What we do
The Parliament & Government Programme undertakes cutting edge, high quality research in the field of politics and democracy. The only research programme of its kind in the UK, our core area of work is focused on reform of the Westminster Parliament. As such our innovative research is at the forefront of debate about the role of Parliament and parliamentarians, the future of representative democracy, and the public's engagement with politics and the political process.
Our impact
As Parliament's 'critical friend' we have a long-standing reputation for developing challenging but realistic and workable policy recommendations to reform Parliament, particularly in the field of legislative scrutiny, many of which have subsequently been implemented at Westminster. Our rigorous, evidence based research is often quoted in parlimentary reports and utilised by government departments, our team are regularly called to give evidence to parliamentary select committees and we advise parliamentary officials on initiatives for reform both here in the UK and abroad. Our publications and reports are regularly covered in the media and used by academics in their research both nationally and internationally.
Our work also engages with a broad audience both at home and abroad through our journal, Parliamentary Affairs, published in conjunction with Oxford Journals (Oxford University Press). The journal consists of peer-reviewed articles by leading academics in the fields of political history and political science as well as commentary articles for a broader audience including teachers and students of politics and citizenship.
We provide advice and support to the Associate Parliamentary Group on the Constitution, Parliament and Citizenship, the International Parliamentary Strengthening Network, the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), and the Women and the Vote campaign. We are also an active supporter of the Study of Parliament Group and our Programme Director represents the Hansard Society on its Executive Committee.
Supporting our work
Generous suport for current and past projects has been provided by a wide variety of organisations including: Accenture, BBC, CIPFA, DLA Piper, Electoral Commission, House of Commons, House of Lords, KPMG, Ministry of Justice, National Audit Office, Nuffield Foundation, OFCOM and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
If you share our concern about the need to strengthen Parliament and promote democracy and would therefore like to support our research, please contact the Programme Director, Dr Ruth Fox.
Who we are
Our research team:
Dr Ruth Fox - Programme Director
Matt Korris - Research Fellow
Diana Stirbu - Researcher
A number of the Programme's projects also benefit from the consultancy advice and support of Hansard Society Fellow Alex Brazier.