UK immigration detention: What sort of reform, and when?
Immigration detainees in the UK face the largest detention estate in Europe, with physical infrastructure and regimes of surveillance and control adapted from penal institutions. Because the UK has no time limit on stays in detention, the psychological harm to detainees can be serious. An upper threshold would go some way to correct this deficiency and its harms. Consideration must also be given to replacing detention altogether with non-custodial, community-based programs of assisting, monitoring, and humanely shepherding […]
The SNP’s exponential rise is throwing the British system of government into turmoil
The General Election of 2015 looks set to be an exceptionally good one for the SNP, who look set to not only supplant Labour as the largest party north of the border, but to rout it. Sean Swan argues that this could see considerable change in the way British politics is conducted in future, particularly […]
Newspapers focus on who MEPs are rather than on what they do in the European Parliament
For the European Parliament to confer legitimacy on the EU’s legislative process it is necessary for voters to be aware of the actions taken by MEPs. But how do newspapers cover the work of the Parliament? Based on a study of newspaper coverage of 302 MEPs, Katjana Gattermann and Sofia Vasilopoulou write that the visibility of […]
Interview: Tim Bale on Ed Miliband’s ‘presentationally weak, but strategically astute’ leadership of the Labour Party
Ed Miliband has been Leader of the Labour Party for almost five years, having been elected in the summer of 2010, following one of Labour’s worst ever election defeats. Despite many criticising his performance as Leader of the Opposition, he has the party on the cusp of regaining power – al biet as part of […]
Britain’s voting system is partially responsible for holding back women’s representation
The proportion of women elected to parliament in the UK remains low compared to other countries. In this post, Chris Terry examines the gender balance of parliamentary candidates for the upcoming election, and concludes that some progress is being made. Nevertheless, he suggests switching to a system of proportional representation would increase the descriptive representation […]
A review of the top Voter Advice Applications for the 2015 General Election
Ahead of May 7th General Election, there are more Voter Advice Applications than ever before. These webpages and apps allow voters to see which party best matches their views on policies, helping to better inform voter choice and to encourage voter participation. We asked LSE USApp’s Chris Gilson to review this election’s top VAA’s, with the results […]
The Speaker election row tells us two important things about parliament
On 26 March, its final sitting day, the House of Commons rejected government proposals to reform how the Speaker is elected at the start of the new parliament. Here Meg Russell reflects on what this teaches us about parliament, suggesting it holds two lessons. First, that the 2010 House of Commons was more resistant than […]
National parliaments are not the losers of EU integration – at least not anymore
Eurosceptics like to argue that Parliament has become in part redundant following transfers of power from the national to the European level. Katrin Auel, Olivier Rozenberg, and Angela Tacea argue that contrary to this, national parliaments in Europe have not become inconsequential in making policy at the European Union level in the wake of the Lisbon […]
Book Review: Britain’s Nuclear Experience: The Roles of Beliefs, Culture and Identity
This book examines Britain’s nuclear experience by moving away from traditional interpretations of why states develop and maintain nuclear weapons by adopting a more contemporary approach to political theory. Michael Warren finds this is a thorough, yet accessible examination of the thought processes of the decision-making core of politicians, civil servants and military leaders. Similar PostsThe […]
Who forms the UK government in the event of a hung parliament?
The polls continue to predict a hung parliament after the May 2015 election in which more than one potential government could be viable. In this context, Petra Schleiter and Valerie Belu ask how government formation negotiations will proceed and which actors will have a privileged role in the bargaining process? Similar PostsWhy the UK needs improved caretaker conventions before the […]
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