I began my academic career specialising in voting behaviour in the House of Commons, in particular intra-party dissent by Members. This entailed manually checking every division list. For my doctoral research, I estimate I read over 3,000 division lists, with the number of names running into seven figures, in order to identify any Members voting against…
Much of the current spotlight on the UK Parliament is focussed on the Scottish devolution proposals, which were debated fiercely in the Commons, yesterday. This has spearheaded a much needed public discussion about devolution and I welcome these new opportunities. However, as well as being an important issue for Scotland, these debates are equally vital for…
On December 17 2010, a young Tunisian man set himself on fire. This desperate act helped to spark a political revolution in the Arab world. Images of people revolting against notoriously oppressive regimes captivated onlookers worldwide. More than a year later, the world is indeed a different place – long-term dictators have been unseated, governments…
This picture and story is for anyone who can’t be bothered voting. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/23/tunisians-flock-to-vote-free-elections A Palestinian Party member in my old constituency was close to tears when he voted for the first time in his life having gained British nationality – rather like the woman in the story. I have acted as an international observer in…
In the debate on Members Leaving the House, referred to in Lord Tyler’s recent blog (Exit Routes 2) Lord Hunt of Kings Heath referred to the fact that voting by crossbenchers was, in his word, “limited”. (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/101116-0001.htm#10111631000356). While our benches protested in a mild kind of way with an “Oh!”, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath…
