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SubscriptionsCategory: Constitution
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Amid the Media Noise About ‘Cronyism’, Keir Starmer Is Quietly Reforming Political Standards for the Better
The spectre of Boris Johnson’s assault on standards in public life is slowly retreating, argues Josiah Mortimer
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Kemi Badenoch Told to Face up to Conservatives’ Democratic Failings After Years of Sleaze and Rule-Breaking
The Conservative Party’s new leader has appointed a series of Shadow Cabinet ministers whose Government records were clouded in scandal
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‘The Royal Family’s Sustainability In Its Current Form Can No Longer Be Guaranteed’
The social media frenzy around the Princess of Wales’ absence from public life reveals the most fundamental tension in our modern monarchy: the codependence of the Royal Family and the press, writes Jonathan Lis
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‘Fixing Broken Britain Starts with Changing a Broken Light Bulb’
UK democracy needs radical reform – but there is little evidence our leaders are ready to take up the challenge, writes Alun Drake
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Yes, Lord David Cameron Could Come Back as Prime Minister – and he Wouldn’t Need to Run for MP
New analysis sheds light on a constitutional quirk that allows a member of the House of Lords – or someone outside Parliament altogether – to become Prime Minister
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Disabled Trans Woman Who Says She’s Been ‘Denied Vote’ Due to Photo ID Rules Launches Legal Challenge
The Government is refusing to expand the list of approved forms of voter ID despite warnings of large numbers of voters set to be turned away at the general election
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‘Straight Out of the Republican Playbook’: Conservatives Impose New Strategy on Elections Watchdog in Crucial Election Year
The new Government-set priorities for the Electoral Commission make no mention of AI or misinformation – but plenty of mentions of almost non-existent voter fraud
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Labour’s Andy Burnham Says Just ‘50 People Run the UK’ as Mayor Hits Out at Westminster and Sunak’s Scrappage of HS2
The Greater Manchester Mayor wants the UK to adopt a new codified constitution, proportional representation and an overhauled House of Lords
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Government Defends Hereditary Peers Even as Aristocrats Evade Vetting and Titles Go Entirely to Men
There are still 91 hereditary peers voting on our laws – and they face even less scrutiny than those appointed for life.
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Outcry as Government Proposes Letting Brits ‘Vouch’ for Overseas Voters’ Identities – While Denying Same Chance for In-Person Voters Who Lack ID
There are fears lax rules could allow unfettered cash to flood in to UK politics from abroad
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Government Claims it ‘Takes Seriously Its Constitutional Role and Responsibility’ – As Another Report Raises Concerns About Britain’s Democracy
The United Kingdom Constitution Monitoring Group believes there is evidence of a desire by some politicians to wholly bypass democracy
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‘Code of Conduct’ Review: A Brave and Important Work – With a Few Omissions
The proposals set out by Labour MP Chris Bryant to clean-up Parliament should be adopted by his party’s leader for its next manifesto, writes Peter Oborne
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‘We Must Defend Our Democratic Space Before It’s Too Late’
Caroline Slocock – director of think tank Civil Exchange – explores how politicians’ respect for our democratic institutions has shifted since she was the first female private secretary at No. 10 under Margaret Thatcher
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‘Labour Must Be Bold on Political Reform Beyond It’s Own Self-Interest if we are to have a Properly Functioning Democracy’
A big problem facing UK politics is that both main political parties see the status quo as in their narrow self-interest, writes former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
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‘While “the Government” is a Thing Political Parties Fight to Own and Control, Real Government Will Remain a Dream’
Governments are run by political parties and for political interests – but they shouldn’t be, argues philosopher AC Grayling
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‘A Fully-Elected House of Lords Is Not the Answer to Much-Needed Reform’
Boris Johnson’s controversial appointments to the upper chamber show change is required – but Labour may not be on the right track
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Public Overwhelmingly Opposed to Liz Truss Dishing Out Gongs and Peerages in Resignation Honours
Exclusive polling for Byline Times suggests that the public rejects the short-lived Prime Minister being able to create new peers in the Lords
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The Idea to Overhaul the House of Lords that Politicians Aren’t Talking About
YouGov polling suggests strong potential support across the board for a very different chamber to replace the House of Lords
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UK Democracy ‘In Retreat’ Despite Ousting of Boris Johnson, New Report Finds
According to the research, ministers have pushed through changes to Britain’s political system that pose ‘considerable risks’ for the country’s democratic future
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Make or Break Moment for Protest Rights as Lords Set to Vote on ‘Chilling’ Changes
Leading barrister and dozens of organisations raise serious concerns about the “chilling effect” of the Government’s latest attempt to restrict the right to protest
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‘The Alliance for Radical Democratic Change is to be Welcomed’
With the UK in need of radical decentralisation, Glyndwr Cennydd Jones celebrates the recent launch of an Alliance for Radical Democratic Change
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No Parliamentary Investigation Into Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Comments that Conservatives Introduced Voter ID to ‘Gerrymander’ Elections
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Electoral Commission and Cabinet Office will not be looking into remarks by a former member of the Government that introduced the controversial policy
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Special Investigation: Voter ID– From Free Voting to ‘Papers Please’: Experiences from England’s Experiment in US-Style ‘Voter Suppression’
In the latest in a series of damning testimonies from voters across England, Byline Times reveals how the new mandatory voter ID requirements have created confusion, frustration – and potentially a real risk of discrimination. Josiah Mortimer reports.
