The Constitution Unit
The Constitution Unit
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Top 10 The Constitution Unit Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Constitution Unit episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Constitution Unit for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Constitution Unit episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Populism and the Rise of Autocracy
The Constitution Unit
12/03/20 • 69 min
There are concerns about the rise of populism and erosion of democratic standards throughout the world. Examples include countries such as Hungary, Poland and Brazil, growing support for populist parties in western Europe, and recent development in the US. Populism has grown through new challenger parties, but also through capture of previously mainstream parties.
This Policy and Practice seminar discuss these worldwide trends, how to counter them, and how worried we should be about a populist rise in the UK. Three international experts joined the discussion.
Speakers:
- Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy: The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends
- Rory Stewart, former Cabinet Minister and 2019 candidate for the Conservative Party leadership, now Senior Fellow at Yale University
- Professor Nadia Urbinati, author of Me the People: How Populism Transforms Democracy
Chair: Professor Meg Russell, Director of the Constitution Unit
Further Reading
- Anne Applebaum - How my old friends paved the way for Trump and Brexit
- Anne Applebaum - How to beat populists when facts don't matter
- Rory Stewart - What is wrong with us?
- Nadia Urbinati - Populism? It’s not fascism, and also democracies Are “Elastic”
- Nadia Urbinati - The pandemic hasn’t killed populism
Links
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved
Constitution Unit Conference 2024: House of Lords reform
The Constitution Unit
07/02/24 • 72 min
The composition and role of the House of Lords are subject to frequent question. Since the last major change by a Labour government in 1999, proposals for further reform have ranged from wholesale change – e.g. creating an elected second chamber of the nations and regions – to smaller alterations to change the appointments system or to limit the chamber’s size. To what extent should a new government prioritise House of Lords reform, and what specifically should be the priorities? If the Conservatives lose office, what challenges might be posed by their still being the largest single group in the upper chamber?
Links
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved
Constitution Unit Conference 2024: Rule of law
The Constitution Unit
07/01/24 • 72 min
The role of courts and judges has been controversial in recent years, with criticism of both domestic judges and the European Court of Human Rights. Several government bills have raised difficult questions about the respective roles of government, parliament, and the courts. Has the rule of law been undermined by recent trends in policymaking or political discourse? If so, what should be done to bolster and protect it in the future?
Links
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved
Constitution Unit Conference 2024: Devolution within England
The Constitution Unit
06/28/24 • 74 min
The last two decades have seen major changes in the structure of sub-national government within England, with the gradual devolution of powers to a range of new mayors and combined authorities. How should this patchwork of devolution be built upon? Should structures be more consistent across the country? Should further powers be devolved, and – if so – to whom? What steps are required to ensure that this devolved power faces appropriate scrutiny and accountability?
Speakers:
- Professor Tony Travers – Director of LSE London and Visiting Professor at the LSE
- Professor Joanie Willett – Associate Professor in Politics and Co-Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies, University of Exeter
- Akash Paun – Programme Director, Institute for Government
- Ed Cox – Executive Director for Strategy, Economy and Net Zero at the West Midlands Combined Authority
Chair: Professor Alan Renwick – Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit
Links
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved
Constitution Unit Conference 2024: Standards in government and parliament
The Constitution Unit
06/27/24 • 72 min
The 2019–24 parliament has been dogged by complaints of low standards of conduct by our politicians. Rishi Sunak has committed to upholding the ideals of ‘integrity, professionalism, and accountability’, while Labour has promised to overhaul how standards are regulated in government and parliament. What are the priorities in this area for a new government to address? Does this require cultural changes, institutional reforms, or both? Which changes or reforms might be most effective?
Speakers:
- Dominic Grieve KC – Chair of the UK Governance Project, former Attorney General and Conservative MP
- Peter Riddell – former Commissioner for Public Appointments, Director of the Institute for Government and journalist
- Tim Durrant – Programme Director, Institute for Government
Chair: Professor Meg Russell FBA – Director of the Constitution Unit
Episode links:
The joint statement on standards
Links
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved
Opinion Polls
The Constitution Unit
06/14/24 • 54 min
The podcast originally appeared on 'Uncovering Politics' from UCL's Department of Political Science.
In the run up to the UK General Election we have a special episode on opinion polls.
Opinion polling is a staple of modern elections, captivating political enthusiasts with fluctuating numbers but also sparking controversy. Polls are sometimes criticized for inaccuracies, notably in the Brexit referendum and the 2016 US presidential election. Polling methods, including sampling and voter prediction, are hotly debated. The emergence of MRP polls, which accurately estimated results in the 2017 UK election, has added to the intrigue, despite producing widely varying predictions for the outcome of the current UK election. So what should we make of the polls? And how can we best interpret all the numbers to understand what’s really going on?
Our guest is Prof Ben Lauderdale. Ben is Professor of Political Science here at UCL, a former Senior Data Science Advisor to the polling firm YouGov, the original brain behind the development of MRP methods and general polling guru.
UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy offers a uniquely stimulating environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory, human rights, public policy-making and administration. The Department is recognised for its world-class research and policy impact, ranking among the top departments in the UK on both the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the latest Guardian rankings.
Links
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved
Priorities for new MPs' induction in the next parliament
The Constitution Unit
06/05/24 • 75 min
Whatever the result of the upcoming general election, a large number of new MPs will enter the House of Commons. A well-designed induction programme will be crucial for helping them to find their feet and become effective parliamentarians. So what do new MPs need to know about their roles in parliament and beyond? How might this differ from in the past, and how might such induction best be delivered? We discussed these questions with experts from the Hansard Society and Institute for Government, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and a former MP.
Speakers
- Dr Ruth Fox – Director of the Hansard Society
- Dr Hannah White – Director of the Institute for Government
- Daniel Greenberg – Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
- Alistair Burt – former Conservative MP and minister
Chair: Professor Meg Russell – Director of the Constitution Unit
Links
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved
Changes and challenges in regulating elections
The Constitution Unit
04/30/24 • 72 min
Recent years have seen many changes to election regulations in the UK. These changes affect key aspects of how elections are fought and administered, including party spending, voter identification, the voting rights of citizens living abroad, and the electoral system used to elect mayors and police and crime commissioners.
So what has changed, what effects might these changes have, and what challenges do they present for parties, candidates, and electoral administrators? An expert panel discussed these questions a week before the 2 May local elections.
Speakers
- Laura Lock – Deputy Chief Executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators
- Lord (Paul) Tyler – Liberal Democrat peer and former MP, co-author of the 2023 book Can Parliament Take Back Control?
- Professor Alistair Clark – Professor of Political Science, Newcastle University
Chair: Professor Alan Renwick – Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit
Read a briefing from the Hansard Society on general election rules and regulations: https://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/publications/briefings/general-election-rules-and-regulations.
Links
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved
Should military action require parliamentary approval?
The Constitution Unit
04/11/24 • 73 min
The UK’s recent air strikes on the Houthis in Yemen have renewed discussion about parliament’s role in approving military action. The government is not constitutionally required to consult parliament on military deployments, and can choose whether and when to seek MPs’ approval. So what is parliament’s current role? Should this be changed, as some opposition parties have suggested? If so, what are some of the possibilities and challenges?
In this webinar, an expert panel discuss parliament’s current role, and whether reform is desirable or feasible.
Speakers:
David Lidington – Chair of the Royal United Services Institute, former Conservative MP for Aylesbury, and former Minister for the Cabinet Office, Lord Chancellor, and Leader of the House of Commons
Dr Veronika Fikfak – Associate Professor in International Law, University College London
Dr James Strong – Senior Lecturer in British Politics and Foreign Policy, Queen Mary University of London
Chair: Lisa James – Research Fellow, Constitution Unit
Diagram of parliamentary war convention
Useful reading:
- How might Keir Starmer codify his Prevention of Military Intervention Act? by Robert Hazell
- Parliament’s Secret War by Veronika Fikfak and Hayley J. Hooper
- The war powers of the British parliament: What has been established, and what remains unclear? by James Strong
Links
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved
The 1997 Labour government's constitutional reform programme: 25 years on
The Constitution Unit
06/24/22 • 77 min
May 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of the election of Tony Blair's first Labour government. It entered office with an ambitious set of manifesto proposals for constitutional reform. These included devolution in Scotland, Wales and London, a new settlement for Northern Ireland, the Human Rights Act, Freedom of Information Act, Lords reform, regulation of elections and referendums, and a referendum on the voting system for the House of Commons. Not all of these ambitions were reached, but further changes occurred beyond 2001, most obviously the establishment of the Supreme Court. This event will look back at the Labour reforms, asking what they sought to achieve, the extent to which those objectives were realised, whether in retrospect mistakes can be identified, and what has been the lasting legacy of these reforms. We are joined by a senior panel who were closely involved from different perspectives.
Speakers:
Lord (Charlie) Falconer of Thoroton is a Labour peer, who has held various frontbench positions including as Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor 2003-07
Baroness (Shami) Chakrabarti is a Labour peer and former Shadow Attorney General, who before this was Director of Liberty 2003-16
Professor Robert Hazell was founding Director of the Constitution Unit, a position he held from 1995 to 2015.
Chair: Professor Meg Russell, Director of the Constitution Unit
Links
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Constitution Unit have?
The Constitution Unit currently has 81 episodes available.
What topics does The Constitution Unit cover?
The podcast is about News, Political Science, Constitution, Uk Politics, Podcasts, Politics and Government.
What is the most popular episode on The Constitution Unit?
The episode title 'Constitution Unit Conference 2024: Rule of law' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Constitution Unit?
The average episode length on The Constitution Unit is 66 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Constitution Unit released?
Episodes of The Constitution Unit are typically released every 12 days, 20 hours.
When was the first episode of The Constitution Unit?
The first episode of The Constitution Unit was released on Jan 14, 2020.
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