Review of the Electoral Commission
Review of the Electoral Commission

Author: Committee on Standards in Public Life

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-01-18

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 9780101700627

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This is the eleventh inquiry by the Committee on Standards in Public Life with this particular report reviewing the work of the Electoral Commission. The Commission itself was established as an independent statutory body on 30 November 2000, with a mandate to review or examine such matters as electoral administration, and the conduct of elections and standards of propriety in financing political parties. All these issues have been of recent public concern, and the Committee believes it is important to ask whether the Commission's current mandate, governance arrangements and accountability framework are appropriate for the purpose required of the Commission. The Committee has set out 41 recommendations, including: that the mandate of the Commission should be amended and refocused so that it has two principal statutory duties: (i) as regulator of political party funding and campaign expenditure in the UK; (ii) and as a regulator of electoral administration in Great Britain; further, that is should decentralize responsibility for monitoring and regulating campaign and constituency expenditure in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to regional offices; it should report to Parliament annually on standards of electoral administration; it should have no involvement in electoral boundary matters or have a role in undertaking policy development in relation to electoral legislation; that the Commission should undertake detailed research into the scale of electoral fraud in the UK. The publication is divided into 5 chapters with appendices; Chapter 1: Introduction and context; Chapter 2: Mandate of the Electoral Commission; Chapter 3: Governance of the Electoral Commission; Chapter 4: Accountability of the Electoral Commission; Chapter 5: Integrity of the electoral process

Standards Matter
Standards Matter

Author: Committee on Standards in Public Life

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-01-17

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 9780101851923

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The Committee for Standards in Public Life felt that the time was right to undertake a review of the key lessons that have been learnt since the Nolan Committee's first report (ISBN 9780101285025) was published in 1995 about how to improve ethical standards in public life - to stand back and reflect on what has been achieved and what still needs to be done. The report argues that much of the basic infrastructure to improve standards is now in place. Statements of key principles and codes of conduct have been adopted by most public bodies, new regulators have been created or had their existing remits clarified, and awareness of principles such as integrity, accountability and openness has increased considerably. The Committee believes standards of behaviour in many areas of public life have improved. But the Committee finds it disturbing that concerns continue to be raised about the integrity of so many of the country's key institutions or those within them; and the evidence of the last few years and months suggests that there is still much to do before the high standards in public life to which we all aspire are fully internalised in the cultures of all our public institutions. The report concludes that the need now is not for more principles, codes or regulators but rather for the existing arrangements to be more consistently and actively implemented.

Contested Words
Contested Words

Author: Ian Cram

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-05-13

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1317160290

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In modern liberal democracies, rights-based judicial intervention in the policy choices of elected bodies has always been controversial. For some, such judicial intervention has trivialized and impoverished democratic politics. For others judges have contributed to a dynamic and healthy dialogue between the different spheres of the constitution, removed from pressures imposed on elected representatives to respond to popular sentiment. This book provides a critical evaluation of ongoing debates surrounding the judicial role in protecting fundamental human rights, focusing in particular on legislative/executive abridgment of a core freedom in western society - namely, liberty of expression. A range of types of expression are considered, including expression related to electoral processes, political expression in general and sexually explicit forms of expression.

Elite Statecraft and Election Administration
Elite Statecraft and Election Administration

Author: T. James

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2012-07-31

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 1137035099

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The way in which elections are run is changing, as radical reforms or experiments have been introduced across the world. This book establishes why election administration might be used by political elites to win and maintain power. It identifies the role of elite interests in shaping election administration in USA, UK and Ireland.

Board Accountability in Corporate Governance
Board Accountability in Corporate Governance

Author: Andrew Keay

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-05-15

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 1317910699

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Within corporate governance the accountability of the board of directors is identified as a major issue by governments, international bodies, professional associations and academic literature. Boards are given significant power in companies, and as a consequence it is argued that they should be accountable for their actions. Drawing on political science, public administration, accounting, and ethics literature, this book examines the concept of accountability and its meaning in the corporate governance context. It examines the rationale for making boards accountable, and outlines the obstacles and drawbacks involved in providing for accountability. The book goes on to examine how current mechanisms for ensuring accountability are assessed in terms of fairness, justice, transparency, practicality, effectiveness and efficiency, before discussing the ways that accountability might be improved. Andrew Keay argues that enhanced accountability can provide better corporate governance, helping to reduce the frequency and severity of financial crises, and improve confidence in company practice. As an in depth study of a key element within the exercise of authority and management in corporate entities, this book will be of great use and interest to researchers and students of corporate governance, business and management, and corporate social responsibility.