Research Briefing
Most farming organisations are taking a 'remain' or neutral position ahead of the EU Referendum on the grounds that there is too much uncertainty around a potential UK approach to farming outside the EU and its Common Agricultural Policy. However, others are starting to set out what a new approach to UK agriculture, outside the EU, might look like.
Research Briefing
This Commons Library briefing looks at the new Settlement for the United Kingdom within the European Union agreed at the European Council on 17-19 February 2016. The Settlement consists of seven texts: a Decision and a Statement of Heads of State or Government and five Declarations.
Research Briefing
There have been many calls for reform of the law on victims' rights in England and Wales. This Briefing Paper looks at how the Victims' Code has developed; funding and commissioning of services; and proposals for new legislation from the main parties and others.
Research Briefing
Analysis of the latest UK and international economic indicators.
Research Briefing
Elections to the Scottish Parliament took place on 5 May 2016. The Scottish National Party won the largest number of seats (63), but lost the majority they held in the preceding Parliament. The Conservative Party came second with 31 seats, their best performance at any Scottish Parliament elections. Turnout was 55.7%, an increase of 5.3% points from 2011.
Research Briefing
This Commons Library briefing discusses the international summit on anti-corruption held in London on 12 May 2016 and what so far has emerged from it.
Research Briefing
Elections for the London Mayor and London Assembly were held on 5 May 2016. The Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan was elected as Mayor of London with the highest number and share of first preference votes since mayoral elections began in 2000. Labour won 12 of the 25 seats in the London Assembly, the Conservatives 8, the Green Party and UKIP 2 seats each and the Liberal Democrats one seat. Turnout in the mayoral election was 45.2%.
Research Briefing
In November 2015 the government published a Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice which outlined proposals to reshape the HE landscape, raise standards and increase competition in the sector. The White Paper echoes the proposals in the Green Paper and proposes creating: a single route into the HE sector, the Teaching and Excellence Framework, the Office for Students and UK Research and Innovation.
Research Briefing
It was the first Assembly election when all three UK-wide parties: Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats lost seats. Labour fell short of a majority and won 29 of the 60 seats in the National Assembly. The Conservatives, for the first time, did not increase their seat count loosing 3 seats.
Research Briefing
Local elections were held for 2,782 council seats across 124 district, unitary and metropolitan borough councils in England on 5 May 2016. In the elections the Conservatives had a net loss of 38 seats, Labour a net loss of 15 seats and the Liberal Democrats a net gain of 48 seats. Changes in council control across England were minimal.
Research Briefing
Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 5 May 2016 resulted in little change in the party composition. Following the elections the two largest parties in the Assembly remain the DUP (38 MLAs) and Sinn Féin (28 MLAs).
Research Briefing
On Thursday 5 May 2016 the second cycle of elections (2012 being the first) for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) took place in England and Wales (excluding the Metropolitan Police, City of London and Greater Manchester). The 40 police areas each elected one PCC. The supplementary vote system was used for the elections.
Research Briefing
This Commons Library briefing paper looks at the competing arguments about the possible effects of leaving the EU on the UK's permanent membership of the UN Security Council. The UK is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Would leaving the EU strengthen the UK’s position in the UN, have no direct effect, or result in a loss of legitimacy for the UN? What if it resulted in Scotland leaving the UK? Views differ; but the difficulty of amending the UN Charter makes any change to the permanent membership of the Security Council unlikely.
Research Briefing
Last week MPs debated an E-petition on the Government’s EU Referendum Leaflet. Over 220,000 people have signed, objecting to the Government using taxpayer’s money to fund pro-EU campaign materials. Since plans to distribute the leaflet were made public there have been suggestions from MPs that the Library should publish a similar guide outlining the facts
Research Briefing
The Conservative Party went into the 2015 General Election with a manifesto commitment to “scrap the Human Rights Act and curtail the role of the European Court of Human Rights.” This note provides a brief introduction to the Human Rights Act 1998; the European Convention on Human Rights and the work of the European Court of Human Rights.
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