Monthly Archives: October 2010

Oct 31 2010

Book Review: Numbers Rule: The Vexing Mathematics of Democracy, from Plato to the Present

1 Comment

Posted in: British and Irish Politics and Policy, Patrick Dunleavy

Tweet Patrick Dunleavy reviews a fascinating, but flawed, history of democratic thinking from an American perspective. It throws often unexpected light on democratic innovations through the ages; and if the government’s project to slice the UK electorate up into equal … Continue reading →

Posted by: Posted on October 31, 2010 by Blog Admin Tagged with: cold war, democracy, government, politics, uk politics

Oct 30 2010

The leaders court the CBI, ‘Cleansing’ welfare cuts, and Cameron grapples with the EU budget – round up of political blogs for 23-29 October

The coalition government is introducing major constitutional changes but does not have a coherent overall constitutional strategy. The results will not provide a stable basis either for British liberties, democracy or its constitution

2 Comments

Posted in: Anthony Barnett, Electoral and constitutional reform

Tweet Many commentators concerned about civil liberties severely criticised policies under the last Labour government that encroached on key constitutional protections, such as introducing ID cards and vast surveillance databases. The new coalition government is rolling back these adverse measures, … Continue reading →

Posted by: Posted on October 29, 2010 by Blog Admin Tagged with: av, Constitutional reform, database state, Electoral Reform, Gordon Brown, government, politics, referendum, UK, uk politics

Oct 28 2010

Can the Chancellor still influence voting patterns in the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England?

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Posted in: Austerity and Economic policy, Bjorn Hoyland, Nick Vivyan, Simon Hix

Tweet The MPC at the Bank of England was set up to make independent judgements about interest rate policy. But after studying every decision the Committee made over an eleven year period, Simon Hix, Nick Vivyan and Bjørn Høyland find … Continue reading →

Posted by: Posted on October 28, 2010 by Blog Admin Tagged with: Bank of England, Gordon Brown, government, inflation, macroeconomic policy, monetary policy, MPC, UK, uk government, uk politics

Oct 28 2010

LSE’s mappiness project may help us track the national mood: but how much should we consider happiness in deciding public policy?

6 Comments

Posted in: Behavioural Public Policy, Fairness and Equality, George MacKerron, Public Services and the Welfare State, Susana Mourato

Tweet It is impossible to open the papers today without reading about how the Government’s cuts will cause ‘misery’ or ‘unhapiness’ for particular organizations, socio-economic classes, regions, or communities. Yet how can we actually measure individual well-being across time and … Continue reading →

Posted by: Posted on October 28, 2010 by Blog Admin Tagged with: government, happiness, Lord Layard, nudge, UK, uk government, uk politics, wellbeing

Oct 27 2010

If the Alternative Vote had been in use at the 2010 general election, the Liberal Democrats would have won 32 more seats, and a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition would also have had a Commons majority

10 Comments

Posted in: Alternative Vote (AV) referendum, David Sanders, Electoral and constitutional reform, Paul Whiteley

Tweet How would the main political parties gain or suffer in future Alternative Vote (AV) elections, if UK voters approve changing systems in the May 2011 referendum? David Sanders, Paul Whiteley and colleagues have authoritatively replayed the May 2010 general … Continue reading →

Posted by: Posted on October 27, 2010 by Blog Admin Tagged with: British Election Study, elections, government, Labour, Multi-party system, Nick Clegg, Polls, UK, uk government, uk politics

Oct 27 2010

Ringfencing aid may do more harm than good

2 Comments

Posted in: Foreign Policy and Defence, Nilima Gulrajani

Tweet Nilima Gulrajani explains that Increasing the aid budget as other departments cut theirs will erode the long-run effectiveness of the development programme. The Department for International Development (DFID) is a highly performing development agency, the world’s best in many global … Continue reading →

Posted by: Posted on October 27, 2010 by Blog Admin Tagged with: development, DfID, donors, foreign aid, government, UK, uk government, uk politics

Oct 26 2010

The 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review: The economics of the cuts agenda are neither justified nor just

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Posted in: Austerity and Economic policy, John van Reenen

Tweet Last week’s Comprehensive Spending Review detailed the largest cuts to public spending since the Second World War. In John Van Reenen’s judgement, the speed and scale of the cuts are not economically justified because the previous government’s plans would … Continue reading →