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The Coronation: ‘A Spectacle of Apathy’
It is almost as though Queen Elizabeth’s death has brought down the old scaffolding, writes Jonathan Lis
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The Coronation: ‘It’s Only by Chance Prince Andrew Isn’t Being Crowned King’
Baroness Jenny Jones explores how reform of the monarchy could work better for our democracy
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The Coronation: ‘Picking the Wrong Constitutional Fights’
Introducing an electoral system of proportional representation should take priority over conversations about the future nature of Britain’s head of state, writes AC Grayling
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The Coronation: ‘Is It Lese Majeste to Want Less Majesty?’
King Charles’ Coronation is a missed opportunity to move monarchy into the modern era, writes former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
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LOCAL ELECTIONS 2023: Left-of-Centre Vote ‘Hopelessly Split as Twice as Many Progressives Running Against the Right in England’
Campaigners warn of vote-splitting as new analysis finds that the ‘progressive’ vote will be more split than the right in 69% of England’s council wards on 4 May
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Voter Plans One-Man Protest Against ‘Gerrymandering’ Mandatory Photo ID Law at Local Elections on Thursday
Just a fraction of the two million people who lack photo ID have applied for the government’s free scheme. How many will be denied a vote – or simply not bother – on Thursday? Josiah Mortimer reports
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The UK’s ‘World-Beating’ Rhetoric: A Distraction From Reality?
Iain Overton looks at the hyperbole around post-Brexit Britain, and how nationalist exceptionalism blinds us to our real problems and their remedies
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We May Never Know How Many Voters are Turned Away for Lack of Photo ID
Just 85,000 voters signed up for the Government’s free photo ID – out of a potential two million. Now we may not find out the true scale of ‘voter suppression’, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Keir Starmer Now Opposes Scrapping Westminster’s Voting System for PR in Blow for Reformers
His spokesman told Byline Times that the Labour Leader has a “long-standing view against PR”
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Majority of Labour-Linked Trade Unions Now Back Electoral Reform After Shop Workers Call for PR
Keir Starmer has refused to back changing the voting system – but calls to do so are becoming difficult to ignore, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Desperate Last Push to Get Photo ID to Voters Ahead of Mandatory Roll-Out Next Week
A last-minute rush is unlikely to be enough to prevent large numbers of people being effectively disenfranchised on 4 May, Josiah Mortimer reports
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No 10 Rejects Calls to Delay Voter ID Plans Despite Tiny Uptake of Free ID
And election experts have warned of battles at the ballot box if people are denied a vote, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Rishi Sunak Could Be in More Trouble as Maths Announcement May Have Broken Election Rules
The guidance says ministers must take ‘care’ and avoid announcing decisions that could influence elections – such as England’s local elections in just two weeks
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‘Voter Suppression’: Huge Numbers Set to Lose Vote as Only 2.5% Of ‘Missing Millions’ Apply for Voter ID
Just 50,000 out of an estimated two million voters without ID have applied for the new ‘free’ voter identification certificate ahead of England’s local elections
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The Starmer Audit: Three Years On, has the Labour Leader Kept his Pledges?
On the three-year anniversary of Keir Starmer becoming Labour Leader, Adam Bienkov analyses whether he has kept to his word or broken it
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ECHR: The Peace Machine
Seventy-five years ago, Nuremberg prosecutor David Maxwell Fyfe – an artisan of the European Convention on Human Rights – spoke in Brussels of his fear that the high ideals of the victors would be forgotten. His grandson explores why his legacy matters now more than ever
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The Downfalls of Johnson and Truss ‘Have Not Brought UK’s Constitutional Chaos to an End’
Nearly 100 areas of concern for UK democracy are highlighted in a worrying new report
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PM’s Power to Preside Over Breaches of Ministerial Code Should be Removed, Proposes New Bill
‘We can’t continue to have a situation in which the government is allowed to set and mark its own homework’, says campaigner Jennifer Nadel
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Starmer Under Pressure to Commit to PR Voting System and Breaking Up Media Giants from Labour Grassroots
The party’s consultation process for the next manifesto has just closed – as democracy groups call on the Labour Leader to seize the mantle of reform, Josiah Mortimer reports
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‘Anglo-British Unionism Will Not Save the Union’
Only when England can see itself as England will it be possible to challenge the idea that Britain is England, writes former Labour MP John Denham
