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The Constitution Unit is the UK’s leading research body on constitutional change and is the main research centre within UCL’s Department of Political Science
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The Constitution Unit has established an Independent Commission on Referendums, to review the role of referendums in British democracy and consider how the rules and practice could be improved.
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Our research has significant real-world impact, informing policy-makers engaged in constitutional reform both in the United Kingdom and around the world.
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The Monitor is the Constitution Unit's newsletter and contains analysis of constitutional developments across the UK, information about the the Unit’s research and publications, and details of relevant events held by the Unit and other organisations.
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The Unit's Research
Upcoming Events
The Independent Commission on Referendums: who, what, why and how, Belfast Seminar
In October the Constitution Unit launched an Independent Commission on Referendums, to review the role of referendums in British democracy and consider how their rules and practice could be improved. The Commission is meeting monthly, and intends to report in the summer of 2018. At this seminar the chair and members of the Commission will discuss their task, how they are setting about it, and the input they need from other experts and the public to ensure the Commission draws on the widest possible evidence base. They will make particular reference to recent Irish experience of referendums.
Starts: Apr 26, 2018 1:00:00 PM
Regulating debate in elections and referendums
There is wide concern about the quality of debate that precedes elections and referendums. Campaigners’ claims are often seen as false or misleading. Many voters feel they cannot find reliable information on the options before them. But what can be done to improve this situation? The Constitution Unit is currently undertaking a research project, funded by the McDougall Trust, to answer this question.
Starts: May 15, 2018 1:00:00 PM
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Unit News
Latest edition of the Unit's newsletter: Monitor 68 - A Constitution in Flux
Published: Mar 9, 2018 2:01:39 PM
New Constitution Unit report on Options for an English Parliament
Published: Mar 9, 2018 7:52:08 AM
Constitution Unit researchers contribute to new parliamentary studies textbook
Published: Mar 2, 2018 9:13:32 AM
UCL SPP hosts Nick Clegg on 'How to Stop Brexit' and Richard Aitken/Robert Tombs in support of Brexit
Published: Feb 23, 2018 2:49:00 PM
Meg Russell wins funds to hold bicameralism events in Rome
Published: Feb 21, 2018 10:18:46 AM
Alan Renwick gives evidence to the Council of Europe
Published: Jan 24, 2018 11:19:09 AM
The Unit's Blog
How online quizzes could improve information during election campaigns: lessons from Germany
Thursday, 19 April 2018
Ongoing Constitution Unit research is exploring how quality of information and public discussion during election and referendum campaigns can be improved. In recent years, voting advice applications have been promoted as a way of providing impartial, good-quality information on salient issues and parties’ positions thereon. Michela Palese outlines the debate on this topic and relates […]
Exploring Parliament: opening a window onto the world of Westminster
Tuesday, 17 April 2018
In February this year, Oxford University Press published Exploring Parliament, which aims to provide an accessible introduction to the workings of the UK parliament. In this post, the book’s editors, Louise Thompson and Cristina Leston-Bandeira, explain why the book is necessary and what it hopes to achieve. If you travelled to Parliament Square today you’d […]
The Good Friday Agreement at 20: what’s next for Northern Ireland?
Wednesday, 11 April 2018
Yesterday, in the first of two blogs on the Good Friday Agreement, Alan Whysall discussed where the Agreement had gone wrong and the benefits it has brought Northern Ireland since it was signed in April 1998. In this post, Alan looks at the future of the Agreement, a document he was involved in negotiating and implementing […]
The Good Friday Agreement at 20: what went wrong?
Tuesday, 10 April 2018
The Good Friday Agreement (also known as the Belfast Agreement) is 20 years old today, but recent events in Northern Ireland have shown that power-sharing has proven a difficult exercise. Alan Whysall, who was involved in the negotiations that led to the Agreement as well as its implementation, examines what has gone wrong since the Agreement was […]