Prime Minister

The Complex Implications of Reshuffles

By: Laura Gherman

To understand the significance of reshuffles, we must first understand the motivations of the Prime Minister enacting them. The primary one of all Prime Ministers is to maintain power, and this can be achieved by winning elections and fending off … [Read more...] about The Complex Implications of Reshuffles

Post-Johnson, constitutional combustion continues. But the fire can be extinguished

By: Peter Hennessy

Our recent book, The Bonfire of the Decencies: Repairing and Restoring the British Constitution, analysed the turbulent 2019-2022 Boris Johnson administration from a constitutional perspective. It noted a worrying tendency. Johnson himself, and … [Read more...] about Post-Johnson, constitutional combustion continues. But the fire can be extinguished

Party members choosing Prime Ministers – a constitutional concern?

By: David Klemperer

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?

The constitutional consequences of Mr. Johnson

Andrew Blick
By: Andrew Blick

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

Upholding standards in public life: the presidential and ‘pragmatic populist’ challenges

Alex Walker
By: Alex Walker

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

A Prime Minister’s department: redefining the centre of British government?

By: Bradley Ward and Joseph Ward

Amidst the clamour of the Commons following the publication of Sue Gray’s interim report into ‘partygate’, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he would be creating an ‘Office of the Prime Minister’ to deal with “fragmented and complicated” … [Read more...] about A Prime Minister’s department: redefining the centre of British government?

How (not) to kill a constitutional convention: Theresa May’s intervention in Syria, April 2018

By: James Strong

Constitutional conventions are tricky creatures. Famously described by AV Dicey (1885) as “the morality of the constitution”, conventions establish non-legal rules of political conduct. They derive, in Ivor Jennings’ (1959) and Geoffrey Marshall’s … [Read more...] about How (not) to kill a constitutional convention: Theresa May’s intervention in Syria, April 2018