Laura McAllister

Women's Representation in the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales: Party Dynamics for Achieving Critical Mass

The new Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales elected in May 1999 were notable for the high levels of womens representation amongst their membership. This article examines the decisions taken by the main political parties about candidate selection and specifically the promotion of women candidates, exploring some of the inter and intra party dynamics influencing this result. The most significant changes were achieved in those parties that adopted rigid policies of positive action in favour of women. The decisions to adopt such systems were influenced by party ideology, degree of centralised leadership control and presence of women in positions of power within party elites. The environment in which such measures were considered was also highly influenced by the new electoral system and the presence of women activists in the design of the new institutions, particularly in Scotland. Together, these factors made womens representation a central feature in party competition.

The Roles of Commissions of Inquiry in the Policy Process

In their heyday, Royal Commissions played an important part in the policy-making process. By today, Royal Commissions have declined almost to the point of extinction. Nevertheless, a range of other commissions, committees and inquiries are still established. They have different status and take various forms but, in common with Royal Commissions, seek to broaden the basis of public policy-making beyond government, Parliament and interest groups, through engaging a wider range of participants in a more public arena to generate new ideas, develop consensus or to confer legitimacy upon controversial government policy plans. Commissions are thus important to both policy process and policy outcome. The existing literature on commissions is limited, and much of it is descriptive, centring on analysis of their political origins, membership and recommendations. It explicitly avoids some other key questions, perhaps because they are not readily answered. There is little real academic evaluation of the purpose or value of commissions and what they might uniquely bring to the policy process and to policy outcomes. This article explores these issues, drawing upon research analysing contemporary experience of a range of commissions, committees and inquiries with a view to offering some generic lessons.

Developing Collaborative Capabilities by Fostering Diversity in Organizations

Abstract This article considers some of the risks associated with multi-agency working, especially barriers to collaboration within partnerships between public agencies and their core professions. The article explores the hypothesis that an inability to act collaboratively comes from a fundamental resistance to diversity, both within and across organizational and professional boundaries. It uses a case study of two interacting partnership settings from youth justice and from safeguarding children and young people. The research examines how better integrated, more diversity astute partnerships might act as a catalyst for others to establish better collaboration.

Core tensions in Wales's new politics: Pluralist trends in a majoritarian system

This article examines aspects of Waless new political system. It identifies a core tension between traditional, majoritarian-designed institutions and procedures, and a new political pluralism. There is a fundamental disconnection between current politics and the original system design which has added complexity and inefficiency to the operation, management and administration of most aspects of devolved politics. Moreover, understanding the contours of the nascent and inchoate system in W ales has been obscured by debates about the distribution of legislative powers between Westminster and Cardiff. The article identifies lessons from coalition government in Wales, both for academics working on the implications of coalitions and for practitioners—specifically for ‘constitution managers’ and those engaged in policy-making.

Gender, nation and party: an uneasy alliance for Welsh nationalism

Abstract This article draws upon new research exploring the relationship between gender and political nationalism in Wales. It is set within the changed political and institutional context of Wales, provided by the establishment in May 1999 of the National Assembly, the first democratic legislature in Wales for nearly 600 years. In studying leading women politicians from Plaid Cymru, it isolates potential tensions between gender and mainstream party political nationalism. It also begins to assess the specific influence of gender to contemporary Welsh nationalist politics. Its conclusions confirm the paradigm of a distinctive female experience of Welsh nationalism and point to a number of specific issues (scarce access to power resources and the myth of party unity) which distinguish womens experience of Welsh nationalism. The article concludes that an ‘uneasy alliance’ exists between gender, nation and party within Welsh nationalism, which is some way from resolution

Evaluating and Theorising Committee Scrutiny: A UK Comparative Perspective

Abstract This article addresses committee scrutiny undertaken through the three main UK devolved institutions (the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly). This is undertaken using a framework derived from scholarship about House of Commons select committees and a substantive comparative literature. Devolved committee scrutiny is thus compared and contrasted in relation to a three-phase analysis in terms of selection, evaluative and output elements. The findings are also discussed in relation to core elements of institutional theory – institutional path dependency, ideational path dependency, the logic of appropriateness and the logic of consequence. This connection is used to develop several testable theoretical propositions concerning committee scrutiny. Findings about UK devolved committee scrutiny (and also scrutiny undertaken through House of Commons select committees) are also related to scholarship about local government scrutiny in Britain and contrasts and similarities specified. Furthermore, some testable theoretical propositions are applied to British local scrutiny.

The Unsung Heroes of Welfare Collaboration: Complexities around individuals’ contribution to effective inter-agency working in LSCBs

Abstract The article addresses an under-explored aspect of public partnerships: individuals’ role in the effectiveness of collaborations such as the Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (LSCBs) in England and Wales. Building upon theoretical concepts around complex emergence, we conceptualize individuals as conveyors of complex negotiated individual, professional and organizational frames. Shifting focus away from inter-organizational and towards inter-personal communication in partnerships is consistent with miscommunication being the widest recognized problem in collaborations. Qualitative data from policy documents, interviews, and participant and non-participant observation are used to show individuals in the LSCB case study advancing or hindering collaborative work as ‘boundary spanners’ or ‘reluctant’ partners.

Influence, impact and legacy – assessing the Richard Commission's contribution to Wales's evolving constitution

This article examines the impact of the Richard Commission in prompting change to the powers, structure and operation of the National Assembly for Wales. It uses new research to assess the extent to which new legislation (specifically the Government of Wales Act 2006) followed the Richard trajectory of greater autonomy. The Commissions recommendations were designed to establish a sustainable, longer‐term settlement, which means that they offer a standard by which to measure recent incremental changes in Waless evolving constitution and also by which to gauge the longer term future of devolution.

Immature relationships in the new multi-level United Kingdom: perspectives from Wales

This paper explores the new multi-level relationships that exist in the UK postdevolution. In focusing on Wales, it uses two case studies to test some key propositions around system weaknesses; namely, poor intelligence and inadequate collaboration and communication between the ‘centre’ and the devolved nations. The paper suggests that this has resulted in unbalanced relationships and underdeveloped policy learning between the nations of the UK.

Chronicling National Assembly committees as markers of institutional change

ABSTRACT This article examines changes to the National Assembly for Wales committees and how they act as markers that help explain the dynamics of a significant and contemporaneous constitutional journey. It uses as its backdrop recent constitutional and political change in the UK, particularly that initiated by devolution. Uniquely, we draw upon management theory as well as political science to explain why changes in the focus, identity and profile of Assembly committees represent significant markers or reflectors of constitutional shifts. We suggest that examining key components within the internal architecture of parliaments at different stages of development offers an additional and complementary level of institutional analysis. Our review of the Assembly committees reveals that they have reflected the pace and shape of change in Welsh devolution, and that shifts in their profile and operation offer another insight into devolution, whilst also reflecting wider institutional and political change.