Monitor 90, published today, provides an analysis of constitutional events over the last four months, a period in which the Unit hosted its annual conference and celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, and the Starmer government marked its first year in office. This post, by Meg Russell and Alan Renwick, which also serves as the issue’s lead article, argues that the government’s constitutional scorecard is mixed. The bill to remove hereditary peers from parliament has made significant progress, but further reform of the Lords feels a long way off. Keir Starmer’s relationship with his own backbenchers has deteriorated rapidly, with significant effects on government bills. Attacks on judges and the rule of law remain disturbingly common. Away from Westminster, an English devolution bill has been tabled, and measures aimed at increasing respect for democracy have been taken in Scotland and Wales. This post argues that the public still feel that politicians are not being straight with them, and that this perception needs to be fixed for democracy to function effectively.

This edition of Monitor coincides with the anniversary of Labour’s entry into government after the 2024 general election. Much has been written about that in the media – not all of it flattering. 

The Constitution Unit’s annual conference in late June examined Labour’s record in office specifically on the constitution, as did a post on our blog by Unit researcher Lisa James. The conference featured an array of senior figures from across the party spectrum, with a keynote speech from Minister for the Constitution Nick Thomas-Symonds. 

The government’s scorecard is mixed. There has been initial progress in many areas, while in others changes are still awaited. It is entirely reasonable only one year into a parliament that much remains to be done. But progress in some areas has been disappointing. 

Action has been particularly limited on the regulation of constitutional standards. Despite initial positive moves to strengthen the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, action in other areas, even where there have been clear expert voices pressing for change, has been limited. The retiring chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has spoken out in frustration, and a statement by the Prime Minister on appointments to the House of Lords contains no hints of action to strengthen the House of Lords Appointments Commission. Yet these would both have been simple and cost-free matters to address. 

On Lords reform more broadly, the government’s bill to remove the hereditary peers has nearly completed its passage, but ministers have been fiercely resistant to amendments to take reform any further, notwithstanding pressure from the House of Lords itself. A poll for the Constitution Unit published ahead of the bill’s report stage showed overwhelming support for limiting the Prime Minister’s power of appointment and the size of the chamber. This modest measure, and attempts by peers to force action on other elements of Labour’s manifesto pledges, was resisted. A select committee on next steps is promised, but further progress is doubtful.

In the House of Commons, the Modernisation Committee has started its work, but not yet made any firm recommendations. Meanwhile, the government’s relationship with parliament has sometimes been tricky. Concerns have continued about the rushing through of some bills, and the overuse of delegated legislation. Nowhere was the first of these more true than on the government’s contentious welfare reform bill, which became subject to an extraordinary Labour backbench rebellion at its second reading. This risks souring relations between the government and parliamentarians for some time to come. 

The mood music from the government has generally been far more positive on rule of law matters (as discussed in a fascinating panel at our conference). These are issues close to the Prime Minister’s heart, and his Attorney General and Justice Secretary have both been vocal in defending such standards. However the Attorney General, Lord (Richard) Hermer, has faced an onslaught of criticism for his principled position, some of it apparently coming from inside the government machine. The Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, made headlines in June for a speech which was partially spun as critical of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

An elections white paper and elections bill are expected, but a commitment made in February to set out plans ‘before summer recess’ had by June shifted to ‘later this year’. An opportunity to show early progress by restoring the independence of the Electoral Commission has been missed. It is to be hoped that this will appear in the bill itself. 

On devolution in England, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill was published on 10 July. It notably includes provision to restore the Supplementary Vote system for electing mayors and police and crime commissioners, reversing a decision made by the previous Conservative government. A new trade deal with the EU paves the way for easier passage of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reducing some sources of political tension. But severe problems in good governance at Stormont remain. A Unit report published in March sets out options for reform of the governing institutions in Northern Ireland. But there appears little chance of progress without external pressure, which ministers in London have so far opted not to provide.

Actors beyond the UK government have in some respects been bolder in pursuing political reforms. The Scottish government’s new programme includes measures to revive local democracy, while the Scottish Parliament agreed to regularise the use of ‘people’s panels’ in committee inquiries. Westminster’s own Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) will convene a public deliberative forum to examine attitudes to MPs’ pay and expenses. In Wales, ministers confirmed plans to introduce a system to recall Senedd members found guilty of misdemeanours.  

Yet such tinkering may prove too insubstantial to address growing voter disillusionment with the state of politics. The May local elections in England, and subsequent opinion polls, suggest that the UK’s party system could be going through a period of historic transition. Labour’s decades-long dominance in Wales could end at next year’s Senedd elections, and fragmentation of the vote may make forming a stable government very hard in Scotland too. While Westminster elections are further away, they have the potential to be equally convulsive. This all plays out against the backdrop of an alarmingly unstable international environment. 

The Constitution Unit celebrated its thirtieth birthday in June. The Unit was founded in an earlier era of dissatisfaction with the status quo. Its mission was to respond to perceived failings of the established political order by working up plans for constitutional renewal by a new government. By the time the government of Tony Blair was elected in May 1997, the Unit had published a dozen reports, often working closely with incoming ministers. These helped lay foundations for many subsequent reforms, including devolution, freedom of information, the Human Rights Act, and the creation of the Electoral Commission. Following the 2009 scandal over MPs’ expenses, similarly, Unit research was crucial in the establishment of a Backbench Business Committee, and the publication of the Cabinet Manual.   

Today, the Unit continues to conduct practical research into options for change, producing a dozen reports in the last two years, and maintaining close contacts with ministers, officials, and parliamentarians. Yet political will to improve the working of politics now appears in much shorter supply. The latest British Social Attitudes survey, published in June, shows today’s crisis of faith in democracy as running much deeper than that of the mid-1990s. But ministers appear not yet to recognise that addressing this requires a shift not just in government’s capacity to deliver – though that is undoubtedly important – but also in how politics is conducted.  

As recent Unit publications have argued, this shift must renew the culture of politics, with more honest, listening dialogue between citizens and their representatives at its heart. While the days of Boris Johnson’s egregious lying may have passed, people too often feel spun at, manipulated, and not listened to. The sooner a more honest dialogue is realised, the better – both for ministers and for us all.  

Monitor 90 is available on our website and in PDF format. All previous issues of Monitor are also available to download. You can sign up to receive each edition of Monitor in your inbox through our mailing list.

About the authors

Meg Russell FBA is Professor of British and Comparative Politics at UCL and Director of the Constitution Unit.

Alan Renwick is Professor of Democratic Politics at UCL and Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit.

Featured image credit: Keir Starmer, ©House of Commons.