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Dr Adam Evans
FRHistS
Teams and roles for Adam Evans
Honorary Research Fellow
Overview
Adam is a Senior Clerk in the House of Commons Public Bill Office and Clerk of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instrument and Select Committee on Statutory Instruments. He is also the Secretary to the History of Parliament Trust.
Adam has worked in the House of Commons service since 2015. His previous roles have been:
- Senior Clerk in the Journal Office and Course Director for the Postgraduate Certificate in Advising MPs on Parliamentary Procedure (2022-2024)
- Clerk of the Welsh Affairs Committee (2019-2022)
- Secretary to the UK's Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (2017-2019)
- Second Clerk of the Defence Committee (2017-2019)
- Committee Specialist (Constitutional Affairs), Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (2015-17)
An Honorary Research Fellow since 2015, Adam has published widely on British constitutional history and aspects of devolution in the United Kingdom, including previously on the party system in Scotland and Wales. His work in the House of Commons has included experience of drafting reports and leading inquiries on English Votes for English Laws, amending the powers of the House of Lords and on the EU Referendum.
Publication
2025
- Evans, A. 2025. ‘Inevitably the package will be dismissed […] as inadequate and grudging’: regionalism, ambivalence and the road to the North East of England referendum defeat in 2004. Parliaments, Estates and Representation (10.1080/02606755.2025.2450198)
- Evans, A. 2025. The Wilson Government, the rise of nationalism and the road to the Royal Commission on the Constitution, 1966-1968. Contemporary British History 39, pp. 55-77. (10.1080/13619462.2024.2382116)
2024
- Evans, A. 2024. Senedd reform: from aspiration to cold-headed reality?. Political Quarterly (10.1111/1467-923X.13469)
- Evans, A. 2024. II Western and Southern Europe: Wales. In: Lewis, D. and Slater, W. eds. The Annual Register: World Events 2023., Vol. 265. Ann Arbor, United States of America: ProQuest, pp. 25-26.
- Evans, A. 2024. Welsh devolution 1999-2021: constitutional instability amidst institutionalized conservatism?. Parliaments, Estates and Representation 44(2), pp. 208-226. (10.1080/02606755.2023.2295073)
2023
- Evans, A. 2023. From an experiment to a new normal: indirect rule in Northern Ireland. Public Law 2023(Oct), pp. 549-557.
- Evans, A. 2023. ‘There will be no shortage of Cabinet ministers taking part in the Scottish referendum campaign. The same is not true in Wales’: New Labour, old struggles, and the advent of Welsh devolution. Parliamentary History 42(2), pp. 255-273. (10.1111/1750-0206.12689)
- Evans, A. 2023. Birth pangs or a honeymoon from hell? The long annus horribilis for Welsh devolution, 1998?2000. Contemporary British History 37(2), pp. 192-215. (10.1080/13619462.2023.2167077)
- Evans, A. 2023. II Western and Southern Europe: Wales. In: Lewis, D. and Slater, W. eds. The Annual Register: World Events 2022., Vol. 264. Ann Arbor, United States of America: ProQuest, pp. 25-26.
2022
- Evans, A. 2022. The House of Commons and devolution. Public Law 2022(Oct), pp. 616-633.
- Evans, A. 2022. Parliamentary representation at Westminster and devolution: from the "in and out" to EVEL. Public Law 2022(Jan), pp. 9-18.
2021
- Evans, A. 2021. “This Welsh Problem”: Churchill and the creation of a Minister for Welsh Affairs. Finest hour : the journal of Winston Churchill(193), pp. 35-39.
- Evans, A. 2021. Northern Ireland, 2017-2020: an experiment in indirect rule. Public Law 2021(July), pp. 471-480.
