Monitor is the Constitution Unit's newsletter and is published three times a year. It contains analysis of constitutional developments across the UK and around the world, and information about the Unit’s research, publications and events.
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![]() | Achieving a new normal for the constitution? (Monitor 82, November 2022)Included in this issue: Liz Truss's Premiership; Rishi Sunak becomes Prime Minister; the death of Elizabeth II and accession of Charles III; House of Lords appointments; Electoral Commission updates; Labour and the Constitution; and much more. |
![]() | Johnson falls; what’s next for the constitution? (Monitor 81, August 2022)Included in this issue: the fall of Boris Johnson; the passage of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act, Elections Act and Judicial Review and Courts Act; the introduction of the Online Safety Bill, Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and Bill of Rights Bill; the Brexit Freedoms Bill; changes to the Ministerial Code; Northern Ireland Assembly elections; steps towards a Scottish independence referendum; agreement on expanding the Senedd and much more. |
![]() | Defending democracy (Monitor 80, March 2022)Included in this issue: Boris Johnson's relationship with his backbenchers; parliamentary scrutiny in light of criticism from House of Lords committees; parliamentary standards following the Owen Paterson scandal and IEP report into John Bercow; House of Lords defeats on amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill; controversial constitutional legislation and much more. |
![]() | Is this what democractic backsliding feels like? (Monitor 79, November 2021)Included in this issue: continuing concerns about parliamentary scrutiny; the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill; end of English Votes for English Laws; MPs' conduct; Elections Bill; Committee on Standards in Public Life reports on regulating election finance and upholding standards in public life; executive-judiciary relations and much more. |
![]() | Constitutional uncertainty on multiple fronts (Monitor 78, July 2021)Included in this issue: parliamentary scrutiny of lockdown announcements and the Withdrawal Agreement; the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill; the 18-month review of the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme; electoral reform proposals; standards in public life following scandals involving both Boris Johnson and David Cameron and much more. |
![]() | Change, continuity, and an uncertain future for the Union (Monitor 77, March 2021)Included in this issue: the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement; parliamentary scrutiny and the backbench Covid Recovery Group; the hybrid House of Commons; House of Lords appointments; the regulation of online harms; the departure of Dominic Cummings from Number 10; minister-civil service relations, the US election and much more. |
![]() | Democratic lockdown? (Monitor 76, November 2020)Included in this issue: the countdown to a UK-EU trade deal; the controversial UK Internal Market Bill; patience wearing thin for parliamentary scrutiny of the government's COVID-19 response; controversial appointments to the House of Lords; Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 reports; the 'Russia report'; an exodus of senior civil servants; city regions and COVID-19 and more. |
![]() | The constitution under COVID-19 (Monitor 75, July 2020)Included in this issue: virtual, hybrid and physical Parliament; the government's response to the pandemic and scrutiny thereof; maternity cover for MPs; postponement of the May 2020 elections; election reform; Dominic Raab deputises for Boris Johnson; civil service reform; the FCO-DfID merger; the court system struggles to adapt to COVID-19; the pandemic's impact on devolution and much more. |
![]() | Normality, or Revolution? (Monitor 74, March 2020)Included in this issue: the 2019 general election and what followed; the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020; Future Relationship negotiations; Boris Johnson's constitutional reform agenda in respect of Parliament, electoral reform and the judiciary; the February reshuffle; civil service tensions; Labour and Liberal Democrat leadership contests and much more. |
On the Brink (November 2019) | |
Brexit and the changing logic of British Politics (June 2019) | |
Brexit: the constitution under strain (March 2019) | |
Brexit: The uncertain road ahead (November 2018) | |
Rethinking referendums (July 2018) | |
A constitution in flux (March 2018) | |
Brexit blues (November 2017) | |
The most unexpected election (June 2017) | |
Testing constitutional times (February 2017) | |
Brexit and the transformation of British politics (October 2016) | |
The EU Referendum: A fair process? (June 2016) | |
The Lords: Crisis? What crisis? (February 2016) | |
The new government’s constitutional reform programme (October 2015) | |
The Conservatives’ constitutional reform programme (June 2015) | |
Preparing for another hung parliament (February 2015) | |
Scotland, England and the Union (October 2014) | |
Scottish Independence: the Countdown (June 2014) | |
Code of Constitutional Standards (February 2014) | |
Major New International Venture The Launch of Constitute: The World’s Constitutions to Read, Search and Compare (November 2013) | |
The Coalition at Three (June 2013) | |
Commission on a Bill of Rights Reports (February 2013) | |
Lords Reform: Dead, or Just Resting? (October 2012) | |
Scottish Independence: The Battle Lines are Drawn (June 2012) | |
Will the Queen's Diamond Jubilee change the Rules of Succession? (January 2012) | |
Clegg Delivers for the Conservatives (October 2011) | |
A Tale of Two Referendums (June 2011) | |
Constitutional reforms hit trouble in Parliament (January 2011) | |
Government haste puts flagship bills at risk (October 2010) | |
Post Election Edition (June 2010) | |
Constitutional Issues in the Election (January 2010) | |
Labour's Last Fling on Constitutional Reform (September 2009) | |
CSPL Inquiry into MPs' Expenses (May 2009) | |
Constitutional Reform Put On Hold (January 2009) | |
Governance of Britain One Year On (September 2008) | |
The 'Constitutional Renewal' Agenda Moves Forward (May 2008) | |
Scotland: Toward a New Settlement? (January 2008) | |
Gordon Brown and the Constitution (September 2007) | |
Lords Reform: Progress at Last? (May 2007) | |
The Union under Strain (January 2007) | |
Human Rights Sabre Rattling (September 2006) | |
Party Donors, Peerages and the Constitution (May 2006) | |
Parliament Bites Back (January 2006) | |
Welsh Devolution: The next steps (September 2005) | |
FOI goes Live in 2005 (April 2005) | |
Elected regions hit the buffers (January 2005) | |
Voters want choice in voting methods (September 2004) | |
After Thirty Years, the UK again faces a Referendum (June 2004) | |
Voting Systems all up for Review (March 2004) | |
Constitutional Battles Ahead (December 2003) | |
The Reshuffle in Perspective (September 2003) | |
Rainbow Parliament in Scotland (June 2003) | |
Lords Reform Ends in Shambles (March 2003) | |
The Meaning of Modernisation (December 2002) | |
PR Commission (August 2002) | |
Regional Rejig (June 2002) | |
Parliament Awakening? (March 2002) | |
Lords Reform Stage Two: Wakeham or What? (December 2001) | |
Whitehall's Constitutional Duo (September 2001) | |
Constitutional Shake Up in Whitehall Do Britain's Political Parties Understand Devolution? (June 2001) | |
Labour's Second Term Agenda (March 2001) | |
The State and the Nations (December 2000) | |
Rights Unleashed? (September 2000) | |
Legislative Logjam (June 2000) | |
Devolution Hots Up (March 2000) | |
Reforming the House of Lords and Lessons from Overseas (December 1999) | |
Unit Wins £1m Grant for Devolution Programme (September 1999) | |
Devolution Dawns (June 1999) | |
Constitutional Futures (March 1999) | |
Constitutional Futures (December 1998) | |
Year Two: Home Office takes the lead (September 1998) | |
Constitution Unit expands again (May 1998) | |
Lords Reform 1,2,3... (March 1998) | |
Constitution Unit moves to School of Public Policy in UCL (September 1997) |