UCL Constitution Unit

Mark D’Arcy recently retired after spending 21 years covering events at Westminster for the BBC. During that time he built up an unparalleled knowledge of the institution, its procedures and dynamics, with insider access to innumerable key players and a ringside seat at important political moments large and small. This conversation discussed his key reflections on parliament and parliamentary journalism, and how they have changed in the last two decades.

Features:

Mark D'arcy in conversation with Professor Meg Russell

Useful links

You can see the next Constitution Unit event here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/events/2023/nov/future-democracy-uk-public-attitudes-and-policy-options 

Mark D'Arcy on the UK&EU podcast: https://ukandeu.ac.uk/podcasts/mark-darcy-on-his-career-at-the-bbc-and-how-brexit-has-changed-parliament/ 

The Hansard Sociey: https://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/  (we will add a link to Marks new podcast with them when it becomes available) 

Subscribe to our mailing list here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved/subscribe

Links:

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/constitution-unit

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/ucl/constitution-unit

Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

The recent book by journalist and author Ian Dunt provides a detailed and critical account of many aspects of the UK’s political system, including political parties and elections, parliament and the legislative process, the work of ministers and civil servants in Whitehall, and the role of the media. The book analyses various perceived problems, and proposes a range of possible solutions. In this seminar Ian presents some of his key arguments, and responds to comments and questions from a panel of experts and the online audience.

 Speakers: 

• Ian Dunt, journalist and author
• Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society
• Jill Rutter, Senior Research Fellow at UK in a Changing Europe and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government
• Professor Alan Renwick, Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit, UCL

 Chair: Dr Tom Fleming, Constitution Unit, UCL

You can buy Ian's book here.

Links:

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/constitution-unit

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/ucl/constitution-unit

Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Adopting a more proportional electoral system is opposed by the Conservative Party, and by the Labour leader, but attracts growing support elsewhere. Would such reform be desirable or practical, and what might be its consequences? What might politicians wish to consider regarding other aspects of our elections, such as the minimum voting age, voter ID rules, or the reform proposals of the Law Commissions? How might any such changes be delivered?

Speakers

Cat Smith MP – Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood and former shadow minister for the Cabinet Office

Lord (Robert) Hayward – Conservative peer

John Pullinger – Chair of the Electoral Commission

Professor Sarah Birch – Professor of Political Science at King’s College London

Chair: Professor Alan Renwick – Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit, UCL

Links:

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/constitution-unit

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/ucl/constitution-unit

Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

This final keynote session considered the practicalities of delivering constitutional change in the round, whether under the current government, or a new Conservative, Labour, or coalition administration after the next general election. What kinds of changes might be ‘quick wins’, and which might instead take longer to deliver? How is the balance to be reached between public consultation, parliamentary scrutiny and achieving desired changes? Two senior figures with huge experience at the heart of British government reflected on these challenges.

Speakers

Lord (Charlie) Falconer of Thoroton – Labour peer, and former Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor

David Lidington – former Conservative MP for Aylesbury, and former Minister for the Cabinet Office, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Lord Chancellor, and Leader of the House of Commons

Chair: Professor Meg Russell FBA – Director of the Constitution Unit, UCL

Links:

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/constitution-unit

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/ucl/constitution-unit

Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

The issue of ensuring high standards of behaviour in public life remains high-profile following the Johnson and Truss premierships. Rishi Sunak pledged to lead a government of ‘integrity, professionalism, and accountability’ when he first became Prime Minister, while Labour has proposed an extensive overhaul to the UK’s system of standards regulation. What are the key problems in the current system, and what reforms could most successfully address them?

