Had missed this excellent plain meaning explainer on the current state of the Sewel convention
SI to reinstate SV for combined authority mayoral elections was approved by Commons on Tuesday; goes to Lords next week, 16th. So it should be in force if there's a Manchester mayoral vacancy to fill post-18th June.
statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk/instrument/g...
Some good news to share for once. Leah Trueblood has apparently won the Wedderburn Prize for her article 'Public Functions of Political Parties in the United Kingdom' (2025) 88(4) MLR 660. Read it here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Watching the Watchers: The Intelligence and Security Committee: From Form to Substance
A new Constitution Unit report by Andrew Tyrie makes proposals to address constraints on the Intelligence and Security Committee through a series of reforms.
Read it 👇
So glad that Luqman Saeed - an academic at Ulster University - has written this piece about the Belfast riots. I hope I could write this clearly and perceptively were I under similar pressure right now.
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...
committees.parliament.uk/committee/13...
statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk
Peter Beaumont
Timeline for Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (Amendment) Order 2026
Political parties are both private and public bodies. Some actions of political parties must be categorised as private to protect freedom of speech and association. This article argues, however, that...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The Constitution Unit has today published a new report, Watching the Watchers: The Intelligence and Security Committee: From Form to Substance, by Andrew Tyrie.
"The next general election will be different. We must act now," writes John Pullinger CB, Chair of @electoralcommission.org.uk, in an essay for Full Fact's seventh annual report.
Read it in full here: fullfact.org/policy/repor...
Picture: AFP
Heather Green
In these utterly depressing times the idea that the CTA can be magically secured with some new law is the nadir of "quick fix" political solutions, which would only make life more difficult for thousands with cross-border lives. Me in @theconversation.com -
theconversation.com/what-is-the-...
Heather Green
Daniel Trilling
Rob Mullins
Violence continued in Belfast after a man from Sudan was charged with attempted murder following a knife attack.
Going into the May elections in Scotland and Wales, what is the state of the Sewel Convention? Darryn Nyatanga sets out the position in our latest: https://consoc.org.uk/sewel-elections-future-devolution/
Paolo Sandro
Full Fact
Darryn Nyatanga explores the contemporary state of the Sewel Convention in UK politics and the possible implications of the 2026 elections.
