parliament – Page 2

‘Neither Unified, Nor Uniform – So What Civil Service for the Twenty-First Century?

By Francesca Gains and Dave Richards Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 26, 2015

In the final part of our special series on the Civil Service, Francesca Gains and Dave Richards sum up the debate and assess the future of the service during a period of great change. The most striking theme to emerge from the Policy@Manchester series of Civil Service ‘stocking-taking’ blogs by Martin Stanley and Colin Talbot […]

Civil Service Accountability to the Public Part III

By Martin Stanley Filed Under: All posts, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 23, 2015

In the latest blog in our series on the Civil Service , Martin Stanley continues his examination of whether senior officials should be more accountable – especially to MPs – for the advice that they give to Ministers. Whatever the strength of the arguments for and against greater civil service accountability, there does seem to […]

Continuity and Change in the Civil Service III: Changing Accountability

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 21, 2015

The unwritten British constitution as it affects Civil Service accountability – especially to Parliament – is going through an incremental, but very significant, change, argues Professor Colin Talbot. At the heart of the British constitution lies the concept of separation of the administrative elite from the political elite. This is very different from other countries […]

Civil Service Accountability to the Public part II

By Martin Stanley Filed Under: Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 19, 2015

In the second of three blogs Martin Stanley examines whether senior officials should be more accountable – especially to MPs – for the advice that they give to Ministers. This is the fourth post in our series on the Civil Service. How would officials react to greater public scrutiny? Most of them, I suspect, would […]

By admitting women bishops, Church may avoid closer scrutiny of gender inequality

By Kate Cooper Filed Under: Featured Posted: July 16, 2014

The decision of the General Synod to allow women to become bishops ends an unpopular (if legally protected) policy of gender discrimination. It brings the Church of England into the modern world while drawing on ancient traditions of shared leadership, explains Professor Kate Cooper. A collective sigh of relief could be heard round the Anglican […]

Nomination of Mr Juncker – A tentative step forward for European democracy?

By Georgios Papanagnou Filed Under: All posts, Europe, Featured Posted: July 1, 2014

David Cameron failed to block Jean Claude Juncker from being nominated by the European Council for the post of European Commission President. Dr. Georgios Papanagnou takes a look at some of the weaknesses in the campaigns by Cameron and the British media. In the end “this time was not so much different” – Jean Claude […]

Fixing our European Parliament is first step to greater democracy

By Georgios Papanagnou Filed Under: Europe, Featured Posted: May 21, 2014

A series of reforms that started roughly around the late 1970s have transformed the European Parliament from an ineffective institution to an assembly with significant powers, writes Dr Georgios Papanagnou. But he argues that there is much still to be done – and this should be an urgent priority for the European political class. There […]

Will tomorrow be a turning point in British politics?

By Ed Cox Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted: May 21, 2014

This year’s European elections and Scottish referendum may signify a more profound change in British politics than the General Election in 2015, writes Ed Cox. Taken together, they present an opportunity for the people of the United Kingdom to send a clear message to the mainstream political parties. Tomorrow’s local and European elections are not […]

How and when will the Coalition end?

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: February 17, 2014

As our Coalition Government moves inexorably towards its end, what are the factors and events that will determine how and when the formal dissolution takes place? Speculation is starting to build, says Prof Colin Talbot, not least because of obvious ‘distancing’ tactics being adopted by both the partners to the Coalition. We have 15 months […]

The prospects for a dramatically more representative Parliament post 2015 are bleak

By Catherine Durose, Francesca Gains, Liz Richardson, Ryan Combs and Christina Eason Filed Under: Westminster Watch Posted: January 31, 2014

The next election is an unknown quantity, with pundits and pollsters both divided on the likely outcome. However one thing is becoming increasingly clear: there is unlikely to be a large-scale move towards a realignment in the House of Commons, with party selectorates continuing to exert influence which amounts to a continuation of a white, […]