Party conferences are weird things. Part political rally, part fund-raiser and part HR team-building exercise, they arguably fulfil none of these functions satisfactorily. And depending on one’s motivation for attending, the same conference can … [Read more...] about The Constitution at the Conferences: our Annual Review
Kemi Badenoch has been elected leader of the Conservative Party to renew its thinking. The rationale of her ‘Renewal2030’ campaign is that once the Party can unite around common values again, it can begin the task of winning back the trust … [Read more...] about New Look Conservatives and Constitutional Policy
The Conservative Party is the oldest political party in the UK. It is sometimes said to be the oldest in the world, though this is true only if one views the Conservatives as merely a continuation of the much older Tory Party. In the last hundred … [Read more...] about A Very Short History of the Conservative Party
It’s fair to say that you would be hard pressed to find a Prime Minister or Leader of the Opposition who didn’t want to win a big majority at a general election. Under the British system of parliamentary government, a party which wins a big majority … [Read more...] about What Happens When a Party Wins Big?
Politics has moved frenetically in recent weeks. There has been the appointment of a new First Minister in Scotland, the drama of England’s local elections, and, inevitably, countless headlines over the Government’s Rwanda plan as it entered the UK … [Read more...] about Is the UK Subject to a Deep State? Liz Truss and the Civil Service
Last month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told The Sun’s Harry Cole that Britain would leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if it would help to prevent the arrival of small boats of asylum seekers. Sunak said, “I believe that border … [Read more...] about Leaving the ECHR: A Realistic and Viable Proposal?
Last month, Rishi Sunak’s decision to conduct airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen sparked significant debate – not only about the merits of such actions, but also about their constitutionality. Several opposition politicians – including Scottish … [Read more...] about Towards the codification of war powers?
Introduction This is a blog about the constitutional issues at stake when it comes to the self-selecting memberships of political parties choosing party leaders and thus Prime Ministers.[1] As this blog is being drafted, there is some … [Read more...] about Choosing party leaders
The defenestration of Suella Braverman from the Home Office, after the Fareham MP wrote a wildcat Times article criticising the police’s handling of pro-Palestinian protests, has highlighted the delicate and ill-defined relationship between the … [Read more...] about The police and the constitution
In its response to the Public Administration Select Committee’s 2010 report, Goats and Tsars: Ministerial and other appointments from outside Parliament, the UK Government (led at the time by Prime Minister David Cameron) agreed with the … [Read more...] about Jobs for the boys: The exceptional Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton
The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) is the Government’s centre of expertise, infrastructure and major projects. It gave HS2 an ‘unachievable’ rating in its latest Annual Report, where it noted huge issues around budget, … [Read more...] about HS2 and the constitutional issues of infrastructure
As the leaves turn and the days grow shorter, the United Kingdom can hear whispers of change in the air as it enters a new season – party conference season. This annual tradition, which stretches back more than a century, sees the major political … [Read more...] about Conference season: Four constitutional questions that parties need to answer
