The general election of 2015 answered conclusively, to the surprise of most commentators, the question, ‘Who governs Britain?’ by yielding a single-party government with an overall majority in the House of Commons. But it did not answer two of the … [Read more...] about The Crisis of The Constitution : 2nd Edition
Scottish Referendum
A Tale of Two Referendums
Can we make referendums work? This pamphlet provides a brief overview for the perplexed and provides an understanding of how referendums operate before the vote on British membership of the European Union. The author holds that the two major … [Read more...] about A Tale of Two Referendums
A United Kingdom Constitutional Convention
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Reform, Decentralisation and Devolution in the UK has published its paper 'A Parliament for Reform 2015-2020' The paper includes the following proposed wording for inclusion in the manifestos of all parties at … [Read more...] about A United Kingdom Constitutional Convention
How not to change the constitution
Much of the media commentary on the Scottish referendum and its aftermath has focussed on the apparent poor judgement of the Westminster elite - and the prime minister in particular – in the negotiation of the Edinburgh Agreement and the subsequent … [Read more...] about How not to change the constitution
After the Referendum, Options For a Constitutional Convention
This publication was produced in partnership with Unlock Democracy. The pamphlet argued that, whatever the result of Scotland’s independence referendum, careful constitutional thinking would be needed. It examined how such constitution-making should … [Read more...] about After the Referendum, Options For a Constitutional Convention
Sir John Elvidge APPG Meeting On Scottish Referendum
The latest meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the British Constitution was honoured to have as its main speaker, Sir John Elvidge, former Permanent Secretary to the Scottish government 2003 - 2010. Sir John opened the discussion of the … [Read more...] about Sir John Elvidge APPG Meeting On Scottish Referendum
Professor Michael Keating speaks about Scotland’s future
Professor Michael Keating is currently writing a paper for The Constitution Society on the important topic of Scotland's future after the independence referendum in 2014. We will be launching his piece along with responses from CentreForum, the … [Read more...] about Professor Michael Keating speaks about Scotland’s future
Scottish Independence: asking the wrong question?
This archive item is a window onto issues as they appeared at the time. It contains facts and opinions which may have been superseded by subsequent events. Following last month’s agreement between David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex … [Read more...] about Scottish Independence: asking the wrong question?