🎧️ Fistfights, beard-pulling, a salmon on the PM’s desk, and senators investigating divorce petitions in startling detail. This week, @parlcharlie.bsky.social joins the podcast to explore Canada’s unruly parliamentary past. Listen: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliam...

Unparliamentary: Colourful tales from the Canadian Parliament - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 153

What happens when parliamentary history escapes the official record? Charlie Feldman, author of Unparliamentary, joins us to explore the strange, unruly and often hilarious history of Canada’s…

hansardsociety.org.uk

NEW from @govandopp.bsky.social - Institutional Design and Differences in Roll-Call Voting Cohesion in Bicameral Legislatures: The Chilean Congress, 2006–2018 - https://cup.org/4eSdtqE - Hernán Campos Parra & Patricio Navia #OpenAccess

Our annual conference will take place at the University of Manchester on Monday 2nd of November 2026! 🎉🐝 @manchester.ac.uk There will also be an Early Career Research Workshop on Sunday 1st of November aimed at giving feedback on draft papers for a small number of our ECR members. 📝

NEW - When Legislators Do Not Differentiate: A Field Experiment on British MPs’ Responses to Constituent Policy Queries - https://cup.org/4hormhs - @danbischof.bsky.social, @vchengm.bsky.social, @gidoncohen.bsky.social, Sarah Cohen, @florianfoos.bsky.social, et al #OpenAccess

🆕 in @bjpols.bsky.social: "Thinly Veiled: The Use of Femonationalist Speech in European Parliaments" We describe the ⬆️ of femonationalist speech over time & across party families in Europe We find the far right use it esp when other parties converge on their anti-immigration position Open access!

British Journal of Political Science@bjpols.bsky.social · 3w ago

NEW - Thinly Veiled: The Use of Femonationalist Speech in European Parliaments - https://cup.org/4fPucuL - @jmfernandes86.bsky.social, Bonnie M. Meguid & @anacweeks.bsky.social #OpenAccess

Our annual conference will take place at the University of Manchester on Monday 2nd of November 2026! 🎉🐝 @manchester.ac.uk There will also be an Early Career Research Workshop on Sunday 1st of November aimed at giving feedback on draft papers for a small number of our ECR members. 📝

New article - published online (and open access) today in @ichrpi.bsky.social’s Parliaments, Estates and Representation - looking at the road to the 2011 further powers referendum. One for fans of failed rainbow coalition negotiations and the late lamented LCO process #devolution #senedd

Taking that next step forward: the 2007–2011 Welsh Assembly, the Legislative Competence Order (LCO) process and the path to the 2011 devolution referendum

In introducing the Government of Wales Act 2006, the then Secretary of State for Wales Peter Hain expressed optimism that the legislation, the product of an intensely negotiated internal compromise...

tandfonline.com

And yes we mean 2 November 2026 - probably in time to combine coming to the conference with seeing No.10 North 😉

Our brand new report makes 28 recommendations across seven policy areas for how to safeguard the UK constitution and protect the integrity of our democracy. Read a summary 👉 blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution.... Review the recommendations 👇

Safeguarding the Constitution: Key Steps to Strengthen UK Democratic Resilience Our latest report, by @lisajames.bsky.social, Meg Russell and @alanrenwick.bsky.social, sets out concrete reforms in a number of areas to safeguard the constitution and protect the integrity of democracy. Read it 👇

New Constitution Unit report makes recommendations to safeguard UK democracy

A new Constitution Unit report, Safeguarding the Constitution: Key Steps to Strengthen UK Democratic Resilience, by Lisa James, Meg Russell and Alan Renwick, focuses on protecting the constitution.

ucl.ac.uk

We are excited to announce that our annual conference will take place at the University of Manchester on Monday 2nd of November 2027! 🎉🐝 There will also be an Early Career Research Workshop on Sunday 1st of November aimed at giving feedback on draft papers for a small number of our ECR members. 📝

Out in the latest issue of @politicsgenderj.bsky.social: @rainbowmurray.bsky.social examines substantive representation of women in French parliamentary debates. Open access. 📄 doi.org/10.1017/S174... GenderSky PoliSky

I’m sad and disappointed to see that the regional outreach team (one of my old teams) is being discontinued by the House of Commons. I’ve written about it with @estrangeirada.bsky.social www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blog/parliam...

The rise and fall of the parliamentary outreach team: Why cutting regional engagement is a mistake

The House of Commons' proposal to abolish its regional parliamentary outreach service marks a significant retreat from two decades of leadership in public engagement. Replacing face-to-face community ...

hansardsociety.org.uk

The rise and fall of the parliamentary outreach team: Why cutting regional engagement is a mistake - by @aileenwalker.bsky.social and myself for the @hansardsociety.bsky.social: www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blog/parliam...

The rise and fall of the parliamentary outreach team: Why cutting regional engagement is a mistake

The House of Commons' proposal to abolish its regional parliamentary outreach service marks a significant retreat from two decades of leadership in public engagement. Replacing face-to-face community ...

hansardsociety.org.uk

With Andy Burnham set to take over as Prime Minister on Monday, @ruxandrasrbn.bsky.social points out this will leave 7 weeks in office before making a statement or answering Prime Minister’s Questions Here, she asks what this means for democratic accountability 👉 ukandeu.ac.uk/should-andy-...

