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  • February 2025 Newsletter

    Hello, everyone! We anticipated a busy year for parliamentary scholars and it is proving to be so. We have lots of exciting news and opportunities for you in this newsletter.

    1. Reminder: PSA General Conference, Birmingham, 14-16 April 2025
    2. Calls for Papers
    3. Opportunities
    4. Upcoming Events
    5. Recent Publications
    6. On the Blog
    7. 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. Reminder: PSA General Conference, Birmingham, 14–16 April 2025

    Key Reminders for PSA25 Delegates

    Paper Givers Registration Deadline:

    All paper presenters must register by 10 February 2025 to ensure inclusion in the final programme. If you haven’t yet registered, you can do so here.

    Panel Sessions Format:

    • Panel sessions are 90 minutes long, with 60 minutes for presentations and at least 30 minutes for discussion and audience questions.
    • Presenters will have 15–20 minutes each, adjusted by the Chair if there are more than four papers in a session.
    • Please ensure you bring your presentation on a USB stick, along with any necessary adapters for HDMI connection, as full papers are not required.

    Booking Hotels and Accommodation

    The conference is taking place in the heart of the city, being a 10-minute walk away from the main train station (Birmingham New Street) and surrounded by various hotels. We encourage you to secure accommodation sooner than later as the conference is just around the corner!

    Early Bird Registration

    The early-bird registration for the PSA Annual Conference is still open until 21 February 2025. Daily rates are available for early-career members. All information can be found here and the outline programme has been published.

    Late Paper Submissions 

    The PSA25 Late Paper Submissions form is now available for those who wish to propose paper abstracts for inclusion in specific panels in the conference programme. To learn more and submit your abstract, please visit the PSA25 event page on our website. The deadline for submissions is 14 February 2025, 12pm GMT.

    2. Calls for Papers

    Reminder: Conference of the ECPR Standing Group on Parliaments, 2–4 July, Barcelona, University of Barcelona

    The ECPR Standing Group on Parliaments is hosting its 9th flagship conference this summer in vibrant Barcelona, offering an invaluable experience for anyone studying or researching in the field. 

    • The Call for Panels and Papers is still open until 12 February 2025.
    • Registration deadline is 19 March 2025.
    • For more information, please click here.

    Women in Legislative Studies (WiLS) Virtual Research Workshop, 25 April  2025

    WiLS is offering a virtual research workshop for scholars at all levels. The workshop will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions and will run from 10 am to 4 pm EST (with a break for lunch). For more information, please contact:

    Proposals are due by the end of Wednesday, February 5. The full conference program will be available in late-February. If you are interested in participating as a presenter or discussant please fill this form.

    3. Opportunities

    Opportunity to join the PSA Executive Committee

    The PSA seeks at least two new trustees for its Executive Committee, including the role of Honorary Secretary. This is a great opportunity to contribute to enhancing the study of Politics and International Relations and build your own profile. Nominations close on 10 March 2025, and you can find out more here.

    Senedd Review of the Public Bill and Member Bill processes

    The Business Committee of the Senedd has opened a consultation to gather experiences and views regarding the operation and effectiveness of the Senedd’s scrutiny of Public Bills and Member Bills. You can share your expertise until 28 March 2025. All the information is available here.

    Scottish Parliament: Research opportunity

    The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) is seeking to award a contract for research that will support the SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee’s inquiry. This desk-based research will set out how other countries set up their commissioners (and why) and how their outcomes are measured. It will support the Committee’s understanding of how other models work in the UK and internationally, and whether aspects of these models could be applied to the Scottish landscape.

    For more information and how to obtain a ‘Quotation Pack’, please email academia@parliament.scot quoting Reference: 2023-24/02/SSBLR. The deadline for quotes is 23:59 on Sunday 16 February 2025.

    4. Upcoming Events

    UCL Constitutional Unit: Improving Parliamentary Scrutiny of Legislation, 24 February, 1-2.15pm


    The Constitution Unit at the UCL is organising an exciting expert panel on improving parliamentary scrutiny of legislation. Recent years have seen frequent complaints about the quality of legislative scrutiny by parliament, and particularly by the House of Commons. Various commentators and experts have argued that the scrutiny of proposed laws is too often rushed and/or inadequate, leading to worse policy outcomes for citizens. This online seminar will explore a number of important questions. What problems are there with the legislative process? Have they got worse? And what can be done to fix them?

    Speakers:

    • Professor Meg Russell – Director of the Constitution Unit
    • Sir David Natzler – former Clerk of the House of Commons
    • Dr Daniel Gover – Senior Lecturer in British Politics, Queen Mary University of London

    Chair: Lisa James – Senior Research Fellow, Constitution Unit

    For more information please see here.

    5. Recent Publications

    Other resources:

    If you would like your published research to be featured in this section, please email Caroline with details.

    6. On the Blog

    We would love to have more contributions on our blog. If you have an idea for a blog on some aspect of parliamentary study, please get in touch with our communications officer Jack.

    7. Overview of Parliaments Map

    For anybody who wishes to cover any of the countries not yet covered in our map, contact our communications officer Jack.

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