UCL Constitution Unit

Debates over standards in public life have a long history. Their evolution is partly cyclical, reflecting reactions to extended periods of one party in office. But there is also long-term growth in a belief that ministers cannot be trusted to behave well and that more formal structures are needed to check their power. Of late, the view that the abuses and challenges to institutional checks have been greater under some recent prime ministers – particularly Boris Johnson – has produced what amounts to a culture war between, on the one hand, defenders of the elected government – often citing an almost presidential mandate dismissing unelected regulators and judges – and, on the other hand, critics who would constrain or even eliminate ministers from some decisions. This debate is in danger of becoming very polarised. So where can a new balance be achieved? In this lecture, Peter Riddell will argue that the solution must recognise the legitimate rights of ministers as the elected government while also strengthening independent scrutiny where needed. Parliamentary committees should also play a more active role in holding both ministers and watchdogs/regulators to account. 

Introduction by Prof Meg Russell. Response by Rt Hon Jack Straw. 

Professor Sir Peter Riddell 

Peter Riddell was appointed an Honorary Professor at UCL in March 2022. He has taken a long interest in constitutional issues, parliament and standards in public life, both as a journalist and subsequently in various other roles. He joined the Financial Times in 1970 after graduating from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, with a degree in History and Economics. He served as Political Editor for seven years before becoming the paper’s Washington Bureau Chief. He joined The Times in 1991 serving as its chief political commentator until he retired from journalism after the 2010 election. He has written ten books on politics, parliament and political careers. Towards the end of his journalistic career, he became involved in other activities, initially as a trustee and then chair of the Hansard Society from 2007 until 2012, and then as Senior Fellow and then Director/Chief Executive of the Institute for Government from 2012 until 2016. He served for 18 months as a member of the Gibson inquiry into the involvement of UK intelligence agencies into the alleged mistreatment of detainees and rendition. In spring 2016 he was appointed to the independent office holder post of Commissioner for Public Appointments where he served an extended term of five and a half years until September 2021. His other public roles have included conducting a review for the Cabinet Office into the future of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and serving on the Parliamentary and Political Service Honours Committee. He has had close contacts with the academic world in various forms, notably with the Constitution Unit over more than two decades. He chaired the advisory panel of the ESRC’s Constitutional Change research programme from 2001 to 2006, is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a recipient of the President’s Medal of the British Academy.

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 episode was first recorded for our sister podcast - UCL Uncovering Politics

The last seven years in British politics have been tempestuous. The turmoil has had multiple causes: Covid, Putin’s attack on Ukraine, and Trussonomics among them. But the politics of much of the period has been dominated by Brexit: by a referendum on an ever so simple question, followed by years of wrangling over what the question meant and how the answer that voters gave to it should be interpreted and implemented. Much of that contest took place in parliament. Meaningful voters, indicative votes, the Brady amendment, the Malthouse compromise, the Cooper–Letwin Bill and the legality or otherwise of prorogation – all became the stuff of prime-time television.

So what should we make of that period? And what can we learn from it – about how parliament and our constitution work, and about how they should work?

Well a new book recently published by Oxford University Press explores all these questions and many more. It’s called The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit. And its authors join me now. They are Meg Russell (Director of the UCL Constitution Unit and Professor of British and Comparative Politics in the UCL Department of Political Science) and Lisa James (Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit).

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

As the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement passes its 25th anniversary, uncertainty remains over whether Northern Ireland’s power-sharing institutions will be restored any time soon. Debate has intensified over possible reforms, notably to how the Northern Ireland Executive is formed and to voting procedures within the Assembly. There are also differing views over the optimal forms of North–South and East–West engagement. The UK government has a vital role in shaping Northern Ireland’s future, but trust in it is exceptionally low across all Northern Ireland’s communities. In this seminar, a panel of leading authorities will explore the question of what London’s role and priorities should be.

