There has been a significant intervention in the debate around electoral reform recently, in the guise of former Prime Minister John Major. The Conservative politician has questioned the

Latest opinion, analysis and discussion from the Guardian. CP Scott: "Comment is free, but facts are sacred"

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Mega councils would mean more centralisation of power and less say for local communities. That's the OPPOSITE of devolution. Back our letter to Angela Rayner.

We are concerned about reported efforts from Russia to influence democracy in the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere. We believe we must establish the depth and breadth of possible Russian influence campaig...

via World news | The Guardian — Ed Davey voices concern about the Musk family foundation taking the far-right activist on a visit to Moscow The UK must do more to defend its democracy after it emerged that Elon Musk’s family foundation had taken the far-right activist Tommy Robinson to Russia, Ed Davey has said. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was brought to Russia by the Musks, the billionaire tech mogul’s father told the Guardian . Continue reading...

_28th July 2026_ ### We have three years to protect our constitutional arrangements before a possible radical illiberal majority at the next General Election * There is enough time left, just about, to fix parts of our constitutional arrangements before the next general election. This is important, as there is a non-trivial possibility of a radical illiberal majority at that general election. Of course, given our (largely Victorian) doctrine of parliamentary supremacy, and given the general deference our courts give to the executive, there is little which could be ultimately done to prevent the damage which a radical illiberal majority could do. But the damage could be slowed down significantly. For example, our current constitutional arrangements make it easy for ministers and departments to change and make law by statutory instruments, without any meaningful parliamentary involvement. Making such secondary legislation subject to a distinct process involving parliamentary consideration would at a stroke check any attempt by an incoming government to inflict a raft of Trump-style executive orders on day one. Eventually a new administration could get round this obstacle, but it would reduce the speed of the assault. Similarly, making it easier for citizens to challenge disproportionate executive decisions and secondary legislation would similarly make it harder for a new government to push through excessive measures. And there many other things that could be done too, from making public procurement more transparent, to giving teeth (or even a tooth) to freedom of information laws, to limiting the powers of a new Prime Minister to create peers. We could do so much strengthen the roof before this incoming storm. There may not, of course, be a storm. Maybe everything is going to be ok. Nonetheless, it would be worth doing anyway. But we will not do any of this, even with three years to go of the current parliament, a period which provides more than enough time to force things through the House of Lords if need be. * * Over at _Prospect_ I have reviewed an interesting paper by the Constitution Unit at University College London: _Safeguarding the Constitution: Key Steps to Strengthen UK Democratic Resilience_. It is a paper well worth reading, and if TL;DR you can read a summary here. There are some good proposals in there, and some nice-to-haves, but as I set out at _Prospect_ , I think the recommendations are incomplete. And as aver at the end of that article: our constitutional arrangements are vulnerable, and it is complacent to think otherwise. *** **Comments Policy** This blog enjoys a high standard of comments, many of which are better and more interesting than the posts. Comments are welcome, but they are pre-moderated and comments will not be published if irksome, or if they risk derailing the discussion. More on the comments policy is here.

One Crisis, Two Faces: ISC Russia Report vs UK Government Response (2020–2026)

FREE!!! EVIDENCE-BASED CIVIC EMPOWERMENT: VOL. 1 An Annotated Bibliography & Reference Guide (2013-2026) to the Published Works of Llewelyn Pritchard

Gill, former leader in Wales of Nigel Farage's party, admits taking bribes to help Putin. And his Russian connection - the Ukrainian politician Oleh Voloshyn - in turn has links to a key figure wante...

In making dissent a privilege, not a right, Labour is crafting a repressive toolkit. Imagine it in the hands of a Farage government, says Guardian columnist Owen Jones