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
On Monday evening I left the Constitution Society offices and made my way amid freezing winter temperatures to Westminster. Along with a couple of thousand other people, I stood rapt opposite Downing Street and listened to speakers in opposition to … [Read more...] about The right to strike and protest
The self-inflicted difficulties of the Liz Truss government have a variety of constitutional dimensions. The advent of an administration willing and able to embark upon the recent disastrous course of action is attributable in part to various … [Read more...] about The constitution and the fiscal statement disaster
The United Kingdom has a new Prime Minister and a new cabinet. This summer’s slow-moving political change played out against a background of even slower movement on climate change. It was the joint hottest summer on record. If further symbolism … [Read more...] about New Prime Minister, new climate, same constitution
On 5 September, the Conservative Party will announce its new leader, and Britain’s next Prime Minister. After five rounds of voting, Conservative MPs have narrowed the choice down to two candidates, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. But the final decision … [Read more...] about Party members choosing Prime Ministers – a constitutional concern?
On 22 June 2022 Dominic Raab published the Conservative Party’s long discussed Bill of Rights Bill which seeks to appeal and amend the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). Such a move goes beyond the 2019 manifesto commitment to ‘update’ … [Read more...] about Why the proposed ‘Modern’ Bill of Rights is contradictory constitutionalism
Conservative politicians are currently busy distancing themselves from Boris Johnson. But he is more than just an unfortunate one-off episode in political history, as a consideration of his constitutional legacy demonstrates. Johnson brought his own … [Read more...] about The constitutional consequences of Mr. Johnson
Media reports claim that Boris Johnson attempted to use his influence to land his then girlfriend, now wife, top jobs.[1] Is this corrupt? Assessing whether something is 'corrupt' is notoriously hard, usually due to obfuscation, a lack of … [Read more...] about ‘Carriegate’: should we conclude the Prime Minister is corrupt?
When an updated version of the Ministerial Code was published last month, most of the headlines focused on the idea that the under-pressure Prime Minister had watered down the Code in order to save his own skin. As constitutional observers were quick … [Read more...] about Upholding standards in public life: the presidential and ‘pragmatic populist’ challenges
