The United Kingdom Constitution Monitoring Group (UKCMG), established in 2020, is made up of members with practical experience and academic knowledge of the UK constitution. Its formation was driven in part by concern about declining adherence to constitutional standards and principles in the UK. Those concerns have been more than amply justified.
Since 2021 the Group has produced five biannual reports on constitutional developments in the UK. We assess trends and occurrences against a set of twenty criteria, taken largely from official accounts of standards, rules and procedures produced by entities such as the UK government. Its focus has been on whether, when these principles are taken into account, unfolding events or initiatives should give us any cause for concern.
Unfortunately, the UKCMG has found much reason for apprehension, particularly involving the UK executive and its intersection with other parts of the political system. Some of the most critical and controversial matters in UK politics of the last four years (and indeed since 2016) have involved the constitution. This position is not healthy. A system that is constantly in question cannot function properly.
In this shorter paper, the UKCMG provides an overview of some of the most serious areas of difficulty it has identified over the previous five reports, and – as it draws to a close – the 2019 Parliament as a whole. It presents the key constitutional challenges that will face the UK, and in particular whoever forms the next UK government, after the General Election that must take place no later than January 2025
It is easy for constitutional issues to become lost in an election campaign and its aftermath. But given how prominent they have been in recent years, the report urges that they receive due attention, and that consideration be given to how problems that have arisen might best be addressed. The matters it highlights fall into five categories: general constitutional principles; standards; executive-Parliament relations; the territorial constitution; and the rule of law and rights. In each case, it provides a description of the subject, and offer brief conclusions and recommendations.
This publication presents the personal views of the author and not those of The Constitution Society, which publishes it as a contribution to debate on this important subject.