Monthly Archives: November 2014
Christmas caption competition
At the conclusion of the PSA Awards ceremony last week, I was chatting to former Home Secretary David Blunkett – we were at university together and variously get together in support of campaigns (as on citizenship education and the future of … Continue reading
Enfranchising British nationals living abroad
Earlier this year, I chaired a cross-party group of parliamentarians to examine the problem of non-registration of British nationals who live abroad. About 5.5 million British citizens are believed to live outside the UK and of these about 3 million … Continue reading
Strengthening Parliaments
The International Development Committee in the Commons is undertaking a brief inquiry into public funding of programmes to support legislatures in developing nations. I was invited to submit evidence and my submission has now been published. It can be read … Continue reading
Sustaining higher education
I chair the Higher Education Commission, which draws together figures from politics, business, and academe. I co-chaired our most recent inquiry into the financial sustainability of higher education. The report – you can read it here – was released yesterday … Continue reading
Electors’ freedom of choice
The Wales Bill, presently completing its passage through the Lords, prohibits anyone from serving as both an MP and as a member of the National Assembly for Wales. The provision (clause 3) was agreed between the parties and was about … Continue reading
Fixed-term Parliaments and votes of confidence
Just over a week ago, I was speaking at a conference in Oxford held to discuss the passage and consequences of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. My paper addressed the Act and votes of confidence. There were notable changes in the … Continue reading
Parliamentary co-operation
Just over two weeks ago, I spoke at a conference, on ‘The National Assembly for Wales: Studying the Welsh Legislature’, at the Welsh Governance Centre in Cardiff. I gave the keynote lecture and spoke on ‘Making sense of diversity – The … Continue reading
The Norton View 