The Monarchy: Decorative, Expensive, and Somehow Still Here
The Monarchy: Decorative, Expensive, and Somehow Still Here | A Political Science Guide to Britain’s Most Baffling Institution and Why Nobody Has Managed to Get Rid of It
Category: Governance
The Lord Chancellor and Attorney General: The Two Law Officers Whose Roles Blur the Line Between Legal and Political
The Lord Chancellor and Attorney General: The Two Law Officers Whose Roles Blur the Line Between Legal and Political | The Lord Chancellor’s Constitutional Transformation, the Attorney General’s Double Duty, Law Officers’ Privilege, and the Permanent Tension Between Legal Advice and Political Loyalty
Right Populism: A Loud Pub And A Stronger Flag
Right Populism: A Loud Pub And A Stronger Flag | Hijacked By Polite Professionals, Cured By A Better Bus
Moderate Social Liberalism: A Herbal Tea And A Footnote
Moderate Social Liberalism: A Herbal Tea And A Footnote | Progress, In Moderation, On A Wednesday
GP Funding Increase
GP Funding Increase Means Your Appointment Wait Drops From 14 Weeks to 13 Weeks and Four Days Britain celebrates marginal progress in primary care with the cautious enthusiasm the situation deserves LONDON — The government has confirmed additional funding for GP practices across England, in a move intended to modernise primary care, reduce waiting times, and improve access to a doctor in a way that does not involve waking up…
SNP Wins Scotland Again
SNP Wins Scotland Again, Presumably Out of Sheer Scottish Stubbornness John Swinney leads his party to a fifth consecutive victory in a country that appears constitutionally incapable of voting any other way EDINBURGH — The Scottish National Party has won the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, becoming the first party in the history of devolved Scottish government to win five consecutive elections, a feat achieved through some combination of competent governance,…
The British Economy and the State: From Post-War Consensus to Austerity to Whatever This Is
The British Economy and the State: From Post-War Consensus to Austerity to Whatever This Is | Keynesianism, Thatcherism, New Labour, the Financial Crisis, Austerity, Trussonomics, and the Search for a Growth Model That Actually Works
The House of Commons: Six Hundred and Fifty People Shouting at Each Other in a Room Too Small to Fit Them
The House of Commons: Six Hundred and Fifty People Shouting at Each Other in a Room Too Small to Fit Them | Britain’s Democratic Heart: A Medieval Chamber, Adversarial Benches, and a Speaker Whose Main Job Is Telling Grown Adults to Sit Down
Strong State Conservatism: Bracing Hugs From Whitehall
Strong State Conservatism: Bracing Hugs From Whitehall | Small In Spirit, Large In Shoulders, Loud Before Breakfast
The British Civil Liberties Tradition: Rights, Freedoms, and the Persistent Tendency to Remove Them When Inconvenient
The British Civil Liberties Tradition: Rights, Freedoms, and the Persistent Tendency to Remove Them When Inconvenient | Habeas Corpus, the Bill of Rights, the Human Rights Act, the Snoopers Charter, Protest Restrictions, and the Gap Between Britain’s Self-Image and Its Surveillance Legislation
The British Army of Lawyers: Legal Aid, the Bar, Solicitors, the Magic Circle, and the Justice System’s Most Expensive Participants
The British Army of Lawyers: Legal Aid, the Bar, Solicitors, the Magic Circle, and the Justice System’s Most Expensive Participants | How the Legal Profession Governs Itself, Who Can Afford It, and the Transformation of Law Into a Service Industry
Third Way: Slogan, Pastries, And A Wireless Mic
Third Way: Slogan, Pastries, And A Wireless Mic | New Labour Was A Golden Afternoon
The British Health Inequality Scandal: Living Longer if You Live in the Right Postcode
The British Health Inequality Scandal: Living Longer if You Live in the Right Postcode | The Marmot Review, Life Expectancy Gaps, Deprivation, Austerity’s Health Consequences, and the Social Determinants of Who Gets Ill and Who Does Not
The British Constitution’s Unwritten Rules: The Conventions That Hold Everything Together and Break at the Worst Moments
The British Constitution’s Unwritten Rules: The Conventions That Hold Everything Together and Break at the Worst Moments | Collective Responsibility, the Sewel Convention, Salisbury Convention, Caretaker Conventions, the Lascelles Principles, and the Gentleman’s Agreements That Govern a Nation
State Socialist Command Economy: Two Tinned Choices, Both Approved
State Socialist Command Economy: Two Tinned Choices, Both Approved | The Ministry Of Saucepans Has Reorganised Your Fridge
Britain’s Interest Rate Cut
Britain’s Interest Rate Cut Arrives Like a Plaster on a Chainsaw Wound The Bank of England provides modest relief to an economy that has been through rather a lot LONDON — The Bank of England cut interest rates on Thursday, as widely expected, in a move that economic analysts described as “welcome,” mortgage holders described as “about time,” and the broader British public — currently paying £9 for strawberries, £4.60…
