the Houses of Parliament on the Joint Intelligence and Security Committee. Sean Kippin takes a look at the latest news about the session, the activities of the security agencies, and the effectiveness of […]
Replacing the Human Rights Act would be a risk that could backfire on the Conservatives
In opposition, David Cameron committed the Conservative Party to investigating the viability of replacing the Human Rights Act with a ‘British Bill of Rights’. But while this approach found favour in his party, there is every chance that his proposed replacement would fail to live up to Conservative expectations and traditions, and may not even […]
Book Review: The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived
This book provides the first detailed portrait of the post-1999 House of Lords, explaining who sits in the chamber, how it operates, and crucially what policy impact it has. Meg Russell aims to show that its membership is more diverse and modern than many would assume, and its influence on policy to be substantial. Gordon Bannerman concludes that this […]
Feral politics: searching for meaning in the 21st century
At the end of the party conference season, Matthew Flinders reflects on a ‘depressing display of the death of politics’, arguing that the parties failed to promote new ideas and offer fresh choices. He finds parallels in George Monbiot’s recent work on responding to ecological decline, and wonders whether ‘re-wilding’ politics could save the democratic […]
The Government needs to legislate to confirm Parliament’s role in conflict decisions
Parliament’s rejection of proposed British military intervention in Syria represented a constitutional landmark. Although Parliament lacks any formal role in the decision, the Prime Minister pledged to abide by MPs’ will. Graham Allen MP, chair of the Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee argues here that these events provide the opportunity to clarify Parliament’s war […]
The professionalisation of politics makes our democracy less representative and less accessible
The rise of the professional politician has been a noted trend in recent years. The leaders of our major parties reflect this – David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg were all political advisers before becoming MPs. Peter Allen has researched this phenomenon and argues that, although careerism is not quite as widespread as some […]
Changing the relationship between the civil service and Parliamentary committees could improve accountability
Select committees and Whitehall departments must improve their relationships to increase the effectiveness of civil servants’ accountability to Parliament. This requires action to be taken, and behaviour to change, on both sides, says Pepita Barlow of the Institute for Government. One part of the government’s civil service reform agenda that has received scant attention is […]
Parliamentary committees could hold the answer to Britain’s democratic decline
British democracy is stuck in a deflated, short-term trap thanks to a number of slow burning structural changes such as the rise of the 24 hour media. Here, Professor Ian Marsh, the author of ‘Democratic Decline and Democratic Renewal: Political Change in Britain, Australia and New Zealand’ argues that newly empowered Parliamentary committees hold the […]
The UK can learn from Canada in reforming trade union and corporate funding of parties
This morning the GMB trade union announced a significant cut in its funding of the Labour Party, following Ed Miliband’s proposals for reform of the party’s links with unions. In previous research for Democratic Audit, Stephen Crone examined how party funding had been reformed in Canada, which included a ban on trade union and corporate […]
Lobbyists and corporations have opportunities to exercise significant influence over UK public policy
MPs have this week been debating the government’s controversial Lobbying Bill, which has now concluded its committee stage in the House of Commons. In the 2012 audit of UK democracy, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Andrew Blick, and Stephen Crone considered the involvement of lobbyists in policy-making, noting previous attempts to ensure transparency. They also explored the other routes of influence that the private sector is […]
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