Speakers

Lord (David) Anderson of Ipswich – Crossbench peer, and former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation

Dr Hannah White – Director of the Institute for Government

Jeremy Wright MP – Conservative MP for Kenilworth and Southam, former Attorney General and former member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life

Chair: Professor Meg Russell FBA – Director of the Constitution Unit, UCL

Links:

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/constitution-unit

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/ucl/constitution-unit

Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Relations between the political branches and the courts have been strained in recent years. Pushback against the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights has spilled over into determined attempts to ‘clip the wings’ of the UK’s own courts, with renewed interest in ‘ouster clauses' and attempts to repeal the Human Rights Act, against a steady drumbeat of complaint that courts have become too powerful in our constitutional arrangements. How can the damage be repaired? What should be the priorities of a future government interested in restoring the UK’s battered reputation as a rule of law-regarding nation?

Speakers include

Laura Farris MP – Conservative MP for Newbury and former practising barrister at Matrix

Emily Thornberry MP - Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, and Shadow Attorney General

Fiona Rutherford – Chief Executive, Justice

Chair: Murray Hunt – Director of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law

Links:

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/constitution-unit

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/ucl/constitution-unit

Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Uncertainties over the UK’s future territorial politics are great. The SNP is in turmoil, and the UK government’s block on Holyrood’s gender legislation is being challenged in the courts. Labour’s Brown Commission has recommended major changes, and further proposals are being developed in Wales. Renewed devolution within England is on the cards. Is fundamental reform of the UK’s territorial arrangements needed? If so, what might this mean in practice?

Speakers

Dr Anwen Elias – Reader in Politics at Aberystwyth University, and member of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales

Kezia Dugdale – Director of the John Smith Centre at the University of Glasgow, and former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

Professor Michael Kenny - Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge

Chair: Professor Alan Renwick – Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit, UCL

Links:

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/constitution-unit

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/ucl/constitution-unit

Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

The last few years have seen frequent controversy about parliament’s role, and the government’s openness to parliamentary accountability. Concerns have focused on parliament's ability to scrutinise primary legislation, delegated legislation, and international treaties, and on the role of the House of Lords. What are the proper scrutiny roles of MPs and peers? Do they have the opportunities and resources to fulfil these? If not, what reforms might be needed?

Speakers

Thangam Debbonaire MP – Labour MP for Bristol West and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

Professor the Lord (Philip) Norton of Louth – Conservative peer, and Professor of Government at the University of Hull

Dr Brigid Fowler – Senior Researcher, Hansard Society

Alexander Horne – barrister, and Visiting Professor at Durham University

Chair: Dr Tom Fleming – Constitution Unit, UCL

Links:

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/constitution-unit

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/ucl/constitution-unit

Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Recent years have seen rising global concern about ‘democratic backsliding’, whereby political leaders challenge democratic norms and institutions and dismantle checks and balances on the executive. What can be done to combat these trends? In particular, how can international actors, and domestic actors such as opposition forces and civil society, work constructively to counteract or contain attempted backsliding? What is the UK’s role in such debates? In this seminar, an expert panel will discuss what we can learn from existing responses to backsliding around the world.

Speakers:

• Professor Kim Lane Scheppele, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University
• Ken Godfrey, Executive Director of the European Partnership for Democracy
• Dr Seema Shah, Head of Democracy Assessment at International IDEA

Chair: Professor Meg Russell, Director of the Constitution Unit

Useful reading:

• What is democratic backsliding and is the UK at risk? by Meg Russell, Alan Renwick, and Lisa James
• The anatomy of democratic backsliding: could it happen here? by Stephan Haggard and Robert R Kaufman

Links:

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/constitution-unit

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/ucl/constitution-unit

Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Our democratic system is not working as well as it should: on this, both the public and most experts agree. But what exactly are the problems? What are the pros and cons of the potential solutions? And are such changes feasible? 

Drawing on recent Constitution Unit research into public attitudes to democracy, as well as his own work on electoral systems, referendums, citizens’ assemblies and other democratic institutions, Alan Renwick explores answers to each of these questions. Alan argues that there are no quick fixes, but that a series of changes in institutions, practices, and behaviours may lead to valuable improvements.

With an introduction by Prof Meg Russell and an appreciation by Prof Anand Menon.

Links:

Website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/constitution-unit

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/ucl/constitution-unit

Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit