Hannah Kelly

19. The Wright Committee sought to rebalance control of the parliamentary agenda away from the executive and towards Parliament. Professor Meg Russell of the University College London (UCL) Constitution Unit, and an adviser to the Wright Committee, told us: The Wright Committee's vision was for the House to gain more control over its own affairs, thereby rebalancing the relationship between government and parliament, and for parliamentary debates to be made more lively, topical, relevant and meaningful.

The House of Commons Backbench Business Committee has today published a 15th anniversary report about its work and options for reform.

The report extensively cites Meg Russell and @hannahkelly.bsky.social's submission.

Read the report 👉 publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm....

Assessing the House of Commons Backbench Business Committee 15 years on Unit Director Meg Russell and Hannah Kelly argue changes are needed to get back to the Wright Committee’s vision of it helping facilitate a more responsive and independent House of Commons. 

NEW BLOG: Assessing the House of Commons Backbench Business Committee 15 years on

Unit Director Meg Russell and Hannah Kelly argue changes are needed to get back to the Wright Committee’s vision of it helping facilitate a more responsive and independent House of Commons.

Bertrand Russell to Oswald Mosley. Perfection.

Absolutely incredible work from my old boss and the whole team at the UCL HD Centre!

House of Commons procedure: why does it matter and how does it change? House of Commons procedure combines formal rules with conventions and precedents, providing the framework for conducting business and making decisions. Hannah Kelly, Lisa James and Meg Russell expl…

House of Commons procedure: why does it matter and how does it change?

@hannahkelly.bsky.social, @lisajames.bsky.social and Meg Russell explain that House of Commons procedure provides a roadmap for decision-making and helps to set the balance of power between different actors.

Read it 👇

We have new opinion polling on House of Lords reform!

There is overwhelming public support to go beyond the government's current plans to remove hereditary peers (due to be debated in the Lords on Wednesday), including to limit prime ministerial appointments and cap the chamber's size.

A thread 👇

Its very easy to be gaslit into thinking otherwise but tonight's outpouring of people offering spare rooms, hotel rooms, lifts, spreading awareness and general assistance to those in need is a timely reminder that humanity is powerful and community spirit will never be broken.

your regular reminder that buying Harry Potter stuff gives money to Rowling and she uses that money directly and in large quantities to fund attacks on trans people

no ethical consumption under capitalism and all but “don’t buy Potter stuff” is an extremely easy baseline to follow

CPS given file over Premier League footballer rape claims The prosecution service will make a charging decision after being handed an evidence file by police.

...and yet the are players in the men's premier league who have been accused of sexually assaulting multiple women and continue to play every week, and the FA has nought to say. this has nothing to do with 'protecting women'.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Monitor 89: The urgency of protecting democracy and the rule of law Today the Unit published Monitor 89, providing an analysis of constitutional events over the last four months. This post by Alan Renwick and Meg Russell, which also serves as the issue’s lead artic…

Monitor 89 includes:
🎩 Ongoing House of Lords reform
🗳️ Voting system, party funding and other electoral reforms
💼 Negative briefings against the Attorney General
💶 Brexit-related developments in Northern Ireland
🍁 The new Canadian Prime Minister

And the lead story is on our blog 👇

Salt House Tapas is great

Three cupcakes decorated in blue and with '10k' decorations.

We are celebrating today because we have reached 10,000 followers on Bluesky!

Research Fellow @hannahkelly.bsky.social has baked some amazing cakes to mark the occasion.

Thank you to all our followers: we are so pleased that people find our work interesting and useful. Next step: 20,000!

ah this is so great, you should read it even if you're not really into darts imo

Ronnie Spector in "Beatles '64": "I'll tell you the truth. They had to escape."

Ronnie Spector in "Beatles '64": "I said, I'm taking you to Harlem. Nobody will notice you up there."

Ronnie Spector in "Beatles '64": "And they didn't. They thought they were a bunch of Spanish dorks."

Ronnie Spector has what is easily the funniest quote in that new Beatles '64 documentary.

Tom Fleming @conunitucl.bsky.social presents joint research with @hannahkelly.bsky.social on trends in procedural reform motions since 1997

- Only very few opposition day motions
- Between 2010-2013, some procedural (long-term) changes were adopted in backbench business but decline since