Centre on Constitutional Change

RSE awards over £724K to boost Scotland’s vibrant research sector We are pleased to announce that 72 exceptional research projects were selected at the spring 2025 Research Awards open call.

Back from annual leave to great news: our project on the rise of Reform UK in Scotland - co-led with A. Convery (and in collaboration with F. McMillan) has been awarded RSE funding. Starting Oct 2025, it explores Reform's breakthrough in Scotland in comparative perspective
rse.org.uk/rse-awards-o...

Release of The Federal-Confederal Letters These letters by David Melding and Glyndwr Cennydd Jones span a period encompassing the recent UK General Election and the beginnings of the second US Trump presidency. Exploring issues of constitutio...

New on the blog!

The Federal-Confederal Letters by David Melding & Glyndwr Cennydd Jones

These letters make the case for reform of the UK’s governing framework, through sharing views and experiences on models of devolution, federalism and confederalism

Read more: edin.ac/44wXmJJ

Great workshop yesterday at @ccc-research.bsky.social – we explored how strengths/limitations of English devolution might inform local/regional reform in Scotland. Thanks to all who joined, esp. @ariannagiovannini.bsky.social @paulanderson88.bsky.social & @sekip.bsky.social! @uoe-sps.bsky.social

Emerging issues and new frontiers in federalism, regionalism and territorial governance: the role of Regional & Federal Studies in shaping future research agendas This essay marks the transition to a new editorial team at Regional & Federal Studies and offers a broad review of emerging themes and future directions in the study of federalism, regionalism, and...

🆕 Check out our 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 🆕
The new editorial team at RFS discusses the vision for the journal and its future direction.
👉 doi.org/10.1080/1359...

@davidevampa.bsky.social @filippoboni.bsky.social @assefafy.bsky.social @merylkenny.bsky.social @marielylopezs.bsky.social & Mattia Zulianello

Text reads: Hamilton Again? A By-Election and the Fragmenting Map of Scottish Politics. Labour’s unexpected but fragile win, the SNP’s continuing struggles, and Reform UK’s surge in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election signal a fragmented new era in Scottish politics. Has constitutional polarisation ended – and what comes next?

New on the blog!

@frasmcm.bsky.social and @davidevampa.bsky.social discuss the results of the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election - Labour’s unexpected but fragile win, the SNP’s continuing struggles and the surge of Reform UK.

Read it here: edin.ac/43NhxBh

What Italy Can Teach about Reform UK’s Rise in Scotland As Reform UK moves beyond its English heartlands and gains ground in Scotland, Davide Vampa draws lessons from Italy’s populist radical right to understand what this shift might mean. He shows how suc...

New blog!

What Italy Can Teach about Reform UK’s Rise in Scotland.

As Reform UK moves beyond its English heartlands and gains ground in Scotland @davidevampa.bsky.social draws lessons from Italy’s populist radical right to understand what this shift might mean: edin.ac/3FnWXQ4

Photo of participants at conference watching Marc Geddes load his ppt

Fantastic day 1 of @scotvoting.bsky.social @ccc-research.bsky.social Scottish politics conference.

Kicking off Scottish Politics Conference at @uoe-sps.bsky.social co-organised by @scotvoting.bsky.social & @ccc-research.bsky.social Two days, 25 papers analysing different aspects of politics and policy in the lead-up to the 2026 Scottish Parliament Election

A new era of polarisation is coming to Scotland Labour and the Conservatives allowed Nigel Farage to become a serious challenger in England. A similar shift north of the border is a danger to John Swinney

Re-posted with different (perhaps more appropriate) title: my opinion piece in @timesscotland.bsky.social on the possible emergence of a new polarisation in Scotland between SNP and Reform, less based on constitutional issues, with opportunities/risks ahead...

www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/...

Reform(s) coming home to bite For the first time, a populist radical right force has swept away all the other political actors in England, shattering the traditional Conservative-Labour duopoly that has long characterised the UK political system. The implications of this shift, underpinned by unprecedented levels of voter’s choice fragmentation, cannot be underestimated. Read Arianna Giovannini on the causes behind the surge in support for Reform, and what could be done to address them.

New blog!

Reform(s) coming home to bite.

Read @ariannagiovannini.bsky.social on the causes behind the surge in support for Reform, and what could be done to address them: edin.ac/44mYccj

Graphic with event information and speaker bio

Scottish Election Study Annual Lecture

The Unstable Vote: How Economic Insecurity is Shaping a Divided Electorate

with Professor Jane Green

Monday 12 May
5:30pm
Usha Kasera Lecture Theatre

Register here: edin.ac/4lxzs7c

CCC course awarded Jacqui Briggs Prize from the Political Studies Association A team of academics from the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh has received the 2025 Jacqui Briggs Prize from the Political Studies Association for outstanding contributi...

Award News!

A CCC course delivered in partnership with @uoe-sps.bsky.social & @ukandeu.bsky.social has been awarded the Jacqui Briggs Prize from the Political Studies Association for outstanding contributions to advancing teaching and learning in political studies!

Read more: edin.ac/3Z5bR45

As Reform UK sweeps to victory in English local elections, is a new era of polarisation coming to Scotland? Davide Vampa analyses the shifting dynamics of Scottish politics in the wake of Reform UK’s rise and its unprecedented success in the 2025 English local elections. He argues that the SNP’s attempt to ...

New blog!

As Reform UK sweeps to victory in English local elections, is a new era of polarisation coming to Scotland?

