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The main conclusion of the existing research base is that, despite the public anger it ignited, the MPs' expenses scandal actually had little impact on British politics. This article questions this conclusion and suggests that the impact of the scandal was far more significant and multi-dimensional than has generally been recognised. This article uses research and interviews that were undertaken to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the MPs' expenses scandal to reflect upon its long-term social, political and institutional consequences. Drawing upon a range of sources it makes three main arguments. The first is that the MPs' expenses scandal had a more significant impact in terms of institutional change than has generally been recognised within the existing research base. It is also possible to suggest (our second argument) that the scandal also had a powerful cultural affect both within and beyond the Palace of Westminster. Our third and final argument is that our research suggests that parliament still exists in the shadow of the expenses scandal and that if a longer-term perspective reveals anything it is the failure of the scandal to stimulate a broad-ranging and balanced discussion about the inevitable cost of politics, and therefore of politicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 20 years, the notion of relevance vis-à-vis political science became not only a subject of academic debates but also a domain of practice, largely due to the developments in the research funding, increasingly referred to as the 'impact agenda'. In this article, we explore how the growing focus on socio-economic impact as the assessment criterion of research funding shapes the discipline of political science itself—its knowledge production, dissemination and the emergent forms of accountability of political scientists. The article presents the results of a major international study that has examined the emergence of 'impact agendas' across 33 countries. We report on the changing idea of relevance of political science through the lens of its strategic ambiguity and historical evolution. We then explore these broader trends through an in-depth analysis of the UK as an 'extreme case' and a blueprint for funding system reforms. These developments, we argue, are not a mere funding policy innovation but rather a paradigm-level change, reshaping the position of political science in society as well as the types of scholarship that are possible and incentivised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 27 June 2020, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Michael Gove, gave the Ditchley Annual Lecture on the theme of 'the privilege of public service'. Although the fact that it took place in the context of the broader Coronavirus crisis meant that it received relatively little publicity or attention, the central argument of this article is that the lecture provides great insight into the ideas shaping government policy, in general, and into the inner mind of Dominic Cummings, in particular. As such, we argue that although the lecture was given by Michael Gove, it was clearly floating ideas and themes that were taken, almost directly, from Dominic Cummings' website. We draw out and explore these themes and suggest that what they combine to offer is a dangerous blend of technocratic populism that is as intellectually splintered as it is politically naïve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political science has for some time been afflicted with an existential and empirical angst concerning impact and relevance. This is by no means a new or unique disciplinary pathology, but it is one that has intensified in recent years. The reasons for this intensification have been explored in a burgeoning literature on ‘the tyranny of impact’. The central argument of this article is that a focus on the ‘relevance gap’ within political science, and vis-à-vis the social sciences more generally, risks failing to comprehend the emergence of a far broader and multifaceted ‘expectations gap’. The core argument and contribution of this article is that the future of political science will depend on the politics and management of the ‘expectations gap’ that has emerged. Put slightly differently, the study of politics needs to have a sharper grasp of the politics of its own discipline and the importance of framing, positioning, connecting vis-à-vis the broader social context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK is often regarded as the archetype of Westminster democracy and as the empirical antithesis of the power-sharing coalitions of Western Europe. Yet, in recent years a different account has emerged which focuses on the subtler institutional dynamics that limit the executive. It is to this body of scholarship that this article responds, locating the recent chapter of coalition government within the wider context of the UK's democratic evolution. To do so, the article draws on Lijphart's two-dimensional typology of democracies, developing a refined framework that enables systematic comparison over time. The article demonstrates that over the course of the 2010-2015 Parliament, the UK underwent another period of majoritarian modification, driven by factors including the long-term influence of the constitutional forces unleashed under Labour and the short-term impact of coalition management. The article makes several important contributions, salient in the UK and beyond. Theoretically, it offers a critical rejoinder to debates regarding the relationship between institutional design and democratic performance. Methodologically, it demonstrates that the tools of large-scale comparison can be effectively scaled down to facilitate within-case analysis. Empirically, it provides a series of conclusions regarding the tenability of the UK's extant democratic architecture under the weight of pressures to which it continues to be subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Democratic politics is forged upon the creation and management of a number of complex social relationships that are mediated through the creation of a set of expectations about the respective obligations and responsibilities of each actor. However, we actually know very little about how the public's expectations of political processes, political institutions and politicians can be managed. The danger, as recent research has started to reveal, is that the public's expectations can be overinflated because of the pressures of political competition to the extent that subsequent failure is almost inevitable. This article departs from the conventional approach to this topic, with its emphasis on the creation of 'expectation gaps', and instead develops a more original and distinctive focus on 'expectation vacuums' and 'expectation clouding'. As such, the central argument of this article is that the May 2012 rejection of elected mayors in the vast majority of cities reflected the existence of an 'expectation vacuum' and 'expectation clouding'. This interpretation raises fresh questions about (inter alia) the politics of public expectations, the tools of contemporary statecraft and the future of local governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]