Speakers:

• Simon Hoare, Conservative MP for North Dorset and Chair of the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

• Professor Cathy Gormley-Heenan, Professor of Politics and Provost of Ulster University

• Baroness (Angela) Smith of Basildon, Shadow Leader of the House of Lords, Labour Spokesperson on Devolved Issues in the Lords, and former minister in the Northern Ireland Office

• Alan Whysall, Honorary Senior Research Associate at the Constitution Unit, former civil servant in the Northern Ireland Office, and author of Northern Ireland’s Political Future

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

Further reading: 
The Agreement at 25: A Time for Constitutional Change in Northern Ireland? - Alan Whysall
 

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

Since the 2016 referendum, the hotly contested issue of Brexit has raised fundamental questions about the workings of British democracy. Parliament soon became a public battleground for arguments about Brexit’s implementation, and the process frequently brought its own role into question – alongside that of the courts, the devolved institutions, the civil service and even the monarch. A new book by the Constitution Unit’s Meg Russell and Lisa James charts The Parliamentary Battle Over Brexit, from the initial backbench pressures for a referendum, to the arguments over the ‘meaningful vote’, the repeated defeats of Theresa May’s Brexit deal, backbenchers ‘seizing control’ of the Commons agenda, and Boris Johnson’s unlawful prorogation, up to the ultimate approval of his Brexit deal. In this event on its publication day, the authors and three high-profile respondents discussed the book’s key arguments and conclusions, including why this period was so difficult, and what if anything might need to change in the UK’s parliament and wider constitution.

Speakers

• Professor Meg Russell FBA is the Director of the Constitution Unit
• Lisa James is a Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit
• David Gauke was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and then Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice in Theresa May’s government
• Joanna Cherry is SNP MP for Edinburgh South West, and was the lead litigant in the Cherry case in the Supreme Court over the 2019 prorogation
• Dr Robert Saunders is Reader in Modern British History at Queen Mary University of London, and author of Yes to Europe! The 1975 Referendum and Seventies Britain

This event was chaired by Professor Alan Renwick, Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit.

For more details about Meg Russell and Lisa James’s new book The Parliamentary Battle Over Brexit, and to preorder a copy with a 30% discount, see 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

Recent years have raised fundamental questions about how the UK’s democratic system functions: about the roles and characters of different institutions, about dangers of democratic ‘backsliding’, and about options for reform. Understanding public attitudes on such questions is vital, so the Constitution Unit’s Democracy in the UK after Brexit project is examining them in depth. This seminar explores the project’s latest findings, based on a major survey conducted in August/September 2022. It marks the publication in early March of the project’s third report.

Topics covered include the role of parliament, the future of the House of Lords, voting reform, the role of judges, and integrity in public life. During the seminar, key findings will be presented and discussed with leading experts.

Speakers:

Professor Alan Renwick, Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit

Professor Joe Tomlinson, Professor of Public Law, University of York

Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government

Professor Paula Surridge, Professor of Political Sociology, University of Bristol, and Deputy Director of UK in a Changing Europe

Chair: Professor Meg Russell, Director of the Constitution Unit.

Useful links:Democracy in the UK after Brexit project web pages

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 Labour Party’s Commission on the UK’s Future, chaired by Gordon Brown, has published recommendations for sweeping constitutional change, including major reforms to the devolution framework and the House of Lords. What does the Commission’s report propose? What does it leave out? Could its proposals be practically implemented? If so, how might this be done? A panel of experts discusses these questions.

Speakers

Professor Aileen McHarg is Professor of Public Law and Human Rights at Durham University.

Akash Paun is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

Professor Meg Russell is Director of the Constitution Unit.

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

Further reading:

Report of the Commission on the UK’s Future

The Future of the Territorial Constitution under Labour? The Report of the Commission on the UK’s Future by Aileen McHarg.

Five things we’ve learned about the Brown Commission on the UK’s future by the Institute for Government.

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

Proposals for reform of the UK’s House of Lords are in the news. In the wake of a report by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Labour leader and – if the polls are to be believed – likely future Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he would abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a so-called Assembly of the Nations and Regions. 

This week Alan Renwick is joined by Meg Russell, Director of the UCL Constitution Unit and Professor of British and Comparative Politics in the UCL Department of Political Science. Meg is the leading expert on the House of Lords and on second chambers more broadly, having conducted research on the subject for more than two decades.

