The Constitution Unit

Changes and challenges in regulating elections

Episode Summary

An expert panel discusses recent changes in election regulations ahead of the 2 May local elections.

Episode Notes

Recent years have seen many changes to election regulations in the UK. These changes affect key aspects of how elections are fought and administered, including party spending, voter identification, the voting rights of citizens living abroad, and the electoral system used to elect mayors and police and crime commissioners.

So what has changed, what effects might these changes have, and what challenges do they present for parties, candidates, and electoral administrators? An expert panel discussed these questions a week before the 2 May local elections.

Speakers

• Laura Lock – Deputy Chief Executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators
• Lord (Paul) Tyler – Liberal Democrat peer and former MP, co-author of the 2023 book Can Parliament Take Back Control?
• Professor Alistair Clark – Professor of Political Science, Newcastle University

Chair: Professor Alan Renwick – Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit

Read a briefing from the Hansard Society on general election rules and regulations: https://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/publications/briefings/general-election-rules-and-regulations.