Throughout the 2024 general election campaign, and after, the Constitution Unit provided analysis of key constitutional issues and of the parties’ policies in relation to these. Catch up on our general election-related publications, manifesto-specific commentary, other blog posts, events and media appearances.
The constitution in the 2024 general election manifestos
In the first in our series of blog posts on the manifestos, Lisa James summarised the key pledges made by Great Britain's major parties on the constitution.
Meg Russell discusses House of Lords reform in the King's Speech on BBC News
Meg Russell discusses House of Lords reform in the King's Speech on BBC News
Publications
3 June: Delivering House of Commons Reform: What works?
In a report from our Politics of Parliamentary Procedure project, Dr Tom Fleming and Hannah Kelly explored different institutional vehicles for developing and delivering proposals for House of Commons reform. A Modernisation Committee, which the report suggested might be the option chosen by the next government, was later mentioned in the Labour party manifesto. Tom and Hannah summarised the report on our blog.
24 June: Seven steps to restore trust in government ethics
The Constitution Unit published a joint statement with the Institute for Government and UK Governance Project, setting out seven steps to restore trust in the system for regulating ethics in public life. Prof Meg Russell and Prof Robert Hazell were joined by numerous others in writing a letter to The Times in support of the statement.
27 June: ‘Government, Parliament and the Constitution’, in The Conservative Effect 2010–2024
Prof Meg Russell wrote a chapter on ‘Government, Parliament and the Constitution’ in Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton’s new book, The Conservative Effect 2010–2024: 14 Wasted Years?. She summarised her contribution on our blog.
28 June: Northern Ireland: Challenges for the Next Westminster Government
The third report of Alan Whysall’s project on Northern Ireland’s Political Future suggested that, whatever the result, a new Westminster government may want to comprehensively reappraise the way that it addresses Northern Ireland issues. He summarised the report on our blog.
Events
5 June: Priorities for New MPs’ Induction in the Next Parliament
Dr Ruth Fox, Dr Hannah White, Daniel Greenberg and Alistair Burt, with Prof Meg Russell as chair, discussed what new MPs need to know and how this information might best be delivered. Lisa James summarised the event on our blog.
24 and 25 June: Constitutional Priorities for the Next Government: Constitution Unit Conference 2024
Our conference had panels on standards, English devolution, the rule of law and House of Lords reform, with Dominic Grieve KC, Peter Riddell, Tim Durrant, Prof Tony Travers, Prof Joanie Willett, Akash Paun, Ed Cox, Lord (Jonathan) Sumption, Baroness (Shami) Chakrabarti, Jonathan Jones KC, Baroness (Helene) Hayman, Darren Hughes and Prof Meg Russell as speakers. Prof Alan Renwick and Lisa James also chaired.
16 July: Lessons from the 2024 general election
Prof Meg Russell, Prof Alan Renwick, Dr Sofia Collignon, Prof Ben Lauderdale, with Dr Tom Fleming as chair, reflected on the general election campaign, the result and the parliament ahead.
Media
12 June: Meg Russell in iNews
Prof Meg Russell spoke to Eleanor Langford from iNews about Labour’s manifesto plans for House of Lords reform.
13 June: Meg Russell on LBC
Prof Meg Russell spoke to Iain Dale on LBC about Labour’s manifesto plans for House of Lords reform. She broadly welcomed the proposals, but was more sceptical about introducing an age limit.
21 June: Meg Russell on Parliament Matters
Prof Meg Russell appeared on an episode of the Parliament Matters podcast with Dr Ruth Fox and Mark D’Arcy. She discussed Labour’s constitutional manifesto plans and a possible Modernisation Committee and House of Lords reform in particular.
24 June: Standards statement in The Times and others
Our joint statement on standards, was covered by George Grylls in The Times. It was also covered by David Allen Green, Melanie Phillips, City A.M. and John Humphrys.
30 June: Northern Ireland: Challenges for the Next Westminster Government in The Guardian
Alan Whysall’s latest Constitution Unit report was the subject of an editorial in The Guardian.
2 July: Alan Renwick on Times Radio
Prof Alan Renwick spoke to Aasmah Mir and Stig Abell on Times Radio about electoral reform, including its likelihood, and the nature of ‘majoritarian’ and ‘proportional’ systems.