Meg gives us a primer on the House of Lords and helps answer the questions: does it need reform? What is the best way of doing it?

Associated reading:

• The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived. Meg Russell
• The problem(s) of House of Lords appointments. Meg Russell

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

From the prorogation of parliament to military action, the executive’s prerogative powers have been at the heart of some of the most heated political controversies of recent years. This seminar marks the publication of a new book and report on this little-understood but crucial topic.

Robert Hazell will explains the main prerogative powers, the successes and failures of recent attempts to regulate them, and the respective roles of parliament and the courts. Other speakers then look at specific instances of the prerogative:

Arabella Lang (Head of Research, Public Law Project) discusses the effectiveness of parliamentary scrutiny of treaties

Prof Philippe Lagassé, Carleton University, Ottawa evaluates parliamentary attempts to regulate the war making power, in Australia, Canada and New Zealand as well as the UK

Sir Peter Riddell, Honorary Professor at UCL, talks about regulation of public appointments

This seminar is chaired by Prof Meg Russell, Director of the Constitution Unit.

The book, Executive Power: The Prerogative, Past, Present and Future by Robert Hazell and Timothy Foot (Hart Publishing)

The Constitution Unit Report, Reforming the Prerogative by Robert Hazell and Charlotte Sayers-Carter.

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 episode was originally recorded for recorded for our sister UCL Political Science podcast - 'Uncovering Politics'.

Questions about politicians’ behaviour have been high on the political agenda here in the UK in recent months and years. 

Boris Johnson’s premiership was dogged – and ultimately ended – by allegations that he was serially dishonest and tolerated bullying and other misconduct from his inner circle. Liz Truss sidelined independent sources of expertise and presided over catastrophic policy failure. And Rishi Sunak – though he entered Downing Street promising integrity, professionalism, and accountability – appointed a Home Secretary who only six days previously had left government for breaching the Ministerial Code, installed two other ministers against whom there are allegations of bullying, and (at the time of recording) yet to appoint an Ethics Adviser.

So how can we ensure high standards of behaviour from our politicians? Can we rely simply on political accountability, and the disciplining role of the ballot box? Or do advisers, regulators, and perhaps even judges need also to play a role?

This week our host Professor Alan Renwick is joined by two real experts:

Professor Robert Hazell, who founded the UCL Constitution Unit in 1995 and remained its Director until 2015. 

Sir Peter Riddell, Honorary Professor in the UCL Department of Political Science, ex- Political Editor of the Financial Times and Chief Political Commentator at the Times, Director and Chief Executive of the Institute for Government between 2012 and 2016, and Commissioner for Public Appointments from 2016 until 2021.

Related reading:

• Parliament’s watchdogs, Robert Hazell, Marcial Boo and Zachariah Pullar, UCL Constitution Unit report.
• Constitutional standards matter: the new Prime Minister must not forget that voters care about the honesty and integrity of their leaders, Peter Riddell, UCL Constitution Unit Blog.

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

Rishi Sunak’s agenda for government will inevitably be focused on the UK’s economic woes. However, Sunak also faces important questions about constitutional change. How might he approach his predecessors’ legislative proposals relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol, retained EU law, and human rights? How will he deliver on his pledge to prioritise integrity, professionalism, and accountability? Will his approach to the civil service differ from that of Boris Johnson or Liz Truss? This expert panel provides a constitutional stock-take at the start of the Sunak premiership.

Speakers:

Jill Rutter is a Senior Research Fellow at UK in a Changing Europe and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

Dr Ruth Fox is the Director of the Hansard Society.

Professor Colm O’Cinneide is Professor of Constitutional and Human Rights Law at University College London.

Chair: Professor Meg Russell, Director of the Constitution Unit

Useful reading:

How Sunak can restore integrity, professionalism and accountability - Meg Russell, Alan Renwick, Sophie Andrews-McCarroll and Lisa James 

Ministers should protect the UK’s system of constitutional guardians  - Jack Pannell

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