- Evans, A. 2021. ‘Far reaching and perhaps destructive’? The 1974–79 Labour Government, devolution and the emergence, and failure, of the Scotland and Wales Bill. Parliaments, Estates and Representation 41(1), pp. 42-61. (10.1080/02606755.2021.1894543)
2020
- Evans, A. 2020. ‘The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men’? Proposals, planning, defeat, and legacy, of devolution in the 1970s. Parliamentary History 39(3), pp. 462-480. (10.1111/1750-0206.12524)
- Evans, A. 2020. Scotland at Westminster. In: Keating, M. ed. The Oxford Handbook of Scottish Politics. Oxford Handbooks Oxford University Press, pp. 584-601., (10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198825098.013.30)
- Evans, A. 2020. A tale as old as (devolved) time? Sewel, Stormont and the Legislative Consent Convention. Political Quarterly 91(1), pp. 165-172. (10.1111/1467-923X.12795)
- Evans, A. 2020. A Parliamentary Entente Cordiale? The House of Commons Defence Committee's Joint Inquiry with the Assemblée Nationale's Standing Committee on National Defence and the Armed Forces. Political Quarterly 91(1), pp. 228-234. (10.1111/1467-923X.12793)
2019
- Torrance, D. and Evans, A. 2019. The Territorial Select Committees, 40 years on. Parliamentary Affairs 72(4), pp. 860-878. (10.1093/pa/gsz032)
- Evans, A. 2019. Inter-parliamentary relations in the United Kingdom: devolution’s undiscovered country?. Parliaments, Estates and Representation 39(1), pp. 98-112. (10.1080/02606755.2018.1487648)
2018
- Evans, A. B. 2018. Devolution and parliamentary representation: the case of the Scotland and Wales Bill, 1976–7. Parliamentary History 37(2), pp. 274-292. (10.1111/1750-0206.12365)
- Evans, A. 2018. Planning for Brexit: the case of the 1975 Referendum. Political Quarterly 89(1), pp. 127-133. (10.1111/1467-923X.12412)
2016
- Evans, A. 2016. ‘Too old a country … too long accustomed to regard her life as one and indivisible’: England and the Speaker’s Conference on Devolution. Contemporary British History 31(3), pp. 366-383. (10.1080/13619462.2016.1245620)
- Evans, A. B. 2016. A lingering diminuendo? The conference on devolution,1919–20. Parliamentary History 35(3), pp. 315-335. (10.1111/1750-0206.12238)
- Evans, A. B. 2016. Wales as nation or region? The Conference on Devolution's Judiciary sub-committee, 1919–20. Welsh History Review 28(1), pp. 146-173. (10.16922/whr.28.1.6)
2015
- Evans, A. B. 2015. The squeezed middle? The Liberal Democrats in Wales and Scotland: A post-coalition reassessment. Scottish Affairs 24(2), pp. 163-186. (10.3366/scot.2015.0065)
- Evans, A. B. 2015. A “lingering diminuendo”? The Conference on Devolution 1919-1920. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
- Evans, A. B. 2015. Back to the future? Warnings from history for a future UK constitutional convention. Political Quarterly 86(1), pp. 24-32. (10.1111/1467-923X.12135)
- Evans, A. 2015. An interlude of agreement? A reassessment of the Conference on Devolution's ‘consensus’ on powers. Contemporary British History 29(4), pp. 421-440. (10.1080/13619462.2015.1015421)
2014
- Evans, A. 2014. Federalists in name only? Reassessing the federal credentials of the Liberal Democrats: An English case study. British Politics 9, pp. 346-358. (10.1057/bp.2014.5)
- Evans, A. B. 2014. Analogue in a digital age? Welsh Labour's organisation in post-devolved Wales, 1999-2009. Llafur: the Journal of Welsh People’s History, pp. 128-145.
2013
- Evans, A. B. 2013. Research note: Oh brother, where art thou? The position of the Scottish and Welsh Liberal Democrats within the Federal Liberal Democrats. Contemporary Wales 26(1), pp. 242-255.
Adrannau llyfrau
- Evans, A. 2024. II Western and Southern Europe: Wales. In: Lewis, D. and Slater, W. eds. The Annual Register: World Events 2023., Vol. 265. Ann Arbor, United States of America: ProQuest, pp. 25-26.
- Evans, A. 2023. II Western and Southern Europe: Wales. In: Lewis, D. and Slater, W. eds. The Annual Register: World Events 2022., Vol. 264. Ann Arbor, United States of America: ProQuest, pp. 25-26.
