A book feels real when you have a physical copy - and mine arrived today! The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Integrity, edited alongside Holly Ann Garnett, is in print! The book has 36 chapters from leading experts on all aspects of electoral integrity. The book begins with our conception of electoral integrity - elections which…Read more Oxford Handbook of Electoral Integrity

The Scottish Parliament has considerable power and responsibility over electoral law. Last week, the Parliament considered whether to give legislative consent to parts of the Representation of the People Bill. This week, it was considering how to change the candidacy rights for foreign nationals. It was an honour to join the conversation and give evidence…Read more Evidence to the Scottish Parliament

A new special issue of Policy Issues is out, focussing on Democratic Backsliding and Public Administration. As the world is going through an era of 'democratic backsliding', there has been an increased focus on the relationship between democracy and public administration (see: Bauer et al. 2021; Lotta et al. 2024).  However, much of the existing…Read more Democratic Backsliding and Public Administration

What is Electoral Integrity? Conceptualising Election Quality in an Age of Complexity, with Cambridge University PressI’m delighted to share that a new book with Holly Ann Garnett is now available — and, amazingly, it is FREE to download until 14 July 2026 (thereafter £18.00 for the ebook).The book redefines the concept of electoral integrity around…Read more What is Electoral Integrity? Conceptualising Election Quality in an Age of Complexity

Football (‘soccer’) is the world’s largest sport. World cups mark major international mega events, which can trigger economic development, and have wider cultural and political consequences. The size of the global industry has exceeded €38 billion in Europe alone. Around the world, over 200 national associations, 130,00 professional players, and 4,000 professional teams. At the everyday level,…Read more The Governance of Football: special issue call for papers

 How do we reform elections, democratically?There is a lot of research on the pro and cons of specific electoral laws - but much less on the *process* of undertaking electoral reform. Who should be involved in electoral reform, when should reforms take place, and what practices help build trust among stakeholders and the public?To address…Read more How to reform elections democratically

By which benchmarks should we assess political leaders? How are Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage performing, and why?Watch our expert book launch from this week, including: Charles Clarke, Tim Bale, Patrick Diamond and Emmanuel Avril.It provides an overview of the conceptual and political landscape - useful for scholars, students, the media and the…Read more The State of Political Leadership in Britain

The Canadian House of Commons is examining how overseas voting works in Canadian elections. At present, special ballots can be issued to electors overseas. However, there are concerns inside Canada about whether this system enables everyone to vote. Drawing from various studies of UK electoral administration, it was a great honour to give evidence to…Read more Overseas voting in Canada