The Windsor Framework (hereafter “the Framework”) was adopted in 2023 to regulate post-Brexit affairs in Northern Ireland. To avoid a hard land border on the island of Ireland the Framework requires Northern Ireland to remain aligned to certain rules … [Read more...] about Democratic Scrutiny and the Windsor Framework: Where Are We Now?
On 14 September, the leaders of the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin met in Cardiff to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on constitutional change. The document commits the parties to closer cooperation, affirms the right of their respective … [Read more...] about When Is a First Minister Not a First Minister?
On 1 September, both Houses of Parliament resumed sitting following the end of the summer recess. Their present term is short; it spans only until around 17 September due to party conference season. Yet it remains significant as it is the … [Read more...] about What is Before Parliament? A Look at Coming Legislation
Throughout my two terms in Parliament there were persistent rumours of chunks of masonry falling off the Palace of Westminster. The clock tower was reportedly in danger of toppling into the Thames. On a new members’ horror tour of the underground … [Read more...] about Restoration and Renewal: How Best Can We Decant Parliament?
When the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, it originally planned to adopt a single treaty to implement the rights within it. However, political disagreements and other factors prompted the UN to instead create two … [Read more...] about Will Burnham’s Government Revolutionise ESC Rights in the UK?
During his first official visit to Northern Ireland as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham declared that a referendum on Irish unity was “off the table”. His immediate priorities, he explained, were public services, the cost of living and the effective … [Read more...] about ‘Off the Table’? The New Prime Minister and Northern Ireland
Following its successful passage through the House of Commons in July, the Hillsborough Law (formally known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill) is due to commence its legislative journey through the House of Lords in the coming weeks. As … [Read more...] about The Hillsborough Law: Where Are We Now?
Having never been hunting, I’m not sure whether I’m meant to like the ‘whips’ or not. In his Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man, Siegfried Sassoon writes of them fondly enough, though: Soon afterwards the second whip rode through the … [Read more...] about Can the Prime Minister Really Reform the Whips?
In his 1952 book, In Place of Fear, the Labour politician Aneurin Bevan described how as a ‘young miner in a South Wales colliery, my concern was with the one practical question: Where does power lie in this particular state of Great Britain, … [Read more...] about Andy Burnham and a Written Constitution: Is the Time Arriving?
Less than two-weeks into the new Andy Burnham premiership the Cabinet Office issued a document ambitiously called “Rewiring the State”. Most people who know anything about it would agree the British state is in severe need of rewiring. Like … [Read more...] about Can Andy Burnham Really Rewire the UK State?
The Windsor Framework was adopted in 2023 in the wake of Brexit to regulate affairs in Northern Ireland. Until recently, it had been unclear what freestanding EU rights were conferred on individuals through the Framework. A recent judgment … [Read more...] about What Now For Human Rights Under the Windsor Framework?
Whereas Bishops … ought not to be intangled with secular jurisdiction the Office of the Ministerie being of such great importance that it will take up the whole man And for that it is found by long experience that theire intermedling with … [Read more...] about What is the role of the Lords Spiritual? An interview with the Bishop of Manchester
