Undergraduate Essay Competition

UNDERGRADUATE ESSAY COMPETITION

We are delighted to announce the winners of our 2023 Undergraduate Essay Competition.

First place has been awarded to Phoebe Legard from the University of Edinburgh. Phoebe was nominated by Dr Alan Convery for her excellent essay To what extent are parliamentary questions in Holyrood gendered?. The judging panel described Phoebe’s work as “an exceptional essay, far beyond undergraduate standards” with excellent theoretical engagement and a well-justified case selection. The jury praised the essay for “an outstanding and sophisticated methodology with a nuanced discussion of its strengths and weaknesses”. The judges concluded that the “findings offer valuable insights about descriptive and substantive representation in the Scottish Parliament” and the role of critical actors.

Our runner-up was Cameron Dasgupta from the Queen Mary University of London, who was nominated by Dr Daniel Gover for his essay How has Parliament engaged non-legislatively with the Northern Ireland Protocol?. The jury found this “a really interesting essay” which “draws on impressive primary research” and demonstrates “a thorough understanding of the different procedures and institutional settings within Parliament”. Cameron’s essay makes “a substantive contribution to our understanding of the House of Commons and House of Lords”.

Phoebe and Cameron have received prizes of £100 and £50 respectively, and have received their certificates—and our congratulations—at the PSA Parliaments Annual Conference on Friday 3 November in London.

All entries were anonymised and shortlisted before being judged and ranked by our guest judge, Dr Alexandra Meakin, Lecturer at the University of Leeds. The PSA Parliaments team would like to share our immense thanks to Alex for reading through these entries and providing such helpful feedback.

The standard of entries from universities across the UK was incredibly high and we would like to thank all the PSA Parliaments members who took part and congratulate their students for their excellent work. Nominations for the 2024 competition will open early next year.

Congratulations Phoebe and Cameron!