The 2017 Audit of UK Democracy
Audit 2017: How democratic is local government in England?
England (outside Greater London) is one of the largest areas in the liberal democratic world that still lack any form of regional governance. Here, local authorities are the only other tier of elected government and they play a key role in the democratic life of cities, towns and regions. As part of the 2017 Audit of […]
Audit 2017: How democratically organised and effective are the London boroughs in serving the capital’s population?
Within London the 32 London boroughs undertake most local services provision and planning, and play a major role in shaping the capital’s evolution. As part of our 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Tony Travers looks at how well they fulfil their roles. A protest against the closure of libraries in Lambeth, 2015. Photo: Steve Eason via […]
Audit 2017: How representative and effective are the UK civil service and the wider public services management system?
As part of our 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Patrick Dunleavy looks at how well the administrative wings of the British state operate – especially the traditionally dominant civil service headquartered in Whitehall, but also the wider administration of key public services, notably the NHS, policing and local government administrations. Are public managers at all levels […]
Audit 2017: How strong is the democratic integrity of UK elections? Are turnout, candidacies and participation maximised?
Across the world, there are many countries ‘where elections take place but are rigged by governments or unfairly conducted. And even in core liberal democracies (like the United States) political parties have now become deeply involved in gerrymandering constituencies and partisan efforts at ‘voter suppression’. As part of our 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Toby S […]
Audit 2017: How democratic is the basic constitutional law of the UK?
The foundations of any liberal democracy lie with its constitutional arrangements, which in the UK are famously diverse and uncodified, with no single written ‘constitution’ document. As part of our 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Michael Gordon looks at how to assess the democratic basis of constitutional law, and how well recent experience suggests that the […]
Audit 2017: How democratic and effective are the UK’s core executive and government system?
As part of our 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Patrick Dunleavy looks at how well the dominant centre of power in the British state operates – spanning the Prime Minister, Cabinet, cabinet committees, ministers and critical central departments. How effectively does this ‘core executive’, and the rest of Whitehall government, consistently serve UK citizens’ interests? How […]
Audit 2017: How democratic is the overall set-up of devolved government within the UK?
Devolution in the UK encompasses a range of quite different solutions in three countries (Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), plus lesser delegations of powers to London and some English cities. Designed to meet specific demands for national or regional control and to bring government closer to citizens, there are important issues around the stability and […]
Audit 2017: How democratic is the protection of workers’ rights within the UK?
During the 20th century, developed societies increasingly accepted that democracy could not stop at politics, and had to extend to aspects of the economy as well. Democracy in the economy began – and continues – with workers’ rights. As part of the 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Ewan McGaughey and the Democratic Audit team explore how far they have […]
Audit 2017: How democratic are the key institutions of devolved government in Wales?
Devolved government in Wales started as a radical innovation in bringing government closer to citizen. Its generally successful development has generated great expectations about the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh government acquiring more powers – and perhaps being reformed in some respects. As part of the 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Jac Larner […]
Audit 2017: How democratic is the devolved government of London?
Devolved government in London – focusing on the executive Mayor and Greater London Assembly – started as a radical innovation in 2000. Its generally successful development has sparked a slow, ‘organic’ spread of executive Mayors to other English cities and conurbations. As part of the 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Andrew Blick and Patrick Dunleavy explore how democratically and […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.