- Evans, A. 2020. Scotland at Westminster. In: Keating, M. ed. The Oxford Handbook of Scottish Politics. Oxford Handbooks Oxford University Press, pp. 584-601., (10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198825098.013.30)
Erthyglau
- Evans, A. 2025. ‘Inevitably the package will be dismissed […] as inadequate and grudging’: regionalism, ambivalence and the road to the North East of England referendum defeat in 2004. Parliaments, Estates and Representation (10.1080/02606755.2025.2450198)
- Evans, A. 2025. The Wilson Government, the rise of nationalism and the road to the Royal Commission on the Constitution, 1966-1968. Contemporary British History 39, pp. 55-77. (10.1080/13619462.2024.2382116)
- Evans, A. 2024. Senedd reform: from aspiration to cold-headed reality?. Political Quarterly (10.1111/1467-923X.13469)
- Evans, A. 2024. Welsh devolution 1999-2021: constitutional instability amidst institutionalized conservatism?. Parliaments, Estates and Representation 44(2), pp. 208-226. (10.1080/02606755.2023.2295073)
- Evans, A. 2023. From an experiment to a new normal: indirect rule in Northern Ireland. Public Law 2023(Oct), pp. 549-557.
- Evans, A. 2023. ‘There will be no shortage of Cabinet ministers taking part in the Scottish referendum campaign. The same is not true in Wales’: New Labour, old struggles, and the advent of Welsh devolution. Parliamentary History 42(2), pp. 255-273. (10.1111/1750-0206.12689)
- Evans, A. 2023. Birth pangs or a honeymoon from hell? The long annus horribilis for Welsh devolution, 1998?2000. Contemporary British History 37(2), pp. 192-215. (10.1080/13619462.2023.2167077)
- Evans, A. 2022. The House of Commons and devolution. Public Law 2022(Oct), pp. 616-633.
- Evans, A. 2022. Parliamentary representation at Westminster and devolution: from the "in and out" to EVEL. Public Law 2022(Jan), pp. 9-18.
- Evans, A. 2021. “This Welsh Problem”: Churchill and the creation of a Minister for Welsh Affairs. Finest hour : the journal of Winston Churchill(193), pp. 35-39.
- Evans, A. 2021. Northern Ireland, 2017-2020: an experiment in indirect rule. Public Law 2021(July), pp. 471-480.
- Evans, A. 2021. ‘Far reaching and perhaps destructive’? The 1974–79 Labour Government, devolution and the emergence, and failure, of the Scotland and Wales Bill. Parliaments, Estates and Representation 41(1), pp. 42-61. (10.1080/02606755.2021.1894543)
- Evans, A. 2020. ‘The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men’? Proposals, planning, defeat, and legacy, of devolution in the 1970s. Parliamentary History 39(3), pp. 462-480. (10.1111/1750-0206.12524)
- Evans, A. 2020. A tale as old as (devolved) time? Sewel, Stormont and the Legislative Consent Convention. Political Quarterly 91(1), pp. 165-172. (10.1111/1467-923X.12795)
- Evans, A. 2020. A Parliamentary Entente Cordiale? The House of Commons Defence Committee's Joint Inquiry with the Assemblée Nationale's Standing Committee on National Defence and the Armed Forces. Political Quarterly 91(1), pp. 228-234. (10.1111/1467-923X.12793)
- Torrance, D. and Evans, A. 2019. The Territorial Select Committees, 40 years on. Parliamentary Affairs 72(4), pp. 860-878. (10.1093/pa/gsz032)
- Evans, A. 2019. Inter-parliamentary relations in the United Kingdom: devolution’s undiscovered country?. Parliaments, Estates and Representation 39(1), pp. 98-112. (10.1080/02606755.2018.1487648)
- Evans, A. B. 2018. Devolution and parliamentary representation: the case of the Scotland and Wales Bill, 1976–7. Parliamentary History 37(2), pp. 274-292. (10.1111/1750-0206.12365)
- Evans, A. 2018. Planning for Brexit: the case of the 1975 Referendum. Political Quarterly 89(1), pp. 127-133. (10.1111/1467-923X.12412)
- Evans, A. 2016. ‘Too old a country … too long accustomed to regard her life as one and indivisible’: England and the Speaker’s Conference on Devolution. Contemporary British History 31(3), pp. 366-383. (10.1080/13619462.2016.1245620)
- Evans, A. B. 2016. A lingering diminuendo? The conference on devolution,1919–20. Parliamentary History 35(3), pp. 315-335. (10.1111/1750-0206.12238)
