UCL Constitution Unit

Politics in the UK is in a state of turmoil. Every time we think it can’t get any crazier, it finds a way of doing just that. Many of the roots of the trouble can be found in Brexit. Whatever you think of Brexit, it’s clear that the referendum of June 2016 forced parliament to implement a massive switch in the direction of the country that most MPs thought was wrong, and split the main parties – particularly the Conservative Party – down the middle. The politics of ideology trumped the politics of competence. 

This episode comes from our sister UCL podcast - Uncovering Politics and looks at a new piece of research by two researchers here at the Constitution Unit UCL, which sheds light on an important aspect of the story.  It assesses just how much influence parliament had in shaping the various laws that had to be passed to make Brexit a reality and put alternative arrangements in place. 

The authors of the study are: 

Dr Tom Fleming, Lecturer in British and Comparative Politics here in the UCL Department of Political Science and a member of the UCL Constitution Unit, 

and Lisa James, Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit and co-author of the forthcoming OUP book, The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit. 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Fleming, T. and James, L., 'Parliamentary Influence on Brexit Legislation, 2017–2019', Parliamentary Affairs
• Russel, M. and James, L., 'The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit'. Oxford University Press

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 next big event for King Charles after accession will be his coronation, planned jointly by the monarch, church and state. Parliament will need to update the Regency Acts to provide for additional Counsellors of State. Meanwhile several Commonwealth countries have declared their intent to leave the monarchy and become republics. Three experts come together to discuss what these developments tell us about the new reign:

• Catherine Pepinster, author of Defenders of the Faith: the British Monarchy, Religion, and the next Coronation

• Dr Craig Prescott (Bangor), author of a forthcoming book on the Regency Acts

• Dr Sue Onslow, Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London.

Chair: Professor Robert Hazell, Constitution Unit

Further reading:

The Coronation of Charles III Constitution Unit report by Dr Bob Morris

Swearing in the New King: Accession and Coronation Oaths Constitution Unit report by Professor Robert Hazell and Dr Bob Morris

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

After Boris Johnson announced his resignation as prime minister, he was widely described as leading a ‘caretaker government’. But this episode has highlighted that the conventions surrounding such governments are far from clear in the UK. What are the UK’s caretaker conventions? When do they apply? Should the existing conventions be clarified, codified, or reformed? If so, what lessons might be learned from experience in other countries? A distinguished panel will discuss these timely questions.

Speakers:

Lord (Gus) O’Donnell is a crossbench peer who served as Cabinet Secretary from 2005 to 2011, and oversaw the drafting of the UK’s Cabinet Manual.

Lord (Gavin) Barwell is a Conservative peer who worked as Theresa May’s Downing Street Chief of Staff from 2017 to 2019, including a similar ‘caretaker’ period following her own resignation as prime minister.

Professor Anne Tiernan is an Adjunct Professor at the Griffith Business School, and the co-author of Caretaker Conventions in Australasia: Minding the Shop for Government.

Chair: Professor Meg Russell, Director of the Constitution Unit

Useful reading:

• Caretaker Conventions in Australasia: Minding the Shop for Government by Jennifer Menzies and Anne Tiernan
• Chief of Staff by Gavin Barwell
• Must a caretaker government be a zombie government? by Robert Hazell
• Cabinet Manual, paras 2.27 to 2.34

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 UK government has promised to introduce a new ‘Brexit Freedoms’ Bill in the current parliamentary session. The government’s aim is to make retained EU law – former EU legislation placed on the British statute book during the Brexit process – easier to amend. However, this may mean increasing ministers’ ability to make important policy changes via delegated legislation, with relatively little parliamentary scrutiny. What can we expect the ‘Brexit Freedoms’ Bill to look like? What could it mean for the relative power of parliament and ministers? What might this mean for laws and regulations that affect the everyday lives of UK citizens? This seminar will bring together an expert panel to discuss these important questions.

Speakers:

Professor Catherine Barnard, Professor of European Union Law and Employment Law, University of Cambridge

Dr Tom West, Delegated Legislation Review Manager, Hansard Society

Ruth Chambers, Senior Parliamentary Affairs Associate, Greener UK

Chair: Dr Joe Tomlinson, Senior Lecturer in Public Law, University of York

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

Rory Stewart was Conservative MP for Penrith and the Border between 2010 and 2019. He served in government under David Cameron and Theresa May, including as a Home Office minister and Secretary of State for International Development. As a former diplomat, he served on the House of Commons Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees, the latter of which he chaired from 2014 to 2015. In 2019, he contested the Conservative Party leadership against Boris Johnson, before being stripped of the party whip over Johnson’s approach to Brexit, and then stepping down from parliament. Among other things he is currently the co-host, with Alastair Campbell, of the popular podcast 'The Rest is Politics'.

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

Johnson’s premiership has been marked by various controversies about parliament. On COVID-19, the government was accused of overusing delegated powers – adding to already long-standing concerns in this area. Subsequently, some primary legislation has been rushed, and the relationship between whips and backbenchers often difficult. Most recently, the proposed fast-track procedures for amending Retained EU Law and on human rights risk further sidelining parliamentarians. How concerned should we be about these developments, and how best can parliament respond? 

Speakers

Baroness (Angela) Smith of Basildon – Labour peer, and Shadow Leader of the House of Lords 
William Wragg MP – Conservative MP for Hazel Grove, and Chair of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Dr Ruth Fox – Director of the Hansard Society
Dr Hannah White – Deputy Director of the Institute for Government

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 2019 Conservative manifesto promised to review the relationship between government, parliament and the courts. In particular, ministers had concerns about the growth of judicial review. Since then, there have been consultations on judicial review and the Human Rights Act, the Judicial Review and Courts Act has reached the statute book, and the government has proposed a new Bill of Rights. Simultaneously, some detect a ‘chilling’ effect on the courts. So, in the third year of the Johnson premiership, how much rebalancing has taken place, and what might still lie ahead? 

Speakers

Joanna Cherry QC MP – Scottish National Party MP for Edinburgh South West and former party spokesperson on Justice and Home Affairs 
Sir Bob Neill MP – Conservative MP for Bromley and Chislehurst, and Chair of the Commons Justice Committee
Helen Mountfield QC – barrister and Principal of Mansfield College, University of Oxford 
Martha Spurrier, Director, Liberty

Chair: Joshua Rozenberg QC (Hon) – legal commentator and journalist

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 UK’s ‘devolution settlement’ is unsettled. Alternative visions abound for how to achieve stability: through ‘muscular unionism’; by reforming intergovernmental relations; through wholesale federalisation; or by breaking up the Union. What is the current state of each of these options? How are they likely to develop in the foreseeable future? In so far as they are implemented, what impacts are they likely to have? 

Speakers

Lord (Andrew) Dunlop – Conservative peer, and former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Scotland Office and Northern Ireland Office
Professor Laura McAllister – Wales Governance Centre, University of Cardiff, and co-chair of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales 
Sarah Sackman – Public and environmental lawyer, Matrix Chambers
Professor Michael Keating – Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Aberdeen, and Fellow of the Centre on Constitutional Change 

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

Northern Ireland finds itself again without a functioning Executive or Assembly. All mainstream voices agree that the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement offers the only viable framework for politics in Northern Ireland in the coming years, but the risk of breakdown is severe. How can Northern Ireland’s power-sharing arrangements be restored in the coming months? How far are solutions to be found in changes to the Protocol or to the 1998 Agreement? And what role should the government in London play in seeking a healthy outcome?

Speakers

Julian Smith MP – Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, and former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Dr Mary Murphy – Department of Government and Politics, University College Cork 
Dr Clare Rice – Research Associate, Department of Politics, University of Liverpool
Alan Whysall – Honorary Senior Research Associate at the Constitution Unit and former civil servant in the Northern Ireland Office

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 Johnson premiership has sparked numerous concerns about constitutional standards – from respect for checks and balances and the rule of law, to standards of behaviour among ministers, officials, and parliamentarians. A major review by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 2021 proposed significant change. These debates take place within a wider framework of concern about ‘democratic backsliding’. How can constitutional and democratic standards best be upheld, and norms of good behaviour be maintained? 

Speakers

Sir Jeremy Wright QC MP – Conservative MP for Kenilworth and Southam, and member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life
Professor Elizabeth David-Barrett – Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex 
Sir Peter Riddell – former Commissioner for Public Appointments and Honorary Professor at UCL
Professor Petra Schleiter – Joint Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford

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