Ministers

As the Labour Party faced down a significant rebellion of its backbench MPs on welfare reforms recently, attention turned to parliamentary arithmetic as people tried to work out exactly what kind of majority Keir Starmer had in Parliament. Under … [Read more...] about Look out behind you! The payroll vote in government

If you follow politics, you’ll probably have heard the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster mentioned from time to time, without what the office is or what its holder does being explained. And it might seem strange that Pat McFadden, who played a … [Read more...] about What does the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster do?

On 17 January, the Cabinet Secretary to the Home Office sent a letter outlining the future direction of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill (‘the Bill’). In it, he confirmed that the proposed Guidance (‘the Guidance’) to be … [Read more...] about Expanding Ministerial Discretion by Eroding Human Rights: the Government’s Draft Guidance on Rule 39 Injunctions

The unexpected resurrection of David Cameron’s political career in the closing weeks of 2023 reopened a long-standing constitutional controversy. There is a convention that all government ministers must sit in either the Commons or the Lords, … [Read more...] about Bring on the Goats: ‘Outsider’ ministers are a good idea: their peerages are otiose