In the twenty-first century petitioning is one of the most common forms of political participation. The UK now has a range of formal systems including in Westminster, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and also in a number of local authorities. University of Lincoln, College of Social Science Research Dr Catherine Bochel, University…Continue Reading Petitions systems
Category: Political Engagement
Analysing the archive
Research by Samantha Shave examines past parliaments’ role in the making and breaking of welfare policies. In particular, Samantha is interested in the development, impact and discontinuation of poor relief policies and practices in England, and how people from all areas of society were involved in this past ‘policy process’. This research has culminated in Pauper…Continue Reading Analysing the archive
Researching Parliaments
The work of parliaments is crucial to democracy. It is about making parliaments more transparent, representative, responsive and better able to scrutinise the actions and legislation of governments. These projects look at two different aspects of the work of parliament: the ways in which the Westminster parliament engages with the public (drawing on a procedural…Continue Reading Researching Parliaments
Migration in the Mediterranean: Exposing the Limits of Vulnerability at the European Court of Human Rights
In recent years, the European Court of Human Rights has drawn on the complex concept of vulnerability with increased frequency. The Court’s landmark judgment in M.S.S. thrust migrant vulnerability firmly into the Court’s jurisprudential corpus, by accepting that asylum seekers are inherently deserving of heightened protection under the Convention. However, while M.S.S. further extended vulnerability’s…Continue Reading Migration in the Mediterranean: Exposing the Limits of Vulnerability at the European Court of Human Rights
Young people and political engagement
Over a number of years, Ben Kisby has undertaken research on youth political engagement, with a particular focus on citizenship education and governmental attempts to enhance young people’s political knowledge and skills. Ben has published a number of journal articles, book chapters and a monograph in this area, with The Labour Party and Citizenship Education (MUP, 2012)…Continue Reading Young people and political engagement
Alternatives to Custody: Evidence from Police Force Areas in England and Wales
England and Wales have some of the highest incarceration rates in the developed world. Recent policy reforms have focused on developing alternatives to custody that offer credible protection for the public, and justice for victims of crime. This article uses unique detailed panel-level data acquired from the Ministry of Justice for all Police Force Areas…Continue Reading Alternatives to Custody: Evidence from Police Force Areas in England and Wales
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Westminster Workshop on Gender Sensitive Scrutiny
On 17 June, Hugh Bochel participated in the CPA UK Westminster Workshop on Gender Sensitive Scrutiny, as part of a panel with Baroness Barker, Sarah Champion MP and Naz Shah MP. The Workshop, taking place in Portcullis House, involves over forty representatives from more than twenty legislatures across the Commonwealth. Hugh was involved primarily due…Continue Reading Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Westminster Workshop on Gender Sensitive Scrutiny
Legislative scrutiny: the use of evidence; measuring success and failure
This project involved a number of colleagues from the School of Social and Political Sciences. It drew on case studies of three major pieces of legislation (the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, the Academies Act 2010, and the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 to do consider the use of evidence in the scrutiny process and…Continue Reading Legislative scrutiny: the use of evidence; measuring success and failure
Parliament and Social Policy
From the mid-2000’s, Hugh Bochel and Andrew Defty have undertaken interviews with MPs and Peers to explore their attitudes to social policy issues (such as the role of the state in providing welfare, how welfare provision should be financed, and more specific issues such as the NHS and the social security…Continue Reading Parliament and Social Policy