The Constitution Unit

Parliament is currently considering the Representation of the People Bill. As well as lowering the voting age for UK elections to 16, this legislation contains a host of changes in other areas, including voter registration, voter ID, political finance, and the role of the Electoral Commission. Will these changes be sufficient to deliver fair, safe, and secure elections? If not, what more needs to be done? And does safeguarding our elections require changes of culture and behaviour, as well as new legislation? 

Speakers:

Phoebe Arnold – Policy Lead at Full Fact

John Pullinger – Chair of the Electoral Commission

Philip Rycroft – former senior civil servant, and author of the 2026 review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics

Chair: Professor Alan Renwick – Director of the Constitution Unit

Links:
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved/mailing-list
Blog: constitution-unit.com

Improving standards in public life was a key plank of Labour’s promise to be different from its predecessors in government. In opposition, the party promised better behaviour and stronger systems of regulation. In office, it has introduced a number of changes, such as the creation of the promised Ethics and Integrity Commission. However, the government has faced multiple standards-related scandals, particularly in the fallout from Lord Mandelson’s appointment – and subsequent dismissal – as Ambassador to the United States. So has the government taken sufficient steps to strengthen standards in public life? How have recent events affected its plans? And what more remains to be done? 

Speakers:

Baroness (Ruth) Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent – Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office, Baroness-in-Waiting (Government Whip), and Labour peer

Doug Chalmers – Chair of the Ethics and Integrity Commission

Dr Susan Hawley – Executive Director of Spotlight on Corruption

Lord (Mark) Pack – Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the Cabinet Office

Chair: Lisa James – Senior Research Fellow, Constitution Unit 

Links:
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved/mailing-list
Blog: constitution-unit.com

The last year has seen much discussion of how policymakers should approach changing the law in unusually difficult policy areas. In particular, failed attempts to legalise ‘assisted dying’ at Westminster and Holyrood have highlighted the challenges of legislating in areas that involve ethical debates as well as more practical questions of policy design. Meanwhile, the UK government has announced a ‘Peoples’ Panel’ on Digital ID, which adds to questions of whether innovative processes could help. This panel discusses how the policymaking process can best be designed to handle particularly controversial issues. Might it require reforms to how legislation is prepared, drafted, and debated? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using backbench bills, and of more direct public involvement? 

Speakers:

Lord (Charlie) Falconer of Thoroton – Labour peer, former minister, and Lords sponsor of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Dr Ruth Fox – Director of the Hansard Society

Professor Jane Suiter – Director of Dublin City University’s Institute for Future Media, Democracy and Society

Chair: Dr Tom Fleming – Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit

Links:
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved/mailing-list
Blog: constitution-unit.com

Uncertainty over Keir Starmer’s future has revived interest in the question – familiar from previous Conservative governments – of how political parties should select and remove their leaders. This raises various important issues, including the process by which MPs can remove incumbent leaders, the respective roles of MPs and party members in choosing a replacement, and – in an era of greater devolution – whether politicians beyond Westminster should be able to throw their hat into the ring. This panel will therefore ask: are UK political parties’ leadership selection rules fit for purpose?

Speakers:

Lord (Graham) Brady of Altrincham – Conservative peer and former Chair of the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee

Sienna Rodgers – Deputy Editor of The House magazine and former editor of LabourList

Dr Robert Saunders – Reader in Modern British History at Queen Mary University of London

Chair: Professor Meg Russell – Director of the Constitution Unit to May 2026

Links:
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved/mailing-list
Blog: constitution-unit.com

The British public’s faith in the political system is in serious need of repair. This is particularly urgent given international fears about a wider turn away from democracy in many countries including the United States. Labour’s 2024 manifesto promised to ‘deepen’, ‘strengthen’ and ‘protect’ democracy in the UK. But what can be done to restore public confidence in the health of British democracy? To what extent does it depend on politicians delivering tangible improvements in citizens’ everyday lives? And to what extent does it require wider institutional and cultural changes in our political institutions? With respect to the latter, how could such changes be delivered? 

Speakers:

Polly Curtis – Chief Executive of Demos

Anneliese Dodds MP – Labour MP for Oxford East and former Minister for Women and Equalities and for International Development

Professor Marc Stears – Director of the UCL Policy Lab

Sue Tibballs – Chief Executive of Involve

Chair: Professor Alan Renwick – Director of the Constitution Unit 

Links:
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved/mailing-list
Blog: constitution-unit.com