The Constitution Unit

Re-balancing between parliament, executive and the courts

Episode Summary

The closing panel of our conference on Johnson's constitutional reform agenda examined the re-balancing of power between parliament, the executive and the courts.

Episode Notes

This is a recording of the final panel session from our conference looking at the government's constitutional reform agenda. The focus of the discussion was the balance of power between parliament, the executive and the courts.

Speakers:

• Dominic Grieve QC, former Attorney General
• Peter Riddell, Commissioner for Public Appointments
• Prof Meg Russell FBA, Constitution Unit, UCL
• Prof Tim Bale, Queen Mary, University of London.

Chair: Prof Petra Schleiter, Oxford

The two-day conference was jointly organised with the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Oxford University and UK in a Changing Europe.  This episode was recorded on 18 June 2021. 

Suggested reading: 

• The public appointments system is under strain: it needs more clarity and transparency, by Peter Riddell on the Constitution Unit blog, published 16 May 2021.
• The anatomy of democratic backsliding: could it happen here?, by Stephan Haggard and Robert R Kaufman on the Constitution Unit blog, published 10 June 2021.
• The marginalisation of the House of Commons under Covid has been shocking; a year on, parliament’s role must urgently be restored, by Meg Russell, Ruth Fox, Ronan Cormacain and Joe Tomlinson on the Constitution Unit blog, published 21 April 2021.
• The government's proposed Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission: what, why and how?, by Meg Russell and Alan Renwick on the Constitution Unit blog, published 14 February 2021.