Opposition parties play a crucial role in parliamentary democracy, scrutinising the government and putting forward alternative policies. But what makes opposition parties effective, both inside parliament and beyond? As the Conservative Party announced its new leader, this expert panel with first-hand experience of life in opposition discussed the task facing them and the other opposition parties.

Speakers:

• Baroness (Kate) Fall – former Deputy Chief of Staff to David Cameron, and Conservative peer
• Professor Marc Stears – former chief speechwriter to the Labour Party, and Director of the UCL Policy Lab
• Dr Nigel Fletcher – co-founder of the Centre for Opposition Studies

Chair: Professor Meg Russell – Director of the Constitution Unit

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/

This autumn the House of Commons has elected a raft of new select committee chairs who will play an important role in holding the government to account over the coming years. But there are many ways to chair a select committee, and new chairs will need to think carefully about what they want to achieve and how to go about it.

This webinar brings together three senior former MPs and select committee chairs to discuss their experiences, and their reflections on how to use the role most effectively.

Speakers:

• Baroness (Margaret) Hodge of Barking – former chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, Labour peer, and former Labour MP
• Sir Charles Walker – former chair of the House of Commons Procedure Committee and Administration Committee, and former Conservative MP
• Joanna Cherry KC – former chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and former SNP MP

Chair: Lisa James – Senior Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/

The House of Commons has established a new Modernisation Committee with a remit ‘to consider reforms to House of Commons procedures, standards, and working practices’. This reflects a Labour manifesto commitment, and echoes the Modernisation Committee appointed in 1997 under the last Labour government.

As the committee gets up and running this autumn, it faces a number of important questions. How should it approach its work, what issues might it address, and what lessons can it learn from past efforts to reform the Commons? We discussed these questions with an expert panel.

Speakers:

• Greg Power – former special adviser to two Leaders of the House of Commons, and Founder and Board Chair of Global Partners Governance
• Dr Sue Griffiths – Clerk to the previous House of Commons Modernisation Committee 2007–08, and Managing Director of Social Development Direct
• Dr Tom Fleming – Lecturer in British and Comparative Politics, Constitution Unit

Chair: Professor Meg Russell – Director of the Constitution Unit

Useful reading:

• Commons Modernisation Committee publishes key strategic aims for reform
• The House of Commons Modernisation Committee: background, opportunities, and potential pitfalls by Tom Fleming and Hannah Kelly
• The personal side of parliamentary reform by Greg Power

For those interested in keeping up to date with the Modernisation Committee, you can subscribe to its email list using this link.

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/

The composition and role of the House of Lords are subject to frequent question. Since the last major change by a Labour government in 1999, proposals for further reform have ranged from wholesale change – e.g. creating an elected second chamber of the nations and regions – to smaller alterations to change the appointments system or to limit the chamber’s size. To what extent should a new government prioritise House of Lords reform, and what specifically should be the priorities? If the Conservatives lose office, what challenges might be posed by their still being the largest single group in the upper chamber?

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/

The role of courts and judges has been controversial in recent years, with criticism of both domestic judges and the European Court of Human Rights. Several government bills have raised difficult questions about the respective roles of government, parliament, and the courts. Has the rule of law been undermined by recent trends in policymaking or political discourse? If so, what should be done to bolster and protect it in the future?

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/

The last two decades have seen major changes in the structure of sub-national government within England, with the gradual devolution of powers to a range of new mayors and combined authorities. How should this patchwork of devolution be built upon? Should structures be more consistent across the country? Should further powers be devolved, and – if so – to whom? What steps are required to ensure that this devolved power faces appropriate scrutiny and accountability?

Speakers:

• Professor Tony Travers – Director of LSE London and Visiting Professor at the LSE
• Professor Joanie Willett – Associate Professor in Politics and Co-Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies, University of Exeter
• Akash Paun – Programme Director, Institute for Government
• Ed Cox – Executive Director for Strategy, Economy and Net Zero at the West Midlands Combined Authority

Chair: Professor Alan Renwick – Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/

The 2019–24 parliament has been dogged by complaints of low standards of conduct by our politicians. Rishi Sunak has committed to upholding the ideals of ‘integrity, professionalism, and accountability’, while Labour has promised to overhaul how standards are regulated in government and parliament. What are the priorities in this area for a new government to address? Does this require cultural changes, institutional reforms, or both? Which changes or reforms might be most effective?

Speakers:

• Dominic Grieve KC – Chair of the UK Governance Project, former Attorney General and Conservative MP
• Peter Riddell – former Commissioner for Public Appointments, Director of the Institute for Government and journalist
• Tim Durrant – Programme Director, Institute for Government

Chair: Professor Meg Russell FBA – Director of the Constitution Unit

Episode links:
The joint statement on standards

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/

The podcast originally appeared on 'Uncovering Politics' from UCL's Department of Political Science.

In the run up to the UK General Election we have a special episode on opinion polls.

Opinion polling is a staple of modern elections, captivating political enthusiasts with fluctuating numbers but also sparking controversy. Polls are sometimes criticized for inaccuracies, notably in the Brexit referendum and the 2016 US presidential election. Polling methods, including sampling and voter prediction, are hotly debated. The emergence of MRP polls, which accurately estimated results in the 2017 UK election, has added to the intrigue, despite producing widely varying predictions for the outcome of the current UK election. So what should we make of the polls? And how can we best interpret all the numbers to understand what’s really going on?

Our guest is Prof Ben Lauderdale. Ben is Professor of Political Science here at UCL, a former Senior Data Science Advisor to the polling firm YouGov, the original brain behind the development of MRP methods and general polling guru.

UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy offers a uniquely stimulating environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory, human rights, public policy-making and administration. The Department is recognised for its world-class research and policy impact, ranking among the top departments in the UK on both the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the latest Guardian rankings.

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/