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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 14h

"I have said we'd have another election if there was no overall majority". Apparently it is now ok to tell the electorate to vote again if they don't give the right result.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 17h

That Ringo Starr line is quite something!

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 17h

They always seem to Know, don't they?

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 17h

I understand the desire to speak well of the dead, and am sure that Archer, like all of us, was a mix of good and bad. But the tendency to indulge dishonesty, so long as it's by a loveable scamp, has done real damage to British politics. We should be a bit wary of the "isn't he a card?" thing.

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Reposted by Robert Saunders

Mile End Institute @mileendinstitute.bsky.social · 21h

Last night, @mileendinstitute.bsky.social co-hosted the first in a new series of lectures by @qmulsse.bsky.social's Professors of Practice. In this special event hosted by @tomchidwick.bsky.social, Lord Clement-Jones explored how universities can shape, assess and showcase graduates for the future.

Peter Downs, Jaspreet Kaur and Lord Clement-Jones, SSE's first Professors of Practice, posing together for a photograph.

Lord Clement-Jones lecturing at Queen Mary University of London on Monday 5 October 2026.

Lord Clement-Jones in conversation with Tom Chidwick at Queen Mary University of London on Monday 5 October 2026.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I agree that the "my way or the highway" approach has become embedded in British politics. Starmer was certainly guilty of it, & this was one of his key weaknesses as a leader. I don't think there are many similarities between Starmer and Badenoch, but they both represent a common phenomenon there.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

And one thing we (should have) learned during the Brexit years is that "red tape" is sometimes better understood as "connecting tissue": it's what makes it possible to trade across borders & have confidence in what you're buying. Bernard wasn't wholly wrong that "Red tape holds the nation together"

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I should add that this was one of Badenoch's better media performances - and was also much better handled by Anna Foster than her interview with Emma Barnett last month. It really is helpful to hear full answers to questions, without constant interruptions and gotchas.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

In temperament, though not in policy, there is something quite Corbynite about Badenoch. There's the same unwavering conviction that she's right; the same assumption that opponents are bad people with deplorable motives; and the same tendency to think that "unity" means everyone agreeing with her.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Kemi Badenoch, who is currently purging the Tory candidates list, tells Today she stands for "uniting the country" and wants to "bring the country together". She then laments the Coalition years when "we had to make concessions". It's amazing how often "unity" means "everyone must agree with me".

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Sorry to hear that. Glad you're being looked after.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Sadly QM is not big on robed choirs. It's a lesson always to bring a cassock.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Alas, no. Lots of fried chicken shops, but I don't think they keep the feathers.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Needless to say, I will not be at tonight's @mileendinstitute.bsky.social event, which is the only reason I was wearing the suit in the first place. "What makes a graduate "future-ready"?" A functioning pair of trousers would be a good start. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-makes...

eventbrite.co.uk

What makes a graduate “Future-Ready” in the era of AI?

We are delighted to be joined by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on AI and the Digital Economy, Lord Clement-Jones.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It's way beyond that. I had a go with sellotape, but that couldn't cope either.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Today I accidentally tore my trousers asunder in a sensitive area, requiring me to move around the classroom in the afternoon with a seat clamped to my behind. I now have to do the Cersei walk of shame through the London Underground & avoid arrest on the train back to Oxford. How's your day going?

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

One of the many bizarre things about this garbage is that it's invariably propagated by people who would get snapped like twiglets in the kind of macho-man, might-is-right society they crave. Only Elon Musk thinks that Elon Musk is an alpha male.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

We were lucky to be joined by three expert panellists: Kay Crosby, @rebeccakhelm.bsky.social and Hannah Quirke. Thanks to all three for joining, and for giving us so much to think about.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

As the government abandons its plans to restrict jury trial, here's a @mileendinstitute.bsky.social webinar from March. We explored what the government was proposing, why it was contentious, what juries get right and wrong, and what other changes might be beneficial. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiep...

youtube.com

Reforming the Jury System: Speeding up Justice or Ending 800 Years of Liberty?

YouTube video by Mile End Institute

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

There are lots of different ways of measuring these things. GB News has a smaller but very loyal audience so is likely to have more people watching at 2pm on a Thursday afternoon than BBC News 24. But the BBC draws far more eyes through flagship programmes, the website, its app & its other channels.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It's surprisingly fun - and because the celebrities are playing for charity, generally know each other a bit and are just doing it for laughs, it doesn't have some of the more queasy, psychologically manipulative elements of the "regular" series.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Though they're being a bit naughty with the figures here: BBC News and Sky News still have much wider reach.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It is *for now*. But billionaires are good at thinking long term: they will soak up a decade of losses if the returns are good enough in the long run.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The ability to pour hundreds of millions of pounds into a loss-making TV channel, bent on wrenching British politics sharply to the right, is yet another of the ways in which extreme wealth is trying to remake UK democracy. It needs to be part of any serious conversation about political funding.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Oh, I'd love to hear this but have another event that evening. Hope it goes really well!

