Jacob Rowbottom: Digital Communications, Social Media and the Integrity of Elections
In the 2000s, I attended various seminars in which commentators complained that there had not yet been an ‘internet election’ in the UK. The complaint ran that election debates were … Continue reading
Stephen Tierney: The Legislative Supremacy of Government
At the same time as Parliament prepares to ‘take back control’ from Brussels, the executive is in fact accruing to itself further control over the legislative process. In this post … Continue reading
Ben Yong, Diana Wallis, Murray Hunt, Greg Davies and Cristina Leston-Bandeira: Lawyering for Legislatures: The Roles, Responsibilities and Challenges of Parliamentary Lawyers
Legislatures are confronted with highly complex issues which require legal advice. Much of this work is done by parliamentary lawyers—in-house lawyers who support the legislature in scrutinising legislation and executive … Continue reading
Kenneth Campbell QC: Wightman v Secretary of State: Article 50 and Parliamentary Privilege
Introductory Litigation about Brexit continues to throw light on constitutional principles, both new and well-established. In the case of Wightman & others, petitioners [2018] CSOH 61, advised on 8 June … Continue reading
Alison Young: European Union (Withdrawal) Bill and the Meaningful Vote: Constititutional Inconsistency or Constitutional Inconvenience?
This post will focus on the constitutional issues arising from the debate on the ‘meaningful vote’. There have been various solutions proposed in legislative amendments by the House of Lords, … Continue reading
Francis Young: Parliament and Taking Back Control: A Precedent from the Maastricht Debates
This post considers whether it is a convention of the British constitution that Parliament cannot direct the executive in the making of treaties. The context, of course, is the current … Continue reading
Jack Simson Caird: Parliament’s Right to a ‘Meaningful Vote’: Amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill
On Tuesday 12 June 2018, the Government will ask the House of Commons to reject the Lords’ meaningful vote amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill (Lords Amendment 19). If the … Continue reading
