“Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat?”

The New Year Honours List 2026 has been published! How does the system work behind the scenes? Could it be improved? We hosted Sue Owen, @peterr48.bsky.social and Dominic Grieve to discuss just this. Listen to a recording 👉 the-constitution-unit.simplecast.com/episodes/dem.... Or watch 👇

I Believe in Father Christmas is my favourite Christmas song. The message to me is that you have to make your own Christmas (like by wearing a Christmas jumper for the first 24 days of December!) The magic is not automatic (as it might feel in childhood), but has to be made by being jolly and kind.

This is my third Christmas at the Constitution Unit and I have finally found a reason to sneak 'Merry Christmas' into a social media post! Please complete our short survey — every response is being carefully read. And, if you have a PhD, consider applying to join the Unit!

It is good to see @theguardian.com support Meg Russell on limiting prime ministerial appointments to the House of Lords. Read her blog post from July 👉 constitution-unit.com/2025/07/01/1.... Read today's editorial 👉 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre....

The Modernisation Committee has published its accessibility report. Read Meg Russell and @rowaninlondon.bsky.social's evidence 👉 committees.parliament.uk/writtenevide.... Read Tom Fleming's evidence 👉 committees.parliament.uk/writtenevide.... Read it 👉 publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm....

If you are a paid member of the @acitizenshipt.bsky.social, you can access @rowaninlondon.bsky.social's new article! It is about how the Constitution Unit's work, although primarily aimed at policy-makers, can also be used in the classroom. Read it 👉 www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk/resource/tea....

To quote Destiny's Child, 'tell me what you think about me'! (Well not me specifically, but we want to hear your views on the good ship Constitution Unit!)

Fascinating reflections on the government’s strategy ahead of the forthcoming Elections Bill. This is a golden opportunity to tackle dark money, increase transparency & prevent foreign interference. Looking forward to meeting MCHLG ministers later this week to discuss. @conunitucl.bsky.social

A thread from Meg Russell on (more) House of Lords appointments. If these 33 appointments are made, that will be around 115 new life peers in 18 months. Keir Starmer is already one of the most proliferate PMs! Appointments are also often announced when politicians and journalists are looking away.

NEW BLOG: Do the government’s electoral reforms go far enough? @rowaninlondon.bsky.social summarises the contributions made by the expert panel assembled for the Unit's recent event on the government's plans for electoral reform.

Job opportunities at the Constitution Unit are rare and vacancies for a permanent role where the successful candidate will join our senior team are even rarer! We can offer great chat, frequent cake and, of course, the opportunity to lead high-quality research that will have a real-world impact!

The latest edition of our triannual constitutional review is now available! Monitor 91 warns that 'changes feel timid and reluctant in the face of serious threats' and explains what is happening across the constitutional spectrum. Read it 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo.... Or browse our thread 👇

The Speaker's Conference on the security of MPs, candidates and elections published its second report yesterday. Our Deputy Director, @alanrenwick.bsky.social, is repeatedly cited, including about political literacy. Read it 👉 publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm....

Watch our event live on YouTube!

Hadn’t, in truth, really absorbed the scale of what the Conservatives are proposing on ILR and immigration more broadly until this week’s Sunday Times interviews. Some thoughts on that in today’s note:

Come for the 18 briefings in webpage form, stay for the 18 briefings in PDF form! These are fantastic resources covering topics ranging from democratic backsliding to parliamentary scrutiny to free and fair elections.

Say hello to literally the only protesters outside Tory conference this year

Our excellent (and topical) lunchtime discussion about parliamentary treaty scrutiny. Constitution Unit superfans may notice that we did some slightly different things today, like shortening the length to an hour and streaming live on YouTube. It should also be out as a podcast episode very soon.

How should the UK's parliaments scrutinise international agreements with countries like Mauritius, the US and India? Next Wednesday, Lord (Peter) Goldsmith, @arabellalaw.bsky.social, @clareadamsonmsp.bsky.social will discuss this at our free, online event. Sign up 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....