3 July: Alan Renwick on BBC Radio Wales
Prof Alan Renwick spoke to Wyre Davies on BBC Radio Wales about the health of democracy, including our Democracy in the UK after Brexit project and compulsory voting.
4 July: Robert Hazell in the Washington Post
Prof Robert Hazell was quoted in an article by Jennifer Hassan in the Washington Post about the King’s role in general elections.
5 July: Meg Russell in the Financial Times
Prof Meg Russell is quoted twice in an article by Henry Mance in the Financial Times about Rishi Sunak’s legacy.
5 July: Alan Renwick in Al Jazeera
Prof Alan Renwick is quoted on electoral reform in an Al Jazeera article.
8 July: Meg Russell in The Guardian
Prof Meg Russell on House of Lords reform and our joint statement on standards are mentioned by Polly Toynbee in The Guardian.
18 July: Meg Russell on BBC News
Prof Meg Russell spoke to Matthew Amroliwala on BBC News about the inclusion of House of Lords reform in the King’s Speech.
Manifesto series
18 June: The constitution in the 2024 general election manifestos
In the first in our series of blog posts on the manifestos, Lisa James summarised the key pledges made by Great Britain’s major parties on the constitution.
19 June: Parliamentary reform in the 2024 party manifestos
In the second in our series on the manifestos, Prof Meg Russell looked at the parties’ commitments on parliamentary reform.
20 June: Elections and public participation in the 2024 party manifestos
In the third in our series on the manifestos, Prof Alan Renwick looked at the parties’ policies towards elections and public participation.
25 June: Devolution in the 2024 party manifestos
In the fourth in our series on the manifestos, Dr Patrick Thomas examined the commitments on devolution and considered what these might mean for the future of the UK.
27 June: Standards in the 2024 party manifestos
In the fifth and final post in our series on the manifestos, Lisa James looked at the parties’ policies on the standards system. What do they propose, what should they consider and what might be missing?
Other blog posts
7 June: In praise of fixed-term parliaments
Prof Meg Russell and Prof Robert Hazell revisited the long-standing arguments about fixed-term parliaments, summarised the birth and death of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 and argued that we should consider returning Westminster to fixed terms.
11 June: The 2019 Conservative Party manifesto: were its pledges on the constitution delivered?
Lisa James assessed the delivery record of the 2019–24 Conservative governments against the pledges that the party made in its manifesto in 2019.
17 June: Changes in electoral practice since 2019
Sanjana Balakrishnan summarised all that is new with how elections are done.
23 June: Heatwave risk and election safety: does it make sense to hold elections in July?
Prof Sarah Birch, Erik Asplund, Maddie Harty and Dr Ferran Martinez i Coma discussed why the risk posed by extreme heat could affect the conduct and outcome of the voting process in a July general election.
1 July: The unanswered questions posed by Labour’s plan for a new Ethics and Integrity Commission
Peter Riddell outlined some of the difficulties in creating an ‘Ethics and Integrity Commission’ and argued that it is crucial that the country’s constitutional watchdogs are both independent of government and accountable to parliament.
3 July: In praise of post-election transition periods
Prof Meg Russell summarised the arguments in favour of a more formal post-election transition period and suggested that the unusual circumstances in 2024 might encourage reflection on longer-term changes to the system.
10 July: Election 2024: the performance of the electoral system
Prof Alan Renwick reviewed the First Past the Post voting system and the quality of discourse during the 2024 general election campaign, ahead of the publication of his chapter in UK Election Analysis 2024.
15 July: The performance of the electoral system
Prof Alan Renwick reviewed how the First Past the Post voting system performed for UK Election Analysis 2024.
15 July: What to expect from the new House of Commons
In an article for UK in a Changing Europe, Lisa James reflected on the challenges that the Labour and Conservative parties face in the new parliament.
24 July: What did – and didn’t – the King’s speech say on the constitution?
Lisa James assessed what was, and what was not, included in the King’s Speech.
2019 general election
During the 2019 general election campaign, the Constitution Unit produced a list of constitutional pledges made by the major political parties, which were also summarised for our blog.