The British Satire Tradition: From Swift to Private Eye, From TW3 to The Thick of It, the Comedy That Holds Power to Account
The British Satire Tradition: From Swift to Private Eye, From TW3 to The Thick of It, the Comedy That Holds Power to Account | Political Satire’s History, Its Constitutional Function, Its Practitioners, and Why Britain Produces More Political Comedy Than Almost Any Other Democracy
Stateless Market Absolutism: Price The Friendship
Stateless Market Absolutism: Price The Friendship | Every Relationship Is A Service-Level Agreement
Theocratic Conservative Lean: A Stronger Sermon
Theocratic Conservative Lean: A Stronger Sermon | Sunday Services, A Slightly Anxious Bishop, Hot Water Bottle Morality
The Barnett Formula: Britain’s Most Complained-About Funding System That Nobody Can Agree to Replace
The Barnett Formula: Britain’s Most Complained-About Funding System That Nobody Can Agree to Replace | How a Temporary Treasury Calculation From 1978 Became the Permanent Basis for Devolved Funding and a Reliable Source of Intergovernmental Grievance
Minarchism: Three Things, Quietly, Then Home
Minarchism: Three Things, Quietly, Then Home | The Night-Watchman State Is Also A Romance
Britain’s Last Functional Train
Britain’s Last Functional Train Celebrates 14th Birthday at King’s Cross — Nation Attends With Emotional Support Snacks Five Things British Rail Travel Has Taught Us About the Human Condition 🚆🇬🇧 Britain now treats trains arriving on time the way medieval peasants treated comets: with awe, disbelief, and a mild suspicion that something terrible is coming next. Rail passengers pay £240 for tickets mainly to experience what transport experts describe as…
The Digital Revolution in British Politics: Social Media, Disinformation, Micro-Targeting, and the Transformation of How Democracy Works and Breaks
The Digital Revolution in British Politics: Social Media, Disinformation, Micro-Targeting, and the Transformation of How Democracy Works and Breaks | Cambridge Analytica, Facebook, WhatsApp Groups, TikTok Politics, AI-Generated Content, Declining Trust, and the Information Environment Nobody Designed and Everyone Is Now Stuck With
Cultural Left Liberalism: A Festival Diary And A Decolonial Podcast
Cultural Left Liberalism: A Festival Diary And A Decolonial Podcast | The National Trust Would Be Perfect If It Apologised More
Is the Union Sustainable? Scholarly Perspectives on Britain’s Constitutional Future
Is the Union Sustainable? Scholarly Perspectives on Britain’s Constitutional Future | Academic Analysis of Union Stability, Asymmetric Devolution Theory, The Territorial Constitution, Federal Options, and What Political Science Tells Us About Multinational States and Their Durability
The British Honours System’s Greatest Hits: A Celebration of the Knighthoods Nobody Can Explain
The British Honours System’s Greatest Hits: A Celebration of the Knighthoods Nobody Can Explain | Fred Goodwin, Philip Green, Conrad Black, and the Long and Distinguished History of Awarding National Recognition to People Who Subsequently Made the News for Other Reasons
The British Tabloid: Democracy’s Loudest Participant and Least Reliable Narrator
The British Tabloid: Democracy’s Loudest Participant and Least Reliable Narrator | The Sun, the Daily Mail, the Mirror, Phone Hacking, Chequebook Journalism, and the Newspapers That Have Made and Unmade Prime Ministers Since Before Most Prime Ministers Were Born
The Scottish Parliament at Twenty-Five: What Devolution Delivered, What It Didn’t, and Why Holyrood Is Both a Success and a Warning
The Scottish Parliament at Twenty-Five: What Devolution Delivered, What It Didn’t, and Why Holyrood Is Both a Success and a Warning | Free Prescriptions, Land Reform, Minimum Unit Pricing, the Named Person Scheme, the Ferries Scandal, and the Lessons of a Quarter Century of Devolved Governance
Energy Price Cap Cut
Energy Price Cap Cut From July, Leaving Britons Four Full Months to Feel Briefly Optimistic Ofgem provides welcome news that the national talent for pessimism will absorb within the fortnight LONDON — Ofgem, the energy regulator, has confirmed that the energy price cap will be cut from July, providing British households with a reduction in their bills that analysts project will save the average home approximately £100 over the year…
Plaid Cymru and Welsh Nationalism: The Movement for Welsh Self-Determination and Its Long, Patient Journey Toward Relevance
Plaid Cymru and Welsh Nationalism: The Movement for Welsh Self-Determination and Its Long, Patient Journey Toward Relevance | Plaid Cymru’s History, Welsh Language Politics, the Devolution Settlement, Cooperation Agreements With Labour, Independence Support, and the Distinctive Character of Welsh Political Nationalism