Monitor is our regular constitutional review, published three times a year. It contains analysis of constitutional developments in the UK and around the world, as well as news from the Constitution Unit.
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Starmer's challenges and early steps towards constitutional renewalÌý(Monitor 87, July 2024)Included in this issue: the establishment of a House of Commons Modernisation Committee; the government’s plans for House of Lords reform;ÌýaÌýrecord-breaking general election; electoral reforms on the horizon, including votes at 16; local elections in England and Wales, including the impact of the new voting system for mayors and PCCs; electoral reforms, and new First Ministers, in Wales and Scotland; Labour’s plans for devolution in England and much more. | |
Pre-election politics and the constitution (Monitor 86, March 2024)Included in this issue: the constitutional ramifications of the Rwanda plan; parliament’s role in the UK’s air strikes in Yemen; Lindsay Hoyle in hot water;ÌýDavid Cameron becomes Lord Cameron; implementing the controversial Elections Act 2022; more recall petitions; the return of Simon Case and start of access talks; the King’s cancer diagnosis; the Jo Cox Civility Commission; developments in English devolution;Ìýdevolution returns to Northern Ireland; judicial reform in Israel and much more. | |
Positioning for the next general election (Monitor 85, November 2023)Included in this issue: controversies over the government’s attitude to parliamentary scrutiny; recent decisions over the alleged misconduct of parliamentarians; demands for reform of House of Lords appointments; the Electoral Commission’s report on the impact of voter ID; the government’s response to multiple reports on ethical standards; progress and tensions in English devolution policy; the Senedd reform agenda; public opinion on cultural changes versus constitutional reforms and much more. | |
Sunak's standards slipping (Monitor 84, July 2023)Included in this issue: the Privileges Committee report on Boris Johnson;Ìýongoing concerns about parliamentary scrutiny; controversial Lords appointments; local elections, voter ID, & challenges facing election administrators; the ACOBA report on Sue Gray; developments in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland; protests in Israel sparked by proposed judicial reforms; a new Unit report on proposed constitutional reforms and much more. | |
Sunak's constitutional dilemmas (Monitor 83, March 2023)Included in this issue: theÌýappointment ofÌýa new Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, the deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Retained EU Law Bill, voter ID requirements, standards in government, planning the coronation, the Bill of Rights Bill, the appointment of Sue Gray as Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff, the Commission on the UK's Future, constitutional reform in Chile and much more. | |
Achieving aÌýnew normal for the constitution?Ìý(Monitor 82, November 2022)Included in this issue: Liz Truss's premiership; Rishi Sunak becomesÌýPrime Minister; the death of Elizabeth II and accession of Charles III;ÌýHouse of Lords appointments; Electoral Commission updates; Labour and the constitution; and much more. | |
Johnson falls; what’s next for the constitution?Ìý(Monitor 81, August 2022)Included in this issue: the fall of Boris Johnson;Ìýthe passage of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act, Elections ActÌýand Judicial Review and Courts Act;Ìýthe introduction of the Online Safety Bill,ÌýNorthern Ireland Protocol BillÌýand Bill of Rights Bill;Ìýthe Brexit Freedoms Bill;Ìýchanges to the Ministerial Code;ÌýNorthern Ireland Assembly elections;Ìýsteps towards a Scottish independence referendum;Ìýagreement on expanding the SeneddÌýand much more. | |
Defending democracy (Monitor 80, March 2022)Included in this issue: Boris Johnson's relationship with his backbenchers;Ìýparliamentary scrutiny in light of criticism from House of Lords committees;Ìýparliamentary standards following the Owen Paterson scandal and IEP report into John Bercow;ÌýHouse of Lords defeats on amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill; controversial constitutional legislation and much more. | |
Is this what democratic backsliding feels like? (PDF Monitor 79, November 2021)Included in this issue: continuing concerns about parliamentary scrutiny;Ìýthe Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill; the end of English Votes for English Laws; MPs' conduct; the Elections Bill; the Committee on Standards in Public Life reports on regulating election finance and upholding standards in public life;Ìýexecutive-judiciary relations and much more. | |
Constitutional uncertainty on multiple fronts (PDF 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;Ìýelectoral reform proposals;Ìýstandards in public life following scandals involving both Boris Johnson and David Cameron and much more.Ìý | |
Change, continuity, and an uncertain future for the Union (PDF Monitor 77, March 2021)Included in this issue: the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement; parliamentary scrutiny and the backbench Covid Recovery Group;Ìýthe hybrid House of Commons; House of Lords appointments; the regulation of online harms; the departure of Dominic Cummings from MyAV·¶ 10;Ìýminister-civil service relations, the US election and much more. | |
