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1. A beginner’s guide to general elections

Author:
Stephanie Luke and Sophie Stowers
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
This second instalment of UK in a Changing Europe’s series of ‘beginner’s guides’ covers UK general elections. ‘A beginner’s guide to general elections’ unpacks how they work, from prorogation to polling day. You will find everything you need to know about the dissolution of Parliament, the drawing up of constituencies, how candidates are selected, what they can and cannot do on the campaign trail, the laws which govern party spending, and what to expect on polling day – right down to how polling stations are set up. There’s even a section on what to expect in the days following the election, from government formation to the selection of the Speaker and the State Opening of Parliament. This guide is perfect for those who are learning about British politics and institutions for the first time, or those who, unfamiliar with the details, are being asked to write about them. The UKICE beginner’s guides aim to provide an accessible yet thorough overview of the most pressing issues, institutions and debates in politics and society today.
Topic:
Governance, Elections, Domestic Politics, and Institutions
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

2. Brexit and the state

Author:
Jill Rutter and Joël Reland
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
In 2019 Boris Johnson won an election promising to ‘get Brexit done’. Yet while the broad outlines of the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU may have been settled, ministers and officials are still grappling with the new demands Brexit has placed on the British state. This report assesses how, and how far, the UK state has adapted to Brexit. It examines how Brexit has changed the size and shape of the state, the new tasks, functions and policies it has to manage, and the impact on its relationships with key stakeholders. The report considers the degree to which policies and practice are now settled, with the right resources in place, and with the policy direction clear and roles and responsibilities well understood. It is based in part on interviews with people inside and outside government. The report finds a lack of strategic vision of what post-Brexit policymaking should look like, and that creating the post-Brexit state is still very much a work in progress.
Topic:
Government, Governance, Brexit, and Devolution
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

3. Using Risk Analysis to Shape Border Management: A Review of Approaches during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author:
Kelley Lee, Julianne Piper, and Jennifer Fang
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The near universal adoption of travel measures by governments to control the spread of COVID-19 has proved controversial during the pandemic. National responses have been highly varied and frequently changing, and the use of travel measures—ranging from advisories and screening to quarantine, testing, immunity certification, and restrictions on entry—has been poorly coordinated across jurisdictions. Particularly in the early stages of the crisis, this created chaos for travelers and the travel sector, and caused significant economic and social harms. Many governments also failed to clearly communicate the rationale for using travel measures, the evidence underpinning them, and the measures’ role within overall pandemic response strategies. There is now substantial evidence that these measures’ early and stringent use by some governments during the initial stages of the pandemic slowed the importation of the virus and reduced its onward transmission. Yet, there is also growing recognition of weaknesses in the quality of evidence available to inform policy decisions. Evaluating the appropriateness of travel measures and applying them effectively during future public-health emergencies will depend on international consensus on methodologies that lead to a more harmonized and coordinated approach and to greater public trust in policy decisions. This report presents a comparative analysis of 11 publicly available methodologies used to assess travel-related risks during the pandemic—those of Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Air Transport Association, World Health Organization, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and European Union. It offers a set of lessons learned and recommendations, including a proposed decision instrument that could improve the use of risk analysis for border management during future public-health emergencies.
Topic:
Security, International Cooperation, International Organization, Governance, Border Control, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Taiwan, South Korea, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Global Focus, and United States of America

4. External Processing: A Tool to Expand Protection or Further Restrict Territorial Asylum?

Author:
Pauline de Oliveira and Nicholas Feith Tan
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Access to territorial asylum is under significant pressure in many corners of the world. Pushbacks at borders as well as pandemic-era mobility restrictions have prevented many asylum seekers from reaching their destinations. And new and ongoing crises, including those in Afghanistan and Ukraine, have highlighted the need to offer protection closer to where vulnerable populations live, and for high-income countries to find ways to share responsibilities with the low- and middle-income countries that host the overwhelming majority of people in need of international protection. This has led to renewed interest in external processing, which involves conducting part or all of the asylum procedure outside a destination country’s territory. Notably, even as countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom have adopted policies to offshore asylum processing to countries such as Papua New Guinea and Rwanda in hopes of deterring spontaneous arrivals, there is growing interest in using external processing in ways that complement existing territorial asylum and expand, rather than restrict, protection opportunities. This report—part of the Beyond Territorial Asylum: Making Protection Work in a Bordered World initiative led by MPI and the Robert Bosch Stiftung—highlights the opportunities that external processing offers as well as the challenges to its implementation and the risks it could pose to territorial asylum. It explores three categories of external processing policies implemented or proposed to date: humanitarian visas, emergency evacuations, and external processing centers. The report also identifies key conditions that must be present for external processing to occur in a protection-sensitive manner.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Governance, Refugees, Asylum, Visa, and Immigration Policy
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Australia, Rwanda, Papua New Guinea, and Global Focus

5. The British monarchy

Author:
Catherine Barnard, Frank Cranmer, John Curtice, Robert Hazell, and Ailsa Henderson
Publication Date:
04-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
May 2023 will witness a landmark event: the coronation of King Charles III. Given the event’s significance, and the high levels of interest in the British monarchy that have been apparent since the death of Elizabeth II, UK in a Changing Europe and the Constitution Unit, UCL, have produced a report to explain the role of the modern monarchy and its place in the UK’s constitutional system. The report explains what the institution does and how it does it, and places the monarchy in its wider historical and comparative context. It provides a clear and accessible account of the monarchy and is intended as an indispensable guide ahead of the coronation. The report includes analysis from specialists on the monarchy and contributions from scholars who study UK politics and society and who examine the institution from their own specialist perspectives.
Topic:
Governance, Constitution, and Monarchy
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

6. Governing in Hard Times Conference: Final Reflections

Author:
Javier Sajuria, Eunice Goes, Ben Jackson, Karl Pike, and Carys Roberts
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In this concluding session, a panel of academics and policymakers reflected on the day's proceedings. They tried to draw together the most urgent questions facing the centre-left and Keir Starmer's Labour Party as well as the historical parallels for a party seeking to return to government after such a lengthy spell in opposition. Chair: Dr Javier Sajuria (Reader in Comparative Politics at Queen Mary, University of London) Panel: Professor Eunice Goes (Professor of Politics at Richmond University) Professor Ben Jackson (Professor of Modern History at University College Oxford and Co-Editor of Political Quarterly) Dr Karl Pike (Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute) Carys Roberts (Executive Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research)
Topic:
Governance, Domestic Politics, Labour Party, and Center Left
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

7. Governing in Hard Times Conference: Public Services

Author:
Elizabeth Simon, Jonathan Slater, Clare McNeil, Andrew Harrop, and Adam O'Brien
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
With increasing dysfunction in public services and education across England (and the United Kingdom as a whole), this panel considered how a new government might solve the staffing and employment crisis in schools, nurseries, hospitals, and care homes. The panel considered the future of Higher Education, the merits and demerits of greater decentralisation across England, as well as how a National Care Service could be established. Chair: Dr Elizabeth Simon (Postdoctoral Researcher in British Politics at the Mile End Institute) Panel: Jonathan Slater (Visiting Professor at the Mile End Institute and Former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education) Clare McNeil (Associate Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Researcher) Andrew Harrop (General Secretary of the Fabian Society) Andrew O'Brien (Director of Policy and Impact at Demos)
Topic:
Education, Governance, Employment, and Public Service
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, and England

8. Governing in Hard Times Conference: Constraints and Strategy with Nick Thomas-Symonds MP

Author:
Lyndsey Jenkins, Nick Thomas-Symonds, Nick Pearce, and Alan Finlayson
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In this introductory session, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP delivered a keynote address on the Labour Party's strategy for government and the lessons that Keir Starmer and the current Shadow Cabinet can learn from previous Labour governments. This was followed by responses from Professor Nick Pearce and Professor Alan Finlayson on the institutional and economic constraints that a future centre-left administration will face and how it might navigate its first difficult months in office. Chair: Dr Lyndsey Jenkins (Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute) Panel: Nick Thomas-Symonds MP (MP for Torfaen and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade) Professor Nick Pearce (Director of the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath) Professor Alan Finlayson (Professor of Political and Social Theory at the University of East Anglia)
Topic:
Economics, Governance, Domestic Politics, Labour Party, and Center Left
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

9. Governing in Hard Times Conference: Standards in Public Life

Author:
Robert Saunders, Robin Brockwell, Chris Bryant, and Hannah White
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
This panel, held on the day that the Privileges Committee published its Final Report on Boris Johnson and 'Partygate', asked what could be done to restore higher standards of propriety and accountability in public life. It asked how a new administration could ensure that the Seven 'Nolan' Principles are better enforced and the merits of greater statutory regulation. Chair: Dr Robert Saunders (Reader in Modern British History at Queen Mary, University of London) Panel: Lord Butler of Brockwell (Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service, 1988-1998) Sir Chris Bryant MP (MP for Rhondda and Chair of the Committee on Standards and Privileges) Dr Hannah White OBE (Director of the Institute for Government)
Topic:
Governance, Regulation, and Domestic Politics
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

10. Constitution and Governance in the UK

Author:
Anand Menon, Jill Rutter, and Sarah Overton
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
The UK constitution and system of governance have recently been subjected to unprecedented strain. Brexit and Covid-19, in conjunction with the governing style adopted by the Johnson administration, have raised profound questions as to whether the norms and conventions that form the basis of the UK’s uncodified constitution are still fit for purpose. These are the issues that are brought together in this report, in which 41 leading scholars assess the impacts of Brexit, Covid-19 and the Johnson government on our constitution and system of governance. They discuss whether these arrangements, that have evolved over decades if not centuries, are sufficiently robust and fit for the purpose of governing a diverse and complex UK.
Topic:
Governance, Constitution, Brexit, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe