Labour and the constitution: an uneven start for Starmer

Posted on November 27, 2024 by The Constitution Unit

Today the Unit published Monitor 88, providing an analysis of constitutional events over the last four months. This post by Alan Renwick and Meg Russell, which also serves as the issue’s lead article, reviews the new government’s early months, highlighting positive first steps, but also many opportunities for quick wins not taken. It highlights some positive action by the new government, like the publication of a revised Ministerial Code, a speech by the new Attorney General on the rule of law and small steps on parliamentary and electoral reform, as well as some less positive behaviour and inaction, such as failing to further strengthen of standards in public life, rushing legislation and not making further progress with parliamentary and electoral reform.

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The constitution in the 2024 general election manifestos

Posted on June 18, 2024 by Constitution Unit

With just over two weeks to go until polling day, most parties have now released their manifestos. In this post, Lisa James summarises their key pledges on the constitution, covering parliamentary reform, standards, the rule of law and rights protection, elections and public participation, media and democratic discourse, devolution and Europe.

With the 4 July general election fast approaching, political parties are releasing their manifestos. Though much of the election campaign has focused on the economy and public services, several of the manifestos also contain significant constitutional policy pledges. This post summarises the key commitments on the constitution, covering the manifestos of the main parties in Great Britain: the Labour Party, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Reform UK, Plaid Cymru and Scottish National Party.

Parliament

The most striking commitment in relation to the House of Commons comes from Labour, which proposes a Modernisation Committee charged with assessing procedure, and improving standards and working practices. The party also proposes to grasp the nettle of House of Lords reform, pledging to scrap the remaining hereditary peers, introduce an age limit of 80 and ‘a new participation requirement’, and introduce reforms to ‘ensure the quality of new appointments’ and improve territorial diversity. Longer-term, the party commits to replacing the House of Lords with an ‘alternative second chamber that is more representative of the regions and nations’, and pledges to consult on proposals for doing so.

Lords reform is also pledged by the Green Party, which proposes replacement with an elected second chamber, and the Liberal Democrats (who propose to reform the chamber to have a ‘proper democratic mandate’ but offer no more detail). Reform UK proposes to replace the House of Lords with a ‘much smaller, more democratic second chamber’ – though it leaves further detail ‘to be debated’. The SNP supports abolition. The Liberal Democrats also propose strengthening parliament’s powers in relation to the calling of elections, trade deals, and military intervention. The Conservative manifesto contains nothing on the role of parliament.

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Citizens’ assemblies: what are they and how can policy-makers use them?

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Constitution Unit

This is the first edition of this briefing. It has since been updated. Read the most up-to-date version and other briefings on the Constitution Unit’s website.

Citizens’ assemblies can help policy-makers in developing policy effectively, but their potential role is often misunderstood. Alan Renwick explains what they are, what they are for, how they have been used to date, and how they could be used in the future.

Background

Citizens’ assemblies have recently received significant attention in the UK. Advocates think they can enable more effective policy-making and help overcome public disaffection with politics. Critics worry that they could weaken the central role of elected representatives, or be biased towards particular outcomes. Making headway in this debate requires clear understanding of how such assemblies work and what role they can play.

What is a citizens’ assembly?

A citizens’ assembly is a body of people tasked (normally by policy-makers) with examining a specific issue and making recommendations. Such assemblies typically have 50–150 members, who are carefully selected, using lottery, to be as representative as possible of the wider population.

Assembly meetings generally take place at weekends. A duration of two to six weekends is typical, depending on the size of the topic being addressed, though some assemblies have taken longer.

Members discuss among themselves and hear from a balanced array of witnesses. Facilitators keep the discussions on topic and enable everyone to contribute. Members gradually build their ideas and then agree recommendations, which are presented in a report.

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Pre-election politics and the constitution

Posted on March 13, 2024 by The Constitution Unit

Today, the Unit published Monitor 86, providing analysis of constitutional events over the last four months. This post by Meg Russell and Alan Renwick also serves as the issue’s lead article. It outlines how the government and its opponents are increasingly acting with the general election in mind, and the impact that is having on the UK constitution. It covers a wide range of topics, including the defeat of the government’s Rwanda policy in the Supreme Court, the ensuing legislative battle to overturn that judgment, a furore involving the Speaker, changes to the electoral system ahead of the next general election, the health of the monarchy, a return to power-sharing in Northern Ireland, and challenges to the rule of law in Poland and Israel.

Constitutional politics – just like politics more broadly – is increasingly framed by the UK’s looming general election. That must take place within the next 10 months, but could be called within weeks. Each party is preparing its pitch to voters, and preparatory changes – some of them controversial – have been made to electoral law.

A Conservative priority is to ‘stop the boats’ that carry asylum seekers across the English Channel. The Supreme Court ruled in November that one of the policies through which ministers hope to advance that aim – sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda – was illegal, as asylum seekers there could be returned to home countries where they are in danger. The government responded to this judgment by upgrading its previous memorandum of understanding with the Rwandan government to a treaty and by introducing legislation that, if passed, will declare Rwanda to be a safe country, prevent courts from deciding to the contrary, and empower ministers to ignore injunctions granted by the European Court of Human Rights.

These moves seem motivated by a belief among ministers that seeing flights take off for Rwanda is essential for their party’s prospects at the ballot box. But, in attempting this, they risk placing electoral expediency ahead of the rule of law. The Rwanda bill is criticised for breaching the UK’s obligations under international law and for undermining the separation of powers between parliament and the judiciary. Both of these points are central to the British constitutional tradition.

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Eight key questions about citizens’ assemblies

Posted on March 1, 2024 by The Constitution Unit

The news that a Labour government might make use of citizens’ assemblies has sparked wide debate about the merits of such bodies. Much of the discussion has, however, been based on misunderstandings of how citizens’ assemblies really work. Alan Renwick here provides an essential guide.

1. What is a citizens’ assembly?

Let’s start with the basics. A citizens’ assembly is a body of people who are chosen by lottery to examine a specific policy issue. There are typically 50–150 members, and the selection process is designed so they are as representative as possible of the wider population.

Meetings generally take place at weekends (or evenings for local assemblies). Two to six weekends is typical, depending on the size of the issue, though some assemblies have taken longer.

Members discuss among themselves and hear from witnesses. Professional facilitators keep the discussions on topic and enable everyone to contribute. Members gradually build their ideas and then agree recommendations, which are presented in a report.

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Category Archives: Public Engagement and Policy Making

Labour and the constitution: an uneven start for Starmer

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The constitution in the 2024 general election manifestos

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Pre-election politics and the constitution

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