Democratic lockdown? (PDF Monitor 76, November 2020)Included in this issue: the countdown to aÌýUK-EU trade deal; the controversialÌýUK 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;Ìýthe 'Russia report'; an exodus of senior civil servants;Ìýcity regions and COVID-19 and more. | |
The constitution under COVID-19 (PDF Monitor 75, July 2020)Included in this issue: virtual, hybrid and physical parliament;Ìýthe government's response to the pandemic and scrutiny thereof;Ìýmaternity cover for MPs;Ìýpostponement of the May 2020 elections;Ìýelection reform;ÌýDominic Raab deputises for Boris Johnson; civil service reform; the FCO-DfIDÌýmerger; the court system struggles to adapt to COVID-19; the pandemic's impact on devolution and much more. | |
Normality, or Revolution? (PDF Monitor 74, March 2020)Included in this issue: the 2019 general election and what followed;Ìýthe European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020;ÌýFuture Relationship negotiations;ÌýBoris Johnson's constitutional reform agenda in respect of parliament,Ìýelectoral reform and the judiciary; the February reshuffle;Ìýcivil service tensions; Labour and Liberal Democrat leadership contests and much more. | |
Ìý | ÌýOn the Brink (November 2019) |
Ìý | Brexit and the changing logic of British Politics (June 2019) |
Ìý | Brexit: the constitution under strain (March 2019) |
Ìý | ÌýBrexit: The uncertain road ahead (November 2018) |
Ìý | ÌýRethinking referendums (July 2018) |
Ìý | A constitution in flux (March 2018) |
Ìý | Brexit blues (November 2017) |
Ìý | ÌýThe most unexpected election (June 2017) |
Ìý | ÌýTesting constitutional times (February 2017) |
Ìý | Brexit and the transformation of British politics (October 2016) |
Ìý | ÌýThe EU Referendum: A fair process? (June 2016) |
Ìý | ÌýThe Lords: Crisis?ÌýWhat crisis? (February 2016) |
Ìý | ÌýThe new government’s constitutional reform programme (October 2015) |
Ìý | ÌýThe Conservatives’ constitutional reform programme (June 2015) |
Ìý | Preparing for another hung parliament (February 2015) |
Ìý | ÌýScotland, England and the Union (October 2014) |
Ìý | Scottish Independence: the Countdown (June 2014) |
Ìý | Code of Constitutional Standards (February 2014) |
Ìý | ÌýMajor New International Venture The Launch of Constitute: The World’s Constitutions to Read, Search and Compare (November 2013) |
Ìý | ÌýThe Coalition at Three (June 2013) |
Ìý | ÌýCommission on a Bill of Rights Reports (February 2013) |
Ìý | ÌýLords Reform: Dead, or Just Resting? (October 2012) |
Ìý | Scottish Independence: The Battle Lines are Drawn (June 2012) |
Ìý | Will the Queen's Diamond Jubilee change the Rules of Succession? (January 2012) |
Ìý | Clegg Delivers for the Conservatives (October 2011) |
Ìý | ÌýA Tale of Two Referendums (June 2011) |
Ìý | ÌýConstitutional reforms hit trouble in Parliament (January 2011) |
Ìý | ÌýGovernment haste puts flagship bills at risk (October 2010) |
Ìý | ÌýPost Election Edition (June 2010) |
Ìý | Constitutional Issues in the Election (January 2010) |
Ìý | ÌýLabour's Last Fling on Constitutional Reform (September 2009) |
Ìý | ÌýCSPL Inquiry into MPs' Expenses (May 2009) |
Ìý | ÌýConstitutional Reform Put On Hold (January 2009) |
Ìý | ÌýGovernance of Britain One Year On (September 2008) |
Ìý | ÌýThe 'Constitutional Renewal' Agenda Moves Forward (May 2008) |
Ìý | ÌýScotland: Toward a New Settlement? (January 2008) |
Ìý | ÌýGordon Brown and the Constitution (September 2007) |
Ìý | ÌýLords Reform: Progress at Last? (May 2007) |
Ìý | ÌýThe Union under Strain (January 2007) |
Ìý | ÌýHuman Rights Sabre Rattling (September 2006) |
Ìý | ÌýParty Donors, Peerages and the Constitution (May 2006)Ìý |
Ìý | ÌýParliament Bites Back (January 2006) |
Ìý | ÌýWelsh Devolution: The next steps (September 2005) |
Ìý | ÌýFOI goes Live in 2005 (April 2005) |
Ìý | ÌýElected regions hit the buffers (January 2005) |
Ìý | ÌýVoters want choice in voting methods (September 2004) |
Ìý | ÌýAfter Thirty Years, the UK again faces a Referendum (June 2004) |
Ìý | ÌýVoting Systems all up for Review (March 2004) |
Ìý | ÌýConstitutional Battles Ahead (December 2003) |
Ìý | ÌýThe Reshuffle in Perspective (September 2003) |
Ìý | ÌýRainbow Parliament in Scotland (June 2003) |
Ìý | ÌýLords Reform Ends in Shambles (March 2003) |
Ìý | ÌýThe Meaning of Modernisation (December 2002) |
Ìý | ÌýPR Commission (August 2002) |
Ìý | ÌýRegional Rejig (June 2002) |
Ìý | ÌýParliament Awakening? (March 2002) |
Ìý | ÌýLords Reform Stage Two: Wakeham or What? (December 2001) |
Ìý | ÌýWhitehall's Constitutional Duo (September 2001) |
Ìý | ÌýConstitutional Shake Up in Whitehall Do Britain's Political Parties Understand Devolution? (June 2001) |
Ìý | ÌýLabour's Second Term Agenda (March 2001) |
Ìý | ÌýThe State and the Nations (December 2000) |
Ìý | ÌýRights Unleashed? (September 2000) |
Ìý | ÌýLegislative Logjam (June 2000) |
Ìý | ÌýDevolution Hots Up (March 2000) |
Ìý | ÌýReforming the House of Lords and Lessons from Overseas (December 1999) |
Ìý | ÌýUnit Wins £1m Grant for Devolution Programme (September 1999) |
Ìý | ÌýDevolution Dawns (June 1999) |
Ìý | ÌýConstitutional Futures (March 1999) |
Ìý | ÌýConstitutional Futures (December 1998) |
Ìý | ÌýYear Two: Home Office takes the lead (September 1998) |
Ìý | ÌýConstitution Unit expands again (May 1998) |
Ìý | ÌýLords Reform 1,2,3... (March 1998) |
Ìý | Constitution Unit moves to School of Public Policy in MyAV·¶ (September 1997) |