- Evans, A. B. 2016. Wales as nation or region? The Conference on Devolution's Judiciary sub-committee, 1919–20. Welsh History Review 28(1), pp. 146-173. (10.16922/whr.28.1.6)
- Evans, A. B. 2015. The squeezed middle? The Liberal Democrats in Wales and Scotland: A post-coalition reassessment. Scottish Affairs 24(2), pp. 163-186. (10.3366/scot.2015.0065)
- Evans, A. B. 2015. Back to the future? Warnings from history for a future UK constitutional convention. Political Quarterly 86(1), pp. 24-32. (10.1111/1467-923X.12135)
- Evans, A. 2015. An interlude of agreement? A reassessment of the Conference on Devolution's ‘consensus’ on powers. Contemporary British History 29(4), pp. 421-440. (10.1080/13619462.2015.1015421)
- Evans, A. 2014. Federalists in name only? Reassessing the federal credentials of the Liberal Democrats: An English case study. British Politics 9, pp. 346-358. (10.1057/bp.2014.5)
- Evans, A. B. 2014. Analogue in a digital age? Welsh Labour's organisation in post-devolved Wales, 1999-2009. Llafur: the Journal of Welsh People’s History, pp. 128-145.
- Evans, A. B. 2013. Research note: Oh brother, where art thou? The position of the Scottish and Welsh Liberal Democrats within the Federal Liberal Democrats. Contemporary Wales 26(1), pp. 242-255.
Gosodiad
- Evans, A. B. 2015. A “lingering diminuendo”? The Conference on Devolution 1919-1920. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Research
My research interests are principally:
- Devolution
- UK constitutional history
- British political history since the Great Reform Act
- Modern Welsh politics
- The history and politics of Northern Ireland
Teaching
Adam has been a regular contributor to the LLM Constitutionalism and Governance module, as well as leading lectures on Parliament and Devolution and Parliament and the Legislative Process for the undergraduate Parliamentary Studies module.
Biography
Adam is a Senior Clerk in the House of Commons Public Bill Office and Clerk of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments and of the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments. Adam has worked in a variety of posts in the House of Commons since 2015, including being the Course Director of Parliament's flagship professional procedural qualification (accredited by City St George's University), clerking the Welsh Affairs Committee, and being the Secretary of the UK's Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He is also currently the Secretary to the History of Parliament Trust.
Adam has a longstanding relationship with the Wales Governance Centre and Cardiff University. He first joined the Wales Governance Centre as a PhD candidate in 2012 and completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Cardiff University. His PhD explored the Speaker’s Conference on Devolution, 1919-1920 – one of only two occasions where the UK’s territorial governance was considered 'in the round' by policymakers at Westminster. Adam’s academic work has focused on UK constitutional history and devolution in the UK. He has previously also conducted research on the Liberal Democrats as a federal party in the UK’s party system, post-devolution. Adam has been an Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University since 2015.
Honours and awards
- President's Research Scholarship (Cardiff University): full PhD scholarship, 2012-2015
- James Pantefedwyn Foundation Scholarship: fees and partial stipend grant for Masters study, 2011-2012
- John Cross Prize (Cardiff University): Awarded for highest average performance for final year Politics undergraduate, 2011
- Charles Morgan Prize (Cardiff University): Awarded for best first year undergraduate student performance in Welsh history, 2009
Professional memberships
- Political Studies Association (Member)
- Royal Historical Society (Fellow)
- Study of Parliament Group (Member)
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Constitutional law
- Political history
- Devolved Politics
- Welsh government and politics
- Northern Irish government and politics