We are pleased to issue a call for papers for a one-day workshop exploring the governance of the UK’s territorial constitution post-Brexit. The workshop will be hosted in Liverpool (and online) on 6 June 2023 with funding from the School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool, and Wales Governance Centre, Cardiff University.

A critical review of the UK’s internal governance arrangements has never been timelier. 

Brexit has given new urgency to debates about what governance means and how it should be structured under a constitution that is now increasingly defined by its territorial distribution of legislative, executive and administrative powers.

However, the territorial constitutional landscape post-Brexit is characterised by a lack of consensus on underlying principles. The redefinition of the mechanisms and structures that occupy the space for intergovernmental working (through macro changes following the IGR Review, as well as the creation of the common frameworks) has taken place alongside the adoption of new legislative instruments (such as the UK Internal Market Act 2020, the Subsidies Control Act 2022 and the proposed Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill) – with unclear and undefined relationships between them. 

Whilst the UK and EU have reached broad – if not yet entirely complete – agreement on a new framework to govern their future relationship, the governments of the UK appear increasingly at odds on the governance of the UK’s territorial constitution – on the appropriate space for effective self-governance, or the mechanisms for shared governance.   

This workshop will bring together a broad range of perspectives to reflect on the experiences of post-Brexit territorial governance. Contributors are invited to map and theorise existing tensions or explore innovations in governance – with reference either to discrete policy areas or to more broad constitutional concerns. 

Comparative insights from other systems of multi-level governance are particularly welcome. The workshop is open to legal scholars, political scientists and those working in related fields. Early-career and postgraduate researchers are also strongly encouraged to apply – academic mentoring and financial assistance is available to support participation. 

Titles and abstracts (around 250 words) for presentations (full papers not required) should be emailed to Professor Jo Hunt, University of Cardiff (HuntJ@cardiff.ac.uk) and Dr Thomas Horsley, University of Liverpool (Thomas.Horsley@liverpool.ac.uk) by 12 May 2023.