Labour

David Butler wrote in 1997 in his introduction to the definitive guide to the by-election:  They may offer some guide to the public mood; but who now would dare to give a figure for the likely difference between a by-election … [Read more...] about The High-Stakes and Rather Unusual Makerfield By-Election

Keir Starmer’s premiership is certainly struggling to sustain any forward momentum. One of the many accusations thrown at the Prime Minister relates to the multiple policy U-turns that he and his government have performed since coming to power in … [Read more...] about Government U-Turns: Feeble Politics or Valuable Pragmatism?

The Labour Party’s decision to prevent Andy Burnham, the directly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester, from standing as a parliamentary candidate in the forthcoming Gorton and Denton by-election has largely been treated as an episode of internal … [Read more...] about Our Elections are in a Chokehold: The Burnham Example

The introduction of a national digital ID scheme wasn’t in the 2024 Labour Party manifesto. It now seems a significant omission. National ID schemes have a rather chequered history, and Labour preferred not to reignite the debate during the general … [Read more...] about Identity – The Crisis You Can’t See: Time for digital ID?

Party conferences are weird things. Part political rally, part fund-raiser and part HR team-building exercise, they arguably fulfil none of these functions satisfactorily. And depending on one’s motivation for attending, the same conference can … [Read more...] about The Constitution at the Conferences: our Annual Review

For more than a decade, the question of Scotland’s place in the UK was at the front and centre of political debate – a determiner of voter behaviour and a precursor to the Scottish government’s legislative agenda. Through, and as a consequence of, … [Read more...] about A Quiet Union: The Calm Before the Storm?

English devolution has long been presented as decentralising political power. More often, it simply reinforces Westminster’s control. While the Labour Party was elected last year promising to take power away from SW1, early signs are that the Party’s … [Read more...] about Labour’s English Devolution Plans Risk More of the Same

The decision of the Labour Government to effectively close down NHS (England) came as a surprise to many. Although Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, had indicated he wanted to curtail NHS(E), outright abolition was not … [Read more...] about NHS (England): The Death of the Government “Agency”?

Voters in the Republic of Ireland went to the polls in late November. After several rounds of counting in the complex proportional representation system, Fianna Fáil proved the winner, securing 48 of the 174 seats available, ahead of Sinn Féin on 39 … [Read more...] about How Dublin’s Next Coalition Could Define Northern Ireland’s Destiny

One of Donald Trump’s favourite complaints is about what he calls “election interference”. He throws the accusation around a bit like confetti – or is the correct term chaff? A recent example – and most noticed in the UK - has been his accusation … [Read more...] about Have Labour interfered in the US election?

What honeymoon? Since the election three months ago, the new government’s faced endless Sue Gray stories, losing a conference vote about the winter fuel payment cut, the small matter of riots across the UK… And now, Taylor Swift. Specifically, … [Read more...] about Non-Executive Directors in the Civil Service: NEDs Explained

Introduction  Whether politics has been subject to presidentialisation or Prime Ministerialisation within the United Kingdom’s parliamentary system is an ongoing debate. In my fellowship report for the Constitution Society, I … [Read more...] about Reversing the semi-presidency: are Labour’s proposals enough?