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If the debates do not go ahead, it will be the fault of self-interest on the...
Whether there will be debates this year in advance of the 2015 General Election is open to question, with partisan and corporate self-interest threatening to overwhelm the process by which inclusion in...
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“Thursday’s election will either reshape the UK significantly or ease the way...
Alan Trench assesses devolution commitments in the party manifestos and argues that pro-UK and nationalist parties alike display a lack of coherence and consistency. The SNP and Plaid Cymru seem to...
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Cameron’s parliamentary challenge #2: Managing the Lords
As the fallout from the general election is dissected, some commentators have noted the challenges facing Cameron’s new government in managing the House of Commons with such small majority. But Meg...
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A five-point plan for Cameron to win an EU referendum
The politicians hardly mentioned Europe during the campaign, yet the most important consequence of Britain’s general election will be a referendum on EU membership. Charles Grant offers five...
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Can David Cameron call a second election? How does that fit with the Fixed...
Robert Hazell outlines how the Fixed Term Parliaments Act restricts the new government from calling a second election. He writes that if Cameron wanted to take a gamble to boost his slender majority,...
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Routes to EVEL: The challenges facing Chris Grayling in introducing English...
With the Queen’s Speech due tomorrow, we continue our series of blogs about devolution and its consequences, drawing on the Unit’s latest report Devolution and the Future of the Union. Here Robert...
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The age of the new Parliament
The 2015 general election saw the election of the youngest MP since 1832. Chrysa Lamprinakou draws on Parliamentary Candidates UK data to highlight the slow but steady downward shift in the age at...
View ArticleLGBT candidates in UK elections: how much has changed?
On March 6 the Constitution Unit hosted a panel discussion on LGBT candidates in UK elections, exploring the UK parliament’s evolution to including more openly LGBT politicians than any other state...
View ArticleMore female candidates have been selected but the gender balance of the House...
In this post Agnes Magyar and Jennifer Hudson show that although the main parties have selected more female candidates for the June 8 election than in 2015, the proportion selected in non-held marginal...
View ArticleThe 2017 election manifestos and the constitution
Over the past two weeks the political parties have published their manifestos for the snap general election. In this post Chris Caden and Fionnuala Ní Mhuilleoir summarise the constitutional content,...
View ArticleUnionism and the Conservative Brexit deal rebellion
This week, MPs voted in favour of renegotiating the parts of the Withdrawal Agreement that relate to the ‘backstop’. The backstop and the land border between the UK and Ireland has been one of the most...
View ArticleThe European Parliament elections: seven things you need to know
Nominations for election to the European Parliament closed on Thursday. We now know which parties will be contesting the elections (if they happen), and who those parties have selected to stand for...
View ArticleThis time it’s a crisis: results from the 2019 Audit of Political Engagement
Each year, the Hansard Society conducts an Audit of Political Engagement, which seeks to measure how the public views and engages with the political process. The latest Audit demonstrates that public...
View ArticleTaking stock: what have we learned from the European elections?
Last week, voters across the UK (and indeed, across the European Union) took part in the European Parliament elections. Now that we know the outcome, Alan Renwick examines the impact on the results of...
View ArticleThe next PM’s territorial challenges
The next stages of Brexit are now set to happen under a new Prime Minister. The chosen candidate will have to work with governments in Wales and Scotland that are openly critical. Northern Ireland may...
View ArticleLosing political office: what next for the Prime Minister?
Theresa May has formally resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party after almost three years as Prime Minister, a decision that will bring to an end a nine-year period of ministerial office. Before...
View ArticleMonitor 72: Brexit and the changing logic of British politics
The latest issue of Monitor, the Constitution Unit’s regular newsletter, was published today. Since the previous issue was published in March, we have had two Brexit extensions, two — the first two —...
View ArticleSix constitutional questions raised by the election of the new Conservative...
In less than one month, Conservative Party members will elect a new leader from a two-man shortlist. Under normal circumstances, what happens next would be obvious – Theresa May would resign and the...
View ArticleCan Boris Johnson ignore parliament and force a no deal Brexit?
Controversy is swirling over the extent to which Boris Johnson’s government must be bound by parliament, particularly regarding a ‘no deal’ Brexit. Some have even suggested that Johnson could flout a...
View ArticleMight Boris Johnson try to call an election sooner than people think?
While there has been much talk about a possible vote of no confidence when parliament returns in the autumn, speculation about the possibility of the Prime Minister himself seeking to trigger an...
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