Read @davidevampa.bsky.social from @uoe-sps.bsky.social on the shifting dynamics of Scottish politics in the wake of Reform UK’s rise: edin.ac/44kvOrj

The @scotvoting.bsky.social Annual Lecture, 'The Unstable Vote' by @profjanegreen.bsky.social is being held in Edinburgh on Monday 12th May!

Register below 👇

Constitutional Standoff in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Drama in Four Acts (So Far) Prompted by a Constitutional Court decision to suspend the application of a recently adopted law, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska – one of the two Entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – ...

New blog!

Constitutional Standoff in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Drama in Four Acts (So Far)

Read Maja Sahadžić on the unfolding situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina: edin.ac/3GtOGtY

Constitutional Standoff in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Drama in Four Acts (So Far) Prompted by a Constitutional Court decision to suspend the application of a recently adopted law, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska – one of the two Entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – ...

New blog!

Constitutional Standoff in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Drama in Four Acts (So Far)

Read Maja Sahadžić on the unfolding situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina: edin.ac/3GtOGtY

The report was co-authored by @richardwynjones.bsky.social and has been published today by @ccc-research.bsky.social @walesgovernance.bsky.social & @theunionsurvey.bsky.social

Full details are at www.theunionsurvey.com

The Shameful Conquest of England Following today's release of the report ‘The Shameful Conquest of England’, read Ailsa Henderson's accompanying blog piece exploring the attitudes of the English to their neighbours in the UK, the mec...

Following the release of the report ‘The Shameful Conquest of England’, read @ailsahenderson.bsky.social on the attitudes of the English to their neighbours in the UK, the mechanics of the Union, the UK’s relationship to the EU, and the governance of their own nation.

Read more: edin.ac/42R8RK2

The Union Survey | Public Attitudes on the State of the State The project and this website will provide a home for data, analysis and a network of researchers and others with an interest in the relationships between the UK's component parts. Drawing on rigorous ...

Research by @ailsahenderson.bsky.social & @richardwynjones.bsky.social published today.

The Future of England Study 2024-25 is published with colleagues from @walesgovernance.bsky.social and @ccc-research.bsky.social.

Report & data on our website: www.theunionsurvey.com

@uoe-sps.bsky.social @theunionsurvey.bsky.social @ailsahenderson.bsky.social

• Reform provides a focus for voters who principally identify as English
• 50% of voters and an overwhelming majority of Labour voters back rejoining EU
• 80% of Reform voters and 70% of Conservative voters support excluding Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Ireland MPs from voting on England-only laws

English politics are marked with ‘Anger, Frustration and Fear’, according to new research from CCC The majority of voters in England describe themselves as ‘angry’ or ‘fearful’ about British politics, according to new research co-published by the Centre on Constitutional Change. The research is pub...

New report!

The Shameful Conquest of England report by & @ccc-research.bsky.social & @walesgovernance.bsky.social has found that national populism is becoming a significant force in England as it is elsewhere in the global North.

Read more: edin.ac/3GnakjB

Is Scottish independence inevitable? The relationship between birth cohort and secessionism in Scotland. At the heart of the debate over the relationship between age and support for Scotland seceding from the United Kingdom is a key question: do Scots become less likely to support secession as they age, ...

New blog!

Do Scots become less likely to support secession as they age, or is the relationship due to differences between birth cohorts that persist over time?

Read Mark McGeoghegan on the latest modelling seeking to address this question.

Read more: edin.ac/4czbZ1i

Making Sense of Politics in ‘these islands’ Read Michael Keating as he explores shifting national identities, the inadequacies of traditional constitutional concepts, and the interplay of nationalism with social identities in Britain and Irelan...

New Blog!

Read Michael Keating as he explores shifting national identities, the inadequacies of traditional constitutional concepts, and the interplay of nationalism with social identities in Britain and Ireland.

Read more: edin.ac/4jpnx9M

Delighted our UK GE course (hosted by @edinburghpir.bsky.social & @ccc-research.bsky.social w/ @ukandeu.bsky.social) won the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social Jacqui Briggs Award for outstanding team teaching. Great to receive the prize & share the moment with other award-winning Edinburgh colleagues!

Coming up on Monday!

Building on shaky foundations? Multi-level policy realities for Scottish social security policies On 18th March, Liz Kendall outlined new reforms to UK social security policies. The UK social security system is generally considered to be highly centralised; however, through the Scotland Act 2016, ...

New blog!

On 18th March, Liz Kendall outlined new reforms to UK social security policies.

Read @haylesben.bsky.social and Jay Wiggan on what these reforms might mean for Scotland: edin.ac/4kU7Jxr

Money Talks: Business and the Politics of Independence Why do independence movements win overwhelming support nearly everywhere except in wealthy democracies of the global North?

Change of venue!

'Money Talks: Business and the Politics of Independence' with @karlobasta.bsky.social will now be held in Room 2.35, Edinburgh Futures Institute on 31 March, 3pm-4:30pm

Registrations remain open! Further info: edin.ac/3Cv4g7b

Why Starmer's Labour government could prove decisive for Scotland's constitutional future In some quarters, last year’s general election result in Scotland was considered the death knell for the independence movement. However, while the political winds finally turned against the nationalis...

New blog!

Read Fraser McMillan of @scotvoting.bsky.social on why Starmer's Labour government could prove decisive for Scotland's constitutional future.

Read more: edin.ac/3Fba9XZ

@uoe-sps.bsky.social @edinburghpir.bsky.social

We now have a new & nicer venue for this event, so even if you aren't too drawn to a talk about how capitalism can (under *some* circumstances) check the power of nationalism, if you want to visit Edinburgh Futures Institute, come join us on March 31. @uoe-sps.bsky.social @edinburghpir.bsky.social