Constitution Unit commentary on the 2024 general election

3 June: Delivering House of Commons Reform: What works?

In the first report of 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

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.

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?

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.

3 July: The UK general election: What might the future hold for ethical standards and checks on executive power?

In an article for The Review of Democracy, Lisa James reflected on what has happened and what the future might hold for ethical standards and checks on executive power.

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.