Tag: Labour Party
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Stefan Theil: Medical Incapacity and the UK Constitution
In the United Kingdom, the mental health of politicians has traditionally commanded relatively little attention, perhaps due to popular cynicism and distrust towards elected officials. Still, those involved in UK political life have characterised it as a ‘rough old game’, with MPs referencing broken marriages, overwork, loss of friendships and poor sleep. Over time, MPs…
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Francesca Jackson: The New ‘Social Leadership Monarchy’ Is Thriving – But Is It Compatible With the Constitution?
Back in November, I wrote a blog post on the progression of the Public Service Monarchy (‘PSM’). It is a topic I wish to return to. I now believe that what we are seeing is not a progression of the PSM, but a new, identifiable form of monarchy – the Social Leadership Monarchy (‘SLM’), which…
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Stephanie Reynolds: Elon Musk: Stretching or Snapping an Elastic Constitution?
Elon Musk has recently utilised his extensive platform as owner of social media site X to intervene in British politics. He has labelled the UK Prime Minister ‘two-tier Keir’ in relation to allegations of police bias against white protestors during the 2024 riots, and after the Government announced changes to inheritance tax, declared that ‘Britain…
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Mike Gordon: Labour’s Ministerial Code and Political Standards Reform
On 6th November, Prime Minister Keir Starmer published his (long awaited) revised version of the Ministerial Code. A written statement in Parliament by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, accompanying the release of the updated text suggested that ‘[t]he new code will be instrumental in setting out the high standards that the…
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Sanjit Nagi: “A Mandate for Change!”: Popular Sovereignty and the Labour Party
The recent general election saw the Labour Party being elected with a majority of 171 seats in Parliament. The following morning, in his first speech as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer claimed the nation had given the Labour Party a “clear mandate”. Similarly, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, stated the British people…
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Sanjit Nagi: A Future Constitutional Battleground? Expropriation, Compensation, and the Right to Peaceful Enjoyment of Property under the European Convention on Human Rights
As it becomes clear the Labour Party is on course to win the next general election, greater attention is being paid to their intended programme for government. Despite the current leadership disowning policies from the 2017 and 2019 manifesto, the Labour Party remains committed to expropriation in a limited number of areas: renationalising the railways, publicly…
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Mike Gordon: Creating an Integrity and Ethics Commission in the UK: The Case for Reform and Challenges for Implementation
In an era of intense and continuing controversy over the rules of political responsibility, the question of how to reform the current framework of constitutional standards applicable to politicians requires serious consideration. In addition to the regularity with which allegations about ministerial irresponsibility are being raised and sometimes (eventually) addressed, there are clearly structural challenges…
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Gordon Guthrie: Brown vs Dewar – The Labour Commission on the UK’s Future
With the publication of Labour’s Commission on the UK’s Future it is worth contrasting the approach that Gordon Brown and his colleagues have taken with the very successful devolutionary legacy of Donald Dewar. The Scottish Parliament is one of the most powerful subnational parliaments in the world. But the Scottish state hardly changed in 1999…
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Aileen McHarg: The Future of the Territorial Constitution under Labour? The Report of the Commission on the UK’s Future
On Monday, the Labour Party published the report of the Commission on the UK’s Future, chaired by Gordon Brown: A New Britain: Renewing Our Democracy and Rebuilding Our Economy. The report focuses on changes that can be delivered within a single parliamentary term, and therefore discusses only those issues which the Commission regards as most…