Devolution

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

Wales has a new First Minister: Eluned Morgan was confirmed in the role after a vote in the Senedd on 6 August 2024. She becomes the first woman to hold the position, and replaces Vaughan Gething after his resignation three weeks … [Read more...] about Wales’ new First Minister: A Time for Change?

The King’s Speech saw Labour announce plans to ‘establish a new framework for English devolution, moving power out of Westminster and back to those who know their areas best’. Labour intends to both deepen devolution by affording more powers to … [Read more...] about Five Questions on the Future of English Devolution

In 1912, the shipyard of Harland and Wolff in East Belfast produced a ship that was state of the art, a marvel of engineering, “designed to be unsinkable”. As it traversed the iceberg-laden waters of the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage at high … [Read more...] about The Titanic Struggle over the Illegal Migration Act

On May 2nd voters in England will elect 50 ‘presidents’. They are not actually called presidents, but they have many of the features of a presidential form of government. So who are these ‘presidents’ and how did the UK, or more specifically … [Read more...] about England’s 50 Presidents: Your Vote on May 2nd

Matthew Heathcote is a Constitution Society research fellow, his report “The City and Federalism: the UK and Germany” will be published next week on 18 March 2024.  Over the last year, I've had the privilege to research and write on the potential … [Read more...] about Out next week: “The City and Federalism: the UK and Germany”

Northern Ireland’s political dynamics have always been some of the most turbulent inthe United Kingdom. Much of the division and disruption comes from the divide thatexists on the constitutional future of Northern Ireland. Should it continue as part … [Read more...] about Reporting the divide? The media and the constitutional debate in Northern Ireland

It felt like the King’s Speech should have been a bigger event. I was sat watching the King and Queen arrive in Westminster from my office window. I refused an offer to go see him close-up that morning and instead opted out for a packet of Walkers … [Read more...] about A King’s Speech fit for a dying government

Traditionally in Northern Ireland (or NI) mention of constitutional change has meant only one thing: United Kingdom (UK) vs United Ireland (UI). Known simply as ‘the constitutional question’, the issue to which this juxtaposition points – … [Read more...] about Northern Ireland and its (other) constitutional issues

In this blog I examine the formal mechanisms governing relations between the Senedd and the Welsh Government. I begin with a brief overview that explains how the Welsh institutions have developed since 1999. Then I consider developments in the most … [Read more...] about Inter-institutional partnership: the Senedd and the Welsh Government

The Deposit Return Scheme The Scottish Government’s quest to introduce the beleaguered Deposit Return Scheme (“DRS”) appears to be like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Originally, Scotland was due to launch the UK’s first DRS for drinks … [Read more...] about The Deposit Return Scheme and the UK Internal Market

Review of Richard Johnson and Yuan Yi Zhu, Sceptical Perspectives on the Changing Constitution of the United Kingdom (Bloomsbury, 2023) It is by now a truism that the Brexit referendum of 2016 brought constitutional issues to the fore of … [Read more...] about More Bonaparte than Bagehot