Publications
All publications available from the Hansard Society are listed below. Click on a publication from the list for more information, prices and details of how to order.
P&P charges are as follows:
£3.50 for a single publication within the UK
£5 for multiple publications and overseas orders
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Authors: Professor Robert Blackburn (Professor of Constitutional Law at King’s College London) and Dr Ruth Fox (Director of the Hansard Society’s Parliament & Government Programme), Oonagh Gay (Chair, Study of Parliament Group), Lucinda Maer (Senior Research Clerk, House of Commons Library).
The Hansard Society and the Study of Parliament Group have published a new pamphlet on hung Parliaments on Thursday March 11. Who Governs? Forming a coalition or a minority government in the event of a hung Parliament examines what will happen in the event of an uncertain general election result this year – with particular focus on the implications for Parliament, but also looking at issues such as financial markets, how long it will take to resolve and the role of the Queen.
Download the full briefing paper here.
For press queries please contact Virginia Gibbons on 020 7438 1225 or mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk
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The 2010 Hansard Society annual Audit of Political Engagement has been released. The Audit this year has a
special focus on MPs and Parliament, raises a number of topical issues
in the context of MPs' expenses and the forthcoming general election,
and provides longer term reflections on the level of continuity and
change charted in the Audit findings over the course of this Parliament.
It shows that while the MPs' expenses scandal has affected the public's satisfaction with and perception of MPs and the Westminster Parliament, there has not been a change in the level of trust people say they have in politicians or politics. However, a significant finding of the Audit this year is that there has been a big decline since 2004 in the perceived impact of the Westminster Parliament on people's lives, compared to other institutions. Only 19% think Parliament is one of the top three influential institutions on their everyday lives - an 11% drop from 2004. But 60% still think Parliament is 'worthwhile', compared to only 14% who disagree.
Read the key findings here
Download the full 2010 Hansard Society annual Audit of Political Engagement.
Listen to the launch event
See the photos from the launch
Read the press release for the 2010 Hansard Society annual Audit of Political Engagement.
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In the run up to the 1997 General Election the Hansard Society published a paper in the King-Hall Paper series looking at the implications of televised Leaders' Debates on political engagement. The debate about the merits of such events are being discussed again in the media in the run up to what is likely to be a General Election year in 2010; we have re-published our research on the area in electronic format for free download:
Televised Leaders' Debates: An Evaluation & Proposal 1997
Televised Leaders' Debates Revisted 2001
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Recent events in the House of Lords regarding conduct have raised serious questions about standards of conduct within the second chamber, including questions around allowances, peers' external interests and enforcement of sanctions for misconduct. This new briefing paper from the Hansard Society explores these issues and sets out a range of measures and recommendations for reinstating public trust in the House of Lords. Key recommendations include:
- Empowering the office of the Lord Speaker
to be able to better represent and act on behalf of the House and take forward
a mandate for reform.
- Significant revision of the Code of Conduct,
including setting out a clear ethos and mission for the House of Lords and
extending the Code to cover the use of allowances and expenses.
- Consideration of the introduction of a
hybrid payments system for allowances and expenses to better reflect the degree
of each peer's involvement in the work of the House.
- Establishing a hierarchy of possible
sanctions that may be applied for breaches of a new Code of Conduct up to and
including permanent expulsion from the House.
- Establishing a system of external
independent regulation for the management of the Lords allowances and expenses
system and enforcement of the Code of Conduct.
Download the full briefing paper.
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Most MPs use Facebook for one-way communication not campaigning
Today, the Hansard Society launches MPs on Facebook, the first in a new series of short Digital Papers examining how parliamentarians are using social media.
MPs on Facebook shows that while over half (51%) of Liberal Democrat MPs have a presence on Facebook, the figures for Labour and the Conservatives are 15% and 9%, respectively.
