On Friday 22 April, The Constitution Society held a conference looking at the power of the UK executive within the political system. Speakers at the conference considered the nature the government’s power and its relationship with the institutions … [Read more...] about Executive power and the constitution: is the UK government getting more powerful?
The new parliamentary session began last week, with a Queen’s speech that laid out a highly ambitious volume of new bills. Many of these are likely to prove controversial – including planned constitutional measures. To assess how the government … [Read more...] about The Queen’s speech, the Johnson government, and the constitution – lessons from the 2021-22 session
On Friday 22 April, The Constitution Society held a conference that looked at the power of the executive within the UK political system. Speakers at the conference considered the nature the government’s power and its relationship with the … [Read more...] about Conference: Executive power and the UK constitution
Concerns about the prospects for UK democracy are widespread. Many in the past have raised similar concerns. A major deterioration or shift towards authoritarianism has not previously occurred in the UK. But we should not conclude that previous … [Read more...] about Should we be worried about democracy in the United Kingdom?
Introduction The Judicial Review and Courts Bill was laid before Parliament in July 2021 and is currently at the Report stage in the House of Commons. It represents the most recent reform intended to improve administrative efficiency in the … [Read more...] about The Judicial Review and Courts Bill: how much space is left for the rule of law?
On Monday 8 November, Parliamentary skirmishes between the government and the Lords over the legal enforcement powers of the new Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) concluded with a Commons victory for the government. The Environment Act … [Read more...] about Certainty versus legality: loading the dice against upholding the law
Professor Andrew Blick is joined by Aileen McHarg, Professor of Public Law and Human Rights at Durham Law School and member of the UK Constitution Monitoring Group (UKCMG). In a wide-ranging conversation, they discuss many of themes and findings … [Read more...] about In conversation with Aileen McHarg
In keeping with the 2019 Conservative manifesto pledge to prevent judicial review from becoming ‘politics by another means’, the Independent Review of Administrative Law’s (IRAL) remit was extended to ‘addressing the appropriate constitutional place … [Read more...] about ‘Don’t Stand So Close to Me’: the Faulks report and judicial overreach
When Public lawyers are asked about independence, the type that probably first comes to mind is judicial independence. The necessity of judicial independence in a democratic society is clear, even if its meaning is contested. The COVID-19 pandemic … [Read more...] about Judicial and scientific independence
Stephen Hockman QC was called to the Bar in 1970 and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1990. Dave Drew is a General Counsel who has worked previously in the House of Commons. Introduction As is widely known, the Conservative Party have plans to make … [Read more...] about Constitutional reform: a legal perspective on the issues
