Akash Paun

Rishi Sunak needs a strategy to convince voters of the value of the union.

What question has the Scottish Court of Session has been asked to resolve? In December 2022, the Scottish parliament passed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. This bill, if enacted, would reform the process by which people in Scotland can legally change their gender, including by removing the requirement for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Gender recognition in Scotland is a devolved matter, but the legislation has been blocked by the UK government after the secretary of s…

On Thursday 18 January 2024, the final report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales (‘the commission’) was launched at the Welsh Parliament (Senedd Cymru) in Cardiff. The commission set out 10 recommendations designed to strengthen Welsh democracy and protect devolution.Why was the commission established?The 2021 Welsh Labour manifesto, ‘Moving Wales Forward’, promised Welsh Labour would “lead Wales in a national civic conversation about our constitutional future” a…

On 2 May 2024, voters across England and Wales headed to the polls to elect 10 metro mayors, several thousand local councillors, 37 police and crime commissioners, and all 25 members of the London Assembly. This will be the last major test of public opinion before the coming general election – but these elections are important in their own right.The 10 metro mayors elected in England’s largest cities, including London, will between them control tens of billions of pounds of public spending. At t…

This week could bring the swift toppling of the first minister and a summer election.

On 2 May 2024, Kim McGuinness was elected as the first mayor of the North East winning a total of 41% of the vote. McGuinness leads the new combined authority, which controls a £48 million annual investment fund and dedicated budgets for functions such as transport, skills, housing and culture.What was the result of the 2024 North East mayoral election?Kim McGuinness was the winner of the May 2024 North East mayoral election. She represents the Labour Party and was previously police and crime co…

On 2 May 2024, voters across England and Wales elected 10 metro mayors, several thousand local councillors, 37 police and crime commissioners, and 25 members of the London Assembly.Ahead of the elections, our devolution team identified six things to look out for as the results came in – so what did we learn?1. Eleven of the 12 metro mayors are Labour – the next prime minister should think hard about how to work in partnership with this groupLabour almost secured a momentous ‘clean sweep’ of metr…