The research identified three main types of usage: campaigning, communication and personal:
- 46% of MPs are using Facebook primarily as a communications tool
- 31% of MPs are using Facebook primarily to canvas and campaign
- 13% of MPs are using Facebook primarily for personal information
- 10% of MPs' Facebook pages are ‘inactive'
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The Hansard Society a briefing paper
for reform of the House of Commons drawing on 20 years of research work
and recommendations to strengthen Parliament. The blueprint was published to coincide with
the first ever Speaker Hustings held in public view, and before the
media, hosted by the Hansard Society. It can be downloaded for free here
Among the blueprint proposals recommended by the Hansard Society are:
- Business Committee for the House of Commons
to put control of the parliamentary timetable in the hands of a cross
party body of MPs rather than leaving it in the control of the
executive.
- Parliamentary Finance Office, modelled on
the US Government Accounting Office, would provide individual MPs with
independent expertise and advice on financial matters, empowering them
to better scrutinise public spending and taxation proposals.
- A shift towards a committee based culture
in the House of Commons with the main chamber taking on a plenary
focus. Select committee chairs and members should be elected by MPs not
party whips, the work of committees should be better integrated into
wider parliamentary activity and more time should be set aside for the
detailed work that committees undertake.
- A system of e-Petitions, managed through a
new Petitions Committee, to help revitalise public engagement with
Parliament. Hansard Society research shows that the public are more
likely to sign a petition than to engage in any other form of
democratic activity. This has to be properly integrated into
parliamentary procedures.
- The appointment of a Chief Executive to
professionalise the organisation and operation of the House of Commons.
At present the House is managed by the Clerk of the House. Clerks are
expert professional advisers on constitutional and procedural issues.
They are not experts in management, budgets, human resources and
logistics. A Chief Executive should take on these responsibilities.
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12 May 2009 marks the 10-year anniversary of the first inaugural sessions of
the Scottish Parliament. Rarely can such high expectations have been invested
in a political institution. The Parliament was to become the fulcrum of a 'new
politics'. Expectations were high. As the parliament moves into its second
decade, now is the perfect time to reflect on its role in the Scottish and
wider UK
political process. This publication from the Hansard Society looks at:
- What has been learned?
- What have been the
challenges and its achievements?
- Has it matured unto the
effective legislative body that so many hoped for?
This edited collection of essays from distinguished
commentators, academics and parliamentarians discuss some of the key issues in
the development of the Scottish parliament over the past decade.
It can be
ordered from Luath Press.
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The annual Audit of Political Engagement carried out by the Hansard
Society measures the nature and extent of political engagement and
reveals where views have changed - and where they remain constant. It
offers a yearly snapshot of political knowledge and engagement in
Britain.
Audit 6 has a special focus on the public's attitudes to political participation and
citizenship and explores issues such as the degree to which people want to be
actively involved in decision-making locally and nationally, how influential in
decision-making they feel they are, and how satisfied they are with the system
of governance in Britain. This Audit indicates
that an ‘Obama effect' may be developing among British black and ethnic
minorities (BMEs):
- 41% of BMEs agree
that ‘when people like me get involved in politics, they really can change
the way that the country is run' compared to 31% of whites - a 10%
increase since last year
- 42% of BMEs are ‘very' or ‘fairly' interested in politics -a 15% increase
since last year
- 43% think the
present system of governing works well compared to 32% of whites - the
first time in six annual Audits
that BME respondents are more optimistic than whites
Download the full Audit of Political Engagement 6
Listen to the event and see photos here
Audit 6 was funded by the Ministry of Justice and the House of Commons.
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A new Hansard Society report, sponsored by Microsoft, MPs Online: Connecting with Constituents, reveals that MPs are using the internet primarily to inform their constituents rather than engage with them. The most widely used digital media are those which are mainly passive in nature, such as websites. Interactive forms of media which could be used by MPs to develop a two-way dialogue with their constituents, such as blogs and social networking, are used less commonly. Where these tools are used, it is often in passive 'send' mode with few MPs exploiting their full interactive potential.
Key findings from the research are:
- 92% of MPs use email
- 83% of MPs have a personal website
- 23% of MPs use social networking
- 11% of MPs blog
Click here to download the full report.
Click here to read media coverage of the report.
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