My column in tomorrow's paper:

Thoughts from me on the UK government's elections policy paper. In short: many good things, but several points don't go far enough, and there is one big mistake.

Noticeably Pat McFadden has not been replaced as Minister for Intergovernmental Relations yet. The role did lay dormant before, between July and September 2024, when Union and devolution policy was transferred from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Cabinet Office.

Rayner’s resignation letter

We had so many interesting and thoughtful contributions at our conference in June, which really do help to explain where both the political and expert worlds stand on constitutional reform. Watch each session 👉 www.youtube.com/playlist?lis.... Listen to each session 👉 linktr.ee/constitution....

I think it is hard to underestimate how important this website is for the Rule of Law in the UK. Before 2010, if you wanted to find out what statutes were actually in force you essentially needed a subscription to a very expensive commercial product like Halsbury's Statutes.

Our grandparents knew titanic warfare, genocide, economic dislocation, smashed cities & hideous disease. They clung to the ideals of liberal democracy as if their lives depended on it These people have known only peace, prosperity, safety and it has blown their minds. They hunger for dislocation.

The Backbench Business Committee is 15! 🎂 An important part of the 'Wright reforms', the creation of this select committee with the power to schedule debates in the House of Commons is a key example of our real-world 'impact'. It came about thanks to research led by Meg Russell. Find out more 👇

'They should be the start of an ongoing process of fundamental democratic renewal. And on some of the matters requiring further change, the need for action is urgent.' Read our Deputy Director, @alanrenwick.bsky.social's, instant analysis of the elections white paper for @uclpolicylab.bsky.social 👇

IMO the question of votes at 16 is largely a normative one, but arguments focused on competency are very problematic (surely nobody would argue we should take away the vote as people age and cognitively decline?!).

The latest edition of our regular constitutional review is now available! Monitor 90 describes this government's constitutional reform scorecard as 'mixed'. It says that much remains to be done and progress in some areas has been disappointing. Read it 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution....

An interesting feature of the English devolution bill that I think has been underdiscussed: the abolition of the committee system and seeming phase out of executive mayors for local authorities. Maybe this uniformity will help with accessibility, but I hope that it will be brought up in parliament!

The government has announced that the voting system for mayoral and PCC elections will be changed back to SV. Our Deputy Director, @alanrenwick.bsky.social, said last year that the switch to FPTP in 2022 harmed democracy and called for it to be reversed 👉 constitution-unit.com/2024/05/24/t....

The House of Lords is now debating the amendment from Lord (Terry) Burns, which would cap the size of the Lords at 650 members and thereby limit prime ministerial appointments. Read the amendment 👉 bills.parliament.uk/bills/3755/s.... And use our thread to get up to speed 👇

Tonight is the night! The hereditary peers bill (and, importantly, the Burns amendment) is set to be debated this evening. Read our thread to find out all you need to know and get a flavour of our House of Lords reform work over the past two weeks!

A great piece from @iandunt.bsky.social about Lord (Terry) Burns's amendment to the hereditary peers bill to restrict prime ministerial appointments to, and the size of, the House of Lords, set to be debated tomorrow. It also cites our recent opinion polling 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution....

House of Commons procedure: why does it matter and how does it change? @hannahkelly.bsky.social, @lisajames.bsky.social and Meg Russell explain that House of Commons procedure provides a roadmap for decision-making and helps to set the balance of power between different actors. Read it 👇

Last week I escaped containment to make my national radio debut! As the hereditary peers bill (including Lord [Terry] Burns's amendment) is set to be debated again in the House of Lords on Wednesday, I discussed our new opinion polling on Lords reform. Our polling 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution....

Meg Russell is on the latest episode of Parliament Matters discussing the hereditary peers bill and our new opinion polling. She calls on MPs to let peