If we really want to address elitism in this country we must be willing to take very seriously the ‘class ceiling’
The hidden barriers, or ‘glass ceiling’, preventing women from getting to the top are well documented. But as Sam Friedman and Daniel Laurison explain, the upwardly mobile also face a powerful and previously unrecognised ‘class ceiling’ within Britain’s elite occupations. Similar Posts‘Stuck in their ways’: how we blame the poor for their failure to embrace globalisationThe […]
While far from perfect, the work of bill committees should not be underestimated
A recent article on Democratic Audit UK by the authors of a report by the think tank Reform argued that bill committees in the House of Commons carry out inadequate scrutiny of legislation. Here, Louise Thompson responds, arguing that bill committees aren’t as ineffective as the Reform authors suggest, and questions whether their suggestion to […]
Straitjacketing the state: Local and national governments have lost power over specific areas of public service governance to Brussels
When it comes to public service delivery, Europeanisation is becoming a ‘ball and chain’ for domestic policy-makers, argues Judith Clifton. She claims that the EU has, gradually and subtly, created an ever more important layer of governance over how public services can be delivered, effectively straightjacketing the state. Similar PostsThe future for Local Government in England […]
Parliamentary administrations: an important pillar in the parliamentary scrutiny of EU affairs
National Parliaments were given new powers of control in the most recent European Treaty, the Treaty of Lisbon. The aim was to bring EU issues closer to the citizens and to generate more political debate on a European Union that is often seen as being overly bureaucratic and technocratic. However, parliaments are not just composed […]
East of England – tired of being forgotten?
Throughout the short campaign, this blog will be publishing a series of posts that focus on each of the electoral regions in the UK. In this post, Nick Wright discusses the key things to look out for in the East of England. To find out more about the East of England region from the Democratic […]
Reforming laws on free movement will be a headache for any future government
Immigration will be one of the defining issues of the General Election, with Labour and the Conservatives responding to UKIP’s hardline, anti-EU stance with tough and supposedly crowd-pleasing measures of their own. Here, Marley Morris argues that freedom of movement rules are something that any party is going to struggle to reform after the general election. […]
The House of Commons Liaison Committee needs reform if it is to fulfil its potential
Last week the House of Commons Liaison Committee – the Committee made up of the Chairs of the House’s 34 select committees – has published its Legacy Report on select committees in the 2010-15 parliament. Hannah White assesses the report and argues for reform of the Liaison Committee itself. Similar PostsBedding down, treading water and taking […]
20 things we learned about democracy in March 2015
The General Election is (nearly) here! And here at Democratic Audit UK, we’ve been ferreting away trying to find the most interesting clumps of information, conjecture, opinion and miscellaneous. Collating it all for your pleasure, as ever, is Sean Kippin, who has been helped enormously by the launch of the Democratic Dashboard – a new voter resource bringing […]
Devolution in the North of England: time to bring the people into the debate?
The referendum in Scotland has created impetus for a redistribution of power within England, with attempts to bring greater devolution to the North of England in particular. But who will determine the shape of this – Westminster, local elites or local citizens, asks Arianna Giovannini. In the wake of the Scottish independence referendum, the ‘English Question’ has […]
We shouldn’t focus solely on the Syria vote when assessing Parliament’s power over military deployments
In August 2013, the House of Commons rejected a Government proposal to intervene in Syria following that country’s regime’s use of chemical weapons. The vote proved to be most consequential, with some arguing that it led to the United States ultimately withdrawing its proposals to lead the campaign against the Syrian tyrant Bashar Al-Assad. Louise […]
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