Hello, everyone! We hope you all enjoyed the late May Bank holiday and that you are as excited as we are about the forthcoming General Election! We have plenty of updates for you this month!
- New Book: Reimagining Parliament
- PSA Parliaments Undergraduate Essay Competition
- Events
- Job Opportunities
- Call for Papers
- Recent Publications
- Recently on the Blog
- Overview of Parliaments Map
If you have any notices/messages you would like us to circulate to our group, please let us know.
Best wishes,
Caroline, Diana, Ruxandra, Jack and Lauren
1. New Book: Reimagining Parliament
David Judge and Cristina Leston-Bandeira have edited a book which does exactly what the title says: Reimagining Parliament. As luck would have it, it was officially published on the day the next general election was announced. This is the ideal literature to distract you from the latest election coverage and rethink the future of the UK parliament.
The main objective of the book is to discuss how the guiding principles of openness, engagement/connectedness, accessibility, inclusion, equality, fairness, responsiveness, and accountability can be reimagined in terms of space, connectivity, and interaction. See our blog for a teaser.
In addition to Cristina and David, the book includes contributions by our friends and colleagues Alexandra Meakin, Emma Crewe, Didier Caluwaerts, Daan Vermassen, Hannah White, Ben Yong, Lucinda Maer, and Paul Evans.
The book has been published by Bristol University Press and is available in paperback, hardback and as an e-book. See here.
2. PSA Parliaments Undergraduate Essay Competition
We are seeking nominations for our Undergraduate Essay Competition. If you are teaching undergraduates in the UK, please consider nominating a student for their excellent written work on any topic related to parliaments and legislatures. In addition to academic recognition, the winning student will get a £100 prize and the runner-up a £50 prize.
The submission deadline is 12 July. For more details, check our website or feel free to contact Caroline.
3. Events
The UCL Constitution Unit vitual panel on: Priorities for new MPs’ induction in the next parliament
The UCL Constitution Unit is hosting a virtual panel on “Priorities for New MPs’ Induction in the Next Parliament”. The experts are Ruth Fox (Director of the Hansard Society), Hannah White (Director of the Institute for Government), Daniel Greenberg (Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards) and Alistair Burt (former Conservative MP), and Meg Russell (Director of the Constitution Unit) will be chairing. The event takes place on 5 June, 1:00-2:15pm. You can sign up here.
The UCL Constitution Unit Conference: New Constitutional priorities for the Next Government 24- 25 June 2024
This two-day conference will bring together a range of senior speakers, including parliamentarians, academics and commentators, to discuss the constitutional priorities for the next government. For more information, see here.
4. Job Opportunities
The University of Edinburgh is offering a three-year fully funded PhD scholarship to work on “Patterns, Practices and Interpretations of Knowledge Use in Parliaments”. The position sits within the Studying Parliaments and the Role of Knowledge (SPARK) led by Marc Geddes. The application deadline is 6 June. More information can be found here.
5. Call for Papers
Parliamentary Affairs call for papers: Special section on the state of British politics in 2024/5
This call for papers, from the editors of Parliamentary Affairs, is for a special section of the journal on the state of British politics in 2024/5. The deadline for proposal submissions is 30 September 2023, with first drafts due at the end of January 2024.
For more information see here.
WFD and AFRODAD call for papers and experts on the role of African parliaments in public debt oversight
The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the African Forum and Network for Debt and Development (AFRODAD) intend to examine the role of African parliaments in public debt oversight. The intention is to compile a research publication featuring 8 to 10 peer-reviewed articles, each authored by different contributors who will submit full papers after abstract review. The paper abstract deadline is 10 June 2024
For more details and a timeline please see here or contact: Franklin De Vrieze (WFD) or Shem Joshua Otieno (AFRODAD).
6. Recent Publications
- The special issue “Interpreting UK legislatures: an introduction”, edited by Matt Beech & Mark Bevir, has been published in The Journal of Legislative Studies. It includes contributions by Marc Geddes, Emma Crewe, Cillian McGrattan, and Edward Shepherd.
- Richard Huzzey, Maartje Janse, Henry Miller, Joris Oddens, and Brodie Waddell (eds.) Petitions and Petitioning in Europe and North America. From the Late Medieval Period to the Present, Oxford University Press. The book will be published for the British Academy in June 2024.
- Louise Thompson & Alexandra Meakin, “Small Opposition Parties in a Westminster System: How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect Participation, Decision-Making and Oversight in the UK House of Commons?” in Political Studies Review.
- Marc Geddes, “Comparing evidence use in parliaments: the interplay of beliefs, traditions, and practices in the UK and Germany” in Policy and Society.
If you would like your published research to be featured in this section, please email Caroline with details.
7. Recently on the Blog
- ‘Reimagining the UK Parliament’ by David Judge and Cristina Leston-Bandeira
If you have an idea for a blog on some aspect of parliamentary study, please get in touch with our new communications officer, Jack.
8. Overview of Parliaments Map
We have one new contribution to our Overview of Parliaments Map:
- ‘Nigeria’s National Assembly: A Slowly Maturing Legislature‘ by Omomayowa O. Abati and Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi
For anybody who wishes to cover any of the countries not yet covered in our map, contact our communications officer Jack.