Research Briefing
3,971 candidates stood for election on May 7, including 1,033 women, a record number. Across the UK there were 6.1 candidates on average per constituency. Approximately 130 parties contested for seats. 584 former MPs sought re-election, including 24 previous MPs who had not been in the 2010-15 Parliament. All data used in this article is
Research Briefing
A viral email claims that "illegal immigrants/refugees living in Britain" receive significantly more financial assistance from the Government than UK pensioners. The email originates from abroad and the figures quoted do not reflect the true situation in the United Kingdom.
Research Briefing
The Recall of MPs Bill 2014-15 received Royal Assent on 26 March 2015. The Bill had been amended in the House of Commons before being sent to the House of Lords. It was further amended in the Lords and the House of Commons considered and agreed to the Lords Amendments on 24 March 2015.
Research Briefing
The Welfare Reform Act 2012 requires the Government to commission an independent review of how the Personal Independence Payment assessment is working. The first report of the Independent Review, led by Paul Gray, was published on 17 December 2014. It makes recommendations aimed at improving the claimant experience, the use of evidence, and the effectiveness of the assessment.
Research Briefing
This note outlines the provisions of the smoking ban in England that came into effect on 1 July 2007 in a practical context. It also includes recent developments such as the introduction of new regulations in 2015 regarding smoking in private vehicles.
Research Briefing
This paper sets out the main changes to direct tax rates and allowances announced in the Budget on 18 March 2015, for the tax year 2015/16.
Research Briefing
This note give an overview of the post-2012 higher education tuition fee system, it sets out the different fee arrangement across the UK and outlines the policies of political parties with regard to tuition fees.
Research Briefing
History and development of the office of Lord Chancellor. This note summarises the history and development of the office of Lord Chancellor and also examines the changes that were made to the role following the enactment of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
Research Briefing
A parliamentary election took place in Israel on 17 March 2015. No party won an overall majority, but Likud – the centre-right party of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – remained the largest party. This note provides a summary of developments.
Research Briefing
Proposals to change the procedure if the re-election of a Speaker is challenged after a general election are to be considered on 26 March 2015.
Research Briefing
The Osmotherly Rules (the Rules) give guidance on the role of civil servants and other Government officials appearing before select committees. The purpose of the Rules is to assist staff in Government departments dealing with requests for information from select committees, including: the provision of evidence, handling select committee reports and drafting responses to such reports.
Research Briefing
David Cameron described the Government’s immigration policy objective as “good immigration, not mass immigration.” The Government wanted to attract the ‘brightest and best’ migrants who were deemed most beneficial to the UK. It also wanted to reduce overall net migration levels from the hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands by the end of the 2010 - 2015 parliament, by minimising opportunities for abuse and being more selective about the criteria for entry.
Research Briefing
This note collates the public commitments regarding schools policy in England made by the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP and Green Party.
Research Briefing
South Sudan has been embroiled in a brutal civil war since December 2013. On one side is the government of President Salva Kiir Mayadit (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement) and its’ allies; on the other side is former Vice-President Riek Machar (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition) and his backers. As some observers warned might happen at the time, the euphoria and optimism that attended South Sudan’s independence in July 2011 has quickly been shattered. At least 2.5 million people currently face crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity. 1.5 million people have been internally displaced. An estimated 60,000 people have been killed. With the price of oil down and oil exports in decline, the country’s economy is in a parlous condition. Peace talks have so far failed and observers now fear a return to all-out conflict.
Research Briefing
In his keynote speech on immigration on 28 November 2014, the Prime Minister set out plans to secure agreement on changes to European law on free movement of persons in order to allow the UK to, among other things, deny EEA migrants in-work benefits for four years and prevent Child Benefit being paid for children living abroad. Proposals to further restrict EEA migrants’ access to benefits have also been put forward by Labour and by the Liberal Democrats.
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