Since Finanical Crisis of 2007-8, austerity has been the dominant theme of UK public policy. Successive governments have sought to cut back on public spending to reduce the budget deficit. Austerity has been a key election issue, with cuts to schools and hospitals featuring prominently in election campaigns. In this new article, with Tyrone Jervier,…Read more The effects of public sector austerity on voter outreach
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Jeremy Corbyn: where does his ‘success’ stand in Labour’s long history
Jeremy Corbyn summarised many with his party's result in the 2017 UK General Election. Immediately after the election, I put his result into historical context in a piece for The Conversation: Jeremy Corbyn’s stock has been on a wild ride in the last couple of years. When he was elected leader of the British Labour…Read more Jeremy Corbyn: where does his ‘success’ stand in Labour’s long history
#GE2015 election night guide
It is general election night in the U.K. In advance, here was my guide that I wrote for the night on The Conversation
The 14th Conference of European Electoral Management Boards
I recently jointly presented research that I'm doing with colleagues from the Electoral Management Research Network (Leontine Loeber, Holly Ann Garnett and Carolien van Ham) at the 14th Conference of European Electoral Management Boards. The conference took place in St. Petersburg, Russia. The research looks at how the management of elections can be improved. My focus…Read more The 14th Conference of European Electoral Management Boards
Why isn’t electoral registration fully online?
Are on you on the electoral register? Can you remember? The UK recently introduced online electoral registration, but there is no mechanism for citizens to check if they are already registered. The result is an avalanche of duplicate applications for electoral officials as citizens register again 'just in case'. Green Party co-Leader Caroline Lucas MP…Read more Why isn’t electoral registration fully online?
Getting students onto the electoral register
Introducing individual electoral registration into Britain was long predicted to have had an impact on student registration. Previously, they were automatically enrolled by their universities; now they are not, and many have fallen off the electoral roll as a result. But an amendment passed in the Lords this week would let them register at the same time as they enrolled…Read more Getting students onto the electoral register
Centralising Electoral Management
Would elections be better run if they were organised centrally by the state? Or should local electoral officials be given more discretion to accommodate local preferences? This debate has ran most prominently for decades in the US. But there has been little academic research on the topic. I'm therefore pleased to see my article on…Read more Centralising Electoral Management
The Voter ID debate comes to Britain
Yesterday, the voter ID debate took off in Britain. Here are some analysis on the Democratic Audit blog: 'Christmas is a time for tinsel, presents and major policy announcements about British electoral law, it seems. Yesterday, the government announced it would accept many of the policy proposals laid out by Eric Pickles in his report…Read more The Voter ID debate comes to Britain
Returning Officer Payments in Scotland
The Scottish Parliament Select Committee on Local Government and Communities is undertaking a review of the payments made to Returning Officers for their work at elections. I was asked to give written and oral evidence. Concerns were raised in the media about the amount of money that Returning Officers receive because they are already highly paid…Read more Returning Officer Payments in Scotland
Electoral administration at the 2016 US Presidential election
Electoral administration was a dominant theme in the 2016 US Presidential election campaign. According to the eventual winner, President-elect Donald Trump, the contest would be rigged against him. After the election a New York Times Editorial pointed towards other problems.....queues at polling stations, however. This could amount to 'poll taxes by another name'. I say more…Read more Electoral administration at the 2016 US Presidential election
Toby S. James 