I reviewed Louise Thompson’s new book on House of Commons bill committees for LSE Review of Books. The book offers a persuasive new account of committees’ work and shows how backbench MPs can influence legislation.
Category: Research
The use of the misleading ‘No Overall Control’ designation means some voters still don’t know who won their local election
My article for Democratic Audit on the media’s lazy reporting of local election results, as evidenced by the use of … More
An election information service fit for BBC 2.0
The BBC could provide integrated and targeted information on all UK elections, helping to strengthen democratic participation. My article for the Open Democracy’s OurBeeb project showed how.
What the BBC Got Wrong on Syria Last Week
I appeared on the BBC’s Newswatch programme, criticising the BBC for its coverage of the debate on British military involvement in Syria. Read a summary of my argument here.
EU referendum: We need an intelligent debate about lowering the voting age
My article for the LSE’s new Brexit blog (23 November 2015). I argued in favour of the House of Lords’ (probably short-lived) amendment of the referendum bill to enfranchised 16 and 17 year olds, but suggested that the debate on lowering the voting age has so far been generating more heat than light.
NHS trusts need to improve the way they publish election results
Analysis for Health Election Data (7 November 2015) about the poor quality of election results publication at NHS Foundation Trusts. I highlighted various instances of bad practice, from delayed publication to the withholding of key information.
