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
The question of whether to legalise assisted dying has been a recurring legal issue in the UK for decades. From the House of Lords case of R. (Pretty) v DPP in 2001 where Dianne Pretty unsuccessfully claimed that s.2 of the Suicide Act … [Read more...] about The Farcical Failure of the Assisted Dying Bill
Supporters of assisted dying are resigning themselves to defeat amid concerns that the landmark legislation passed by the Commons will almost definitely run out of time in the Lords. Alongside other developments, this has sparked renewed hostility … [Read more...] about Is the House of Lords Overplaying its Hand?
Introduction: Abolishing the House of Lords sounds like a daring and profoundly modern proposition, but it has longstanding historical precedent. The House of Lords was actually abolished once before – in 1649. On 19 March 1649 it … [Read more...] about A Very Short History of The House of Lords
Earlier this year the House of Lords Constitution Committee, which I Chair, embarked on an inquiry into relations between the UK Government and the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our previous work on this issue had identified a … [Read more...] about Baroness Drake on “The Governance of the Union”: The Latest Report From the House of Lords Constitution Committee
In the dark recesses of the origins of constitutional law in the United Kingdom is the principle that the Monarch is the fount of all justice in the realm. Less often remarked upon, at least in constitutional circles, is the link of the … [Read more...] about Time for Change? Keeping Clerics in the House of Lords
In the King’s Speech the new Labour government introduced 40 bills that will form the core of Westminster’s legislative business for the next year. In the House of Commons, the government possesses a 174-seat majority, all but guaranteeing the … [Read more...] about What is the Salisbury-Addison Convention?
Introduction In late 2023, the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) handed down their judgment in the case of R (SAA) v Secretary of State for the Home Department. In a unanimous judgment, the UKSC held that the Home Secretary’s policy that certain people … [Read more...] about The Rwanda bill: A constitutional tipping point?
The unexpected resurrection of David Cameron’s political career in the closing weeks of 2023 reopened a long-standing constitutional controversy. There is a convention that all government ministers must sit in either the Commons or the Lords, … [Read more...] about Bring on the Goats: ‘Outsider’ ministers are a good idea: their peerages are otiose
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
On 8 September 2022 Tom Scholar was removed from his position as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury by Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng. It was widely reported that the sacking of Scholar was a politically driven decision intended to rail … [Read more...] about ‘Politicisation’ of the Civil Service? The House of Lords Constitution Committee Reports
Introduction In Part 1 of this piece I summarised the role of Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) and some trends that it had flagged during the last parliamentary session. Broadly speaking, these included: (1) a … [Read more...] about Spotlight on the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee – Part 2
