This final paper sets out our view of the state of the political constitution, and our proposals for improving how it works, drawing on research we have conducted and commissioned, additional recommendations we have made as part of the review, and discussions we have curated during the Institute for Government / Bennett Institute joint review of the UK constitution over the last 18 months.
It begins by setting out how we understand the UK constitution and what we believe are the key challenges it currently faces. The proceeding chapters set out in detail seven key proposals, which are designed to address the main problems that we identify.
Recommendations:
- Establish a new Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution
- Create a new category of ‘constitutional acts’
- Protect constitutional acts from being overridden without a full parliamentary process
- Establish a thorough scrutiny process for constitutional bills
- Create a centre of constitutional expertise at the heart of government
- Strengthen constitutional guidance and establish a new list of high-level constitutional principles
- Give the public a greater role in processes of constitutional change
We conclude by outlining why our proposals should be adopted, arguing that doing so would significantly strengthen Britain’s constitutional arrangements by increasing the clarity of key aspects of the constitution, enhancing parliamentary scrutiny of constitutional matters and encouraging greater citizen engagement in constitutional questions.
Press release: The UK constitution needs urgent reform to fix crisis of trust in UK politics
