This month, Unlock Democracy hosted a lively and insightful webinar exploring the future of the House of Lords.

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate. Such ingratitude."

'More than a decade of central government-imposed austerity on local councils looks set to continue.'

In most modern democracies, a single document lays out what those in power can and cannot do. This document is called a constitution. However, in the UK, we don’t have one!

As an American intern at Unlock Democracy, I have been exploring how the UK’s democratic system works and how it compares to what I know from home.

Will someone wake up? I’m going to start with a big statement: the local election results this year were different to anything anyone has ever seen before, certainly in this century.

Last week’s election results show the First Past the Post voting system is no longer fit for purpose.

Democracy in the US has taken a serious beating. The new President has pushed the limits of his presidential power and attacked the legal system when it stands in his way.

In their assault on quangos, politicians are not being honest about the trade-offs

“Our democracy is on the ballot. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. Let us vote to protect our democracy in November.”

The ‘land of the free’ has seen a strong whiff of anarchy, autocracy and nationalism enter the White House

MPs’ second jobs have been a major point of political controversy in recent years, with many arguing that lucrative consultancy roles and corporate advisory positions create conflicts of interest and undermine democratic accountability. In 2023 the infamous Owen Paterson lobbying scandal, which exposed how sitting MPs can use their political influence for private financial gain, highlighted the broader problem of second jobs - who benefits from them, and at what cost to public trust?

But beyond the democratic concerns, there is another dimension to this debate: the gender pay disparity in MPs’ secondary income. In 2021, an investigation by Byline Times found that male MPs earned, on average, 63% more than their female colleagues from second jobs. The disparity has only widened since. In 2024, the 15 highest earners from external roles were all men, and of all MPs earning over £10,000 annually from secondary income, 74% were male.

In the past six months, the topic of UK constitutional reform has become more prominent than ever. Why? The turbulent tenure of President Donald Trump in the US has shone a spotlight on the shortcomings of constitutional checks and balances. A worrying trend has emerged, marking a decline in respect for the constitutional principles that had once been considered sacrosanct in the American political system.

Similarly, the UK - whilst not facing the same degree of constitutional erosion - has also experienced worrying signs of democratic backsliding. The traditional reliance on conventions and unwritten rules has exposed cracks in our constitutional set-up.

2021 was the beginning of the end of Boris Johnson and the start of Keir Starmer’s march to power. But for much of 2021, things looked very different, with the Conservatives holding a 10-point lead with YouGov as late as mid October. What changed all this?

Donald Trump has only been back in the White House for seven weeks, but he has already dealt a succession of severe blows to US democracy. 

As a sixteen-year-old, I am becoming more aware of how I am affected directly by decisions made by the government, alongside those made by voters, whose choices affect me and my peers.

The United States of America prides itself on its constitution and democratic traditions. Just a month into President Trump’s second term, it’s clear that these are going to be tested in a way they’ve never been in more than 200 years. 

For many people, the 2025 Council Elections will be the first opportunity in four years to have their say on their local councillor and on who’s been running their Council.

Georgia is one of the starkest examples of how foreign interference can destabilise democracy, but democracy in the UK is not immune from this risk.

The long awaited English Devolution White Paper landed in December. It details the government’s plans to significantly reshape local government across the country.