Welcome to the second issue of Volume 6 of British Politics. Our first article in this issue is from Jennifer Birks. This examines the impact of newspaper campaigns on political engagement. On the basis of a qualitative content analysis of campaigns from the Scottish press, as well as interviews with some of the journalists involved, the article argues that media campaigns are typically driven by marketing concerns that produce an ultimately restrictive effect on the character of political debate. Our second contribution is from Stewart Davidson and Alastair Stark, and analyses the institutionalisation of public and civic forms of deliberation within the Scottish Parliament. The authors show that the committee system used by the Scottish Parliament has been relatively successful in institutionalising deliberative processes comprised of a range of discursive spheres of varying complexity, but that this system is currently one that is in decline.

Our third article is from Hartwig Pautz and focuses on the role of think tanks in the formulation of New Labour's social policy during its first term in office. Utilising interview material and an analysis of policy documents, Pautz argues that think tanks, which had been central to New Labour's modernisation while the party were in opposition, were largely excluded from the design of social policy, thereby raising important questions about the broader nature of British policy making. Our fourth article, from Nicholas Allen, examines the theme of parliamentary misconduct in the House of Commons since 1995. Analysing recent institutional changes in the way that the Commons seeks to maintain the propriety of MP's, the article discusses a range of issues, including the question of allowances that led directly to the expenses scandal of 2009. Finally, we conclude with a symposium on the latest book from Mark Bevir, entitled, Democratic Governance. In this, Will Leggett, Nick Turnbull and Heather Savigny discuss a number of issues arising from the theme of interpretivism and British governance, followed by a reflective response from Mark Bevir.