Should Andy Burnham face the House of Commons before summer recess? - UK in a changing Europe

Ruxandra Serban explains that the gap between Andy Burnham taking office and facing Parliament will be the longest of any incoming Prime Minister in history and considers the questions it raises about...

ukandeu.ac.uk

Free for a limited period from the latest issue of @politicsgenderj.bsky.social - Who Gets to Speak? How Institutions and Political Careers Shape Gender Bias in South Africa’s Parliamentary Debates - https://cup.org/3T47JBm - Edalina Rodrigues Sanches & Ana Espírito-Santo

For those interested in the topic, I recently published an article in @politicalquarterly.bsky.social on the long-standing debate about whether the Lords should become a chamber of the nations and regions and the extent to which it can already be said to be such a chamber #devolution #LordsReform

The House of Lords and Devolution: Already a Chamber of the Nations and Regions?

When it published its report in 2022, one of the main recommendations of the Brown Commission, established by the Labour Party to examine the future governance of the UK, was for the replacement of t...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Dr Adam Evans@a-b-evans.bsky.social · 4w ago

For those interested in #devolution and Lords reform, an interesting suggestion here that a Burnham govt will look to appoint England’s Metro Mayors to the @houseoflords.parliament.uk as an incremental step towards making the chamber more representative of the nations & regions

There are currently no plans for recess to be delayed in order for Andy Burnham to be questioned by MPs. Whilst this is not a constitutional problem, it would be preferable from a democratic accountability perspective. New blog for @ukandeu.bsky.social 👇🏻 ukandeu.ac.uk/should-andy-...

Should Andy Burnham face the House of Commons before summer recess? - UK in a changing Europe

Ruxandra Serban explains that the gap between Andy Burnham taking office and facing Parliament will be the longest of any incoming Prime Minister in history and considers the questions it raises about...

ukandeu.ac.uk

📄 New article published by @gracecooper1.bsky.social and John Evemy, looking at the parliamentary representation of EU citizens in the UK after Brexit, using interviews with MPs and staff as well as Written Parliamentary Questions between 2019-2024. Read it here 👇🏻 academic.oup.com/pa/advance-a...

I was on BBC Radio 4’s Today in Parliament yesterday to discuss whether Andy Burnham becoming PM while the House of Commons is in recess would be constitutionally and historically unusual. 🎙️Full clip here from about 1:08: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... And a preview below 🎧

📢 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: 2026 UNDERGRAD ESSAY COMPETITION! 📢 👉 If you are teaching undergraduates in the UK, please consider nominating a student for their excellent written piece on parliaments and legislatures. 🎉 Full details on our website: psaparliaments.org/undergraduat...

📄 New article published by @gracecooper1.bsky.social and John Evemy, looking at the parliamentary representation of EU citizens in the UK after Brexit, using interviews with MPs and staff as well as Written Parliamentary Questions between 2019-2024. Read it here 👇🏻 academic.oup.com/pa/advance-a...

📢 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: 2026 UNDERGRAD ESSAY COMPETITION! 📢 👉 If you are teaching undergraduates in the UK, please consider nominating a student for their excellent written piece on parliaments and legislatures. 🎉 Full details on our website: psaparliaments.org/undergraduat...

This one was already a few weeks ago but the announcement slipped my mind! Franziska Carstensen and I have asked members of second chambers in France, Germany, Ireland and Poland what representation means to them. This is what came out of it: www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

#OpenAccess from @ejprjournal.bsky.social - Neutral arbiter, partisan speaker, or asset of the coalition? Patterns of Oral Question Selection by the Speaker of the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament - https://cup.org/4ov0n5z - Wouter Nelen & @simonotjes.bsky.social #FirstView

Speakers have been allowing more Urgent Questions since 2010, but are there now too many? Are they a useful scrutiny tool? My blog for @hansardsociety.bsky.social looks at trends in UQs numbers and which departments were questioned in the 2024-26 session. www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blog/are-the...

Are there too many Urgent Questions in the House of Commons?

Urgent Questions have grown substantially since 2010 and are now a routine feature of House of Commons business. In this blog, Ruxandra Serban analyses the scale of that growth, which departments face...

hansardsociety.org.uk

NEW: Are there too many Urgent Questions in the House of Commons? @ruxandrasrbn.bsky.social looks at how much the use of UQs has grown, which departments face the most scrutiny, and which ministers actually turn up to answer? ⬇️

Are there too many Urgent Questions in the House of Commons?

Urgent Questions have grown substantially since 2010 and are now a routine feature of House of Commons business. In this blog, Ruxandra Serban analyses the scale of that growth, which departments…

buff.ly

Interested in rebellions during the first session of the parliament - which, helpfully, almost perfectly coincides with the Starmer premiership? Here's a piece I wrote for @robfordmancs.bsky.social's substack, giving rebellion rates, lists of rebels, etc. swingometer.substack.com/p/rebel-rebel

Rebel Rebel

In a guest post, Philip Cowley takes a look at backbench rebellions during Keir Starmer's time as Prime Minister

swingometer.substack.com

How many backbench roles do MPs play? We think the answer is 7. We introduce these roles and some examples of typical MPs in each group in this guest @hansardsociety.bsky.social blog: www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blog/backben...

What roles do backbench MPs play?

How many backbench roles are there in the House of Commons? New research has looked at 26 forms of parliamentary activity across five parliaments since 2001 and concluded that the answer is seven. In ...

hansardsociety.org.uk

With the news that @laurenedwardsmp.bsky.social will bring back the assisted dying bill, what are the chances of it now becoming law? Supporters face four key challenges - and they have now overcome the first. ⬇️