Tag: Andrew Blick
Parliament has relatively weak war powers compared to legislatures in other democracies
Parliament is today being recalled from its summer recess to discuss the possibility of British military intervention in Syria. In the 2012 audit of UK democracy, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Andrew Blick, and Stephen Crone considered Parliament’s powers in this area. Although Parliament has debated Britain’s involvement in recent conflicts it has no formal role in decisions over whether to deploy military force. In this […]
Unfinished devolution has created constitutional imbalances in the UK
In the 2012 audit of UK democracy, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Andrew Blick, and Stephen Crone considered how effectively the UK constitution matched the territorial structure of the UK. Following England and Scotland’s national football teams facing each other in a rare match at Wembley, this post draws on their analysis to explore how the UK’s nations have fared in constitutional reforms of recent […]
The unreformed House of Lords is already the largest parliamentary chamber of any democracy
The appointment of 30 new peers to our unreformed House of Lords was announced this week. In the 2012 audit of UK democracy, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Andrew Blick, and Stephen Crone discussed the composition and role of the upper chamber. They highlighted how the UK is almost unique among established democracies in possessing a parliamentary chamber that is mainly unelected, and set […]
The Government’s proposal for an ‘English only’ stage in the House of Commons could create problems
The Coalition Government has proposed a new measure to counteract some of the asymmetries brought about by devolution, which could see English MPs enjoying what amounts to a ‘Fourth Reading Veto’. Andrew Blick argues that this measure, if successful, could fundamentally change the way the House of Commons deals with legislation, and makes the case […]
It remains to be seen whether Parliament is cut out for coalition
The long periods between 1945 and 1970, and 1979 to 2010 proved that the British political system is adept at producing stable one-party Government. Now though, this looks set to change, with long-term polling trends suggest that coalition could become the rule, rather than the exception. While the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has shown itself […]
Lords reform: the problem of piecemeal constitutional amendment
How far is it possible to carry out piecemeal reform of a constitution when we do not know and cannot agree on the rules governing such amendment, and are not even clear about the nature of the constitution in question? Andrew Blick argues that the difficulties of affecting constitutional change in the UK are particularly […]
What is the UK constitution made of? Exposing the ‘hidden wiring’
Late last year, the Cabinet Office published in draft form a document called the Cabinet Manual. Subtitled ‘A guide to laws, conventions, and rules on the operation of government’, it was initially intended by Gordon Brown, when instigating it as Prime Minister, as a possible first step towards a written constitution for the UK. This plan […]
Police, politics and the media – the risks of elected police commissioners
Police and Crime Commissioners look set to become a reality, despite the limited interest in the elections, and the poor job done by the Home Office in informing the public about the changes. But do they risk politicising the every day operations of the police? Andrew Blick looks at the potential implications. Recently I blogged […]
Reports of Parliament’s decline much exaggerated
Andrew Blick, 31st May 2011 The last decade has seen a series of significant innovations in the way Parliament holds government to account, mostly involving the House of Commons, but in some cases the House of Lords as well. They include: More resources for select committees; The introduction of ‘core tasks’ for select committees in the Commons […]
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