Tag Archives: Parliament

Good for the Conservatives, bad for the country: four reasons why a snap election is a bad idea

This post first appeared on the LSE Policy and Politics blog on 18th April 2017. The Prime Minister has announced her intention to seek Parliament’s approval for a general election on 8th June. The Prime Minister’s surprise statement was long on … Continue reading

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What happened to the Easter Act, 1928?

As students, schoolchildren and their teachers are acutely aware, Easter this year was ‘late’. Unlike Britain’s other major religious holiday, Christmas, the date of Easter is not fixed. Easter Sunday (Easter Day) can fall on any Sunday from March 22nd … Continue reading

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What is the Chancellor’s Autumn statement?

This week the Chancellor of the Exchequer will deliver his Autumn Statement. It forms part of three set-piece debates which punctuate the parliamentary year, alongside the debate on the Queen’s Speech and the Budget. It is striking that two of those, the Autumn … Continue reading

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Irrelevant questions undermine the value of PMQs

This post first appeared on the blog of the Parliaments and Legislatures study group of the UK Political Studies Association. The weekly Prime Minister’s Questions is undoubtedly an important mechanism for holding the government to account. The requirement that the … Continue reading

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Ed Balls and a defence of sledging at PMQs

Prime Minister’s Questions is one of the most extraordinary Parliamentary spectacles at Westminster, if not the world. Every week, while Parliament is sitting, the Prime Minister must come to Parliament and subject themselves to thirty minutes, (in recent times quite … Continue reading

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