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

There's a reasonable argument to be made for that, though it won't produce "proportional" outcomes. It does, though, illustrate a key point here: that there are lots of different systems that do very different things, and they need debating. So just saying "pass a law tomorrow" is not going to work!

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Indeed. With the exception of the 1832 Act (which took two years, a general election, a run on the banks & the biggest political crisis of the C19th) the great Reform Acts all passed with a high degree of cross-party co-operation. Indeed, it was genuinely difficult to pass a Reform Act without that.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Well, if you're a fan of governments threatening MPs, sacking commissioners for following the law and forcing through major constitutional changes in two days, then we just disagree. (Though Farage or Lowe would like your style.) And you'd still face a one-year veto in the House of Lords.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

But that doesn't mean that your solution - or mine - can or should just be railroaded through. And if you tried, MPs wouldn't vote for it; the Lords would veto it; the commissioners couldn't enact it; and the cause would be set back decades. Whereas you actually now have a chance of success.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Thanks for replying. Recognising how we got to this situation - & acknowledging one's own share of responsibility - does, I think, matter: not for some crude blame-game but because it helps us understand how undesirable outcomes happen & because responsibility is central to democratic accountability

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

What all this comes down to is "govt should do what I want, ram it through without debate or consultation & overriding any normal democratic process". That is not a route to good govt, it would stir huge opposition, MPs wouldn't vote for it & you'd be furious if it was used for something you opposed

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

We may disagree on whether governments should ram through big constitutional changes in 2 days using a guillotine. But if they tried, the House of Lords would almost certainly veto it for a year. Even then, we couldn't have an election in 6 weeks because you'd need new, multi-member constituencies

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Genuine question: do you think your party bears any responsibility for this situation?

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

...either cross-party support or a 2-year delay. There are fewere barriers to such legislation today, which is partly why it's become a convention that constitutional reform should require some test other than a majority elected on (say) 34% of the vote - whether that's Labour, Tory or Reform.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It actually was - opponents of women's suffrage demanded a referendum *of women*, which they thought they would win. But more broadly: the 1918 Act passed with cross-party support, and was drawn up by a cross-party commission. It was harder back then to pass major constitutional reforms without...

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This peculiar analogy confuses creativity & replication. We already have "machine-made" books: they're not copied out by hand but printed on presses, just as clothes might be stitched mechanically. But getting a machine to do the writing - the ideas, the thoughts, the "design" - is very different.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

There are certainly dangers to referendums, which is why it's important that govts can't just call them at the drop of a hat. But I think there's general agreement that changing the ground rules of our democracy requires some test beyond a temporary Commons majority, whether a ref or an election.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I'm as keen as anyone to get rid of First Past the Post, but the idea that we can just snap our fingers and change the electoral system is the PR equivalent of those Brexiteers who thought we could leave the EU on 24 June 2016. This has to be done right, and that takes a bit of time.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

3. If you won that referendum, the Electoral Commission would almost certainly need to redraw the constituency map. (You can't have PR with single-member seats). That's a slow process that must be done independently (we can't have parties drawing up seats). Then parties need time to pick candidates.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

2. Hold a referendum. For very good reasons, referendums are regulated by law, so this couldn't happen until well into 2027. There would need to be an Act of Parliament, the Electoral Commission would need to set it up fairly, and then you'd need a proper campaign period.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It is almost certainly now impossible to introduce PR in time for the next election. Here are the stages that need going through: 1. Decide what type of PR you want. (Different systems produce very different outcomes, and there is no consensus on this even among campaigners). [...]

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Reposted by Robert Saunders

Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Burnham's speech marks perhaps the best opportunity to replace First Past the Post since 1918. I joined @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social & @lucyfisher.ft.com recently on "The Long View" to explore the history of electoral reform in Britain - & the lessons we might learn. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio 4 - The Long View, Electoral reform

Jonathan Freedland takes the long view of electoral reform.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Join our fantastic roster of speakers - @stephanomics.bsky.social @will-davies.bsky.social @colmpm.bsky.social & Kathleen Burk - to explore everything from the 1976 crisis & the 1997 Asian crash to the 2007 Financial Crisis & the 2022 mini-budget. Tickets free! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/politics-a...

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

On 26 October, we'll be marking 50 years since the IMF crisis by exploring the politics of economic shocks. What is it like to govern in an economic crisis? What happens when "the markets" turn on governments? And what does this mean for democracy? All welcome! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/politics-a...

eventbrite.co.uk

Politics and Economic Shocks, from the IMF Crisis to the Mini-Budget

Join the Mile End Institute for a discussion exploring how financial crises and market pressures have shaped British politics since 1976.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I'm on a train with bad wifi so can't check, but my memory is that the Brown Commission deliberately sidestepped the question of the electoral system.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Two reasons, I think: one, that the scheme Jenkins proposed was widely seen as too complicated and never won much support; second, it was a fairly old-school, elite-led Commission, and Burnham will probably want something more participatory.

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