Resources & research
Resources & research
Read our report marking one year since the current government took office.
Watch our new explainer on how constitutions work, and why they matter. Made in partnership with the International Association for Democracy.
With dwindling public confidence in the integrity of the political system, and growing concerns about the accountability of both the Executive to elected representatives, and the latter to those who elect them, steps are needed to restore trust in politics which is running at record low levels and reverse democratic backsliding and the decline to “elective dictatorship”.
We recently emailed councillors across England to ask for their views on the Government's plans for devolution. Thank you to the councillors who responded to our survey. We greatly appreciate it.
There is a growing consensus that English governance is over-centralised, and that more-or-less radical devolution is required. The possibility of a new government in 2024 creates a unique opening and new impetus for a radical devolutionary settlement in England.
There are many ways in which, despite being the world’s 2nd largest legislative chamber (nearly 800 members), the House of Lords remains highly unrepresentative of the population of the United Kingdom.
This report (the first of three on representation in the House of Lords) focuses on perhaps the most glaring of diversity failures - the gender imbalance of the House of Lords.
You can make a difference to our campaigns by reaching out to your Member of Parliament (MP).
New report: Register Every Voter: How Automatic Voter Registration can bring the forgotten millions back into our democracy by Toby S. James
A new report commissioned by democratic pressure groups, Unlock Democracy and Compass, sounds the alarm about a long-term decline of UK democracy, exposing a systematic decoupling of people and power.
Voters are often cynical about pledges made by politicians. But there is a way to turn that cynicism on its head and utilise it to turn out voters. The answer is deeper democracy.
Compass and Unlock Democracy have come together to deliver the Powering Up project - which seeks to strengthen and modernise our creaking democracy. Our goal is to persuade political parties of all colours to adopt a comprehensive package of democratic reforms in their next manifesto and deliver it in Government.
Former cabinet minister John Denham argues in this report that Labour must commit to proportional representation and English votes for English laws if it is to break Conservative hegemony in England and save the union.
The importance of political literacy cannot be overstated. It is very important that young people know how important politics is to our everyday lives and understand how the democratic process works. This knowledge should encourage them to become engaged voters in the future.
It’s been years since the Labour Party has been so focused on constitutional change.In his Labour leadership campaign, Keir Starmer promised to deliver ‘a radical devolution of powers’. Ahead of the party’s 2021 conference, almost half of constituency parties backed moving to proportional representation for general elections.
The erosion of local democracy is documented our report entitled Local Government in England - 40 Years of Decline, commissioned by Unlock Democracy from De Montfort University.
We got responses from 815 Councillors from all political parties, including independent Councillors.Councillors are not confident that the Government’s proposed devolution arrangements will lead to better outcomes for residents.