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SubscriptionsCategory: Constitution
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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
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Brexit Britain: Half of Brits Would Choose to Leave UK
An exclusive poll for Byline Times finds only a minority of voters would choose to remain in the UK if given the option to emigrate to another country
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Top Parliamentary Standards Official Warns Britain Slipping Into ‘Elected Dictatorship’
An unearthed paper suggests there are fears at the very top of Parliament that democracy is under threat, reports Josiah Mortimer
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Voter ID: Bouncers at the Ballot Box Could Turn Away Thousands in May Elections with No Right of Appeal
Up to two million people could be denied a vote unless they apply for ID – and even those with ID could be turned away by polling staff, reports Josiah Mortimer
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New Report Blows Apart Dominic Raab’s ‘Bill of Rights’
The Justice Secretary’s long and “dangerous” campaign to scrap the Human Rights Act was “pushed forward by parts of the media” smarting from privacy laws
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Keir Starmer Faces Fresh Calls to Back Westminster Voting Overhaul
The Labour Leader is being urged to keep his promises on reforming democracy, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Leaping Over the Lords
Labour’s announcement that it would abolish the UK’s unelected second chamber is a headline-grabbing idea with little thought of the problems involved, writes AC Grayling
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Boris Johnson Continues to Break Ministerial Code, as Constituents Complain of Absentee MP
As the former Prime Minister makes £750k from just three speeches since being ousted from Number 10, his voters feel abandoned
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Gordon Brown: Government Most Corrupt in ‘At Least a Century’
Sam Bright inspects the former Prime Minister’s plans to rewire British politics
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What Now for Scottish Independence?
Barrister Gareth Roberts sets out the options available to Nicola Sturgeon following the UK Supreme Court’s decision that she cannot hold a second independence referendum without Westminster’s approval
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‘The Supreme Court’s Scottish Referendum Ruling Shows the UK is a Prison of Nations’
The Union is not based on consent – European leaders must now make it clear Scotland will be welcomed as the only country to be taken out of the EU against its will, writes Anthony Barnett
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‘Amateur Hour in British Politics’
As more and more ministers are handed top jobs for their loyalty rather than their competence, former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall considers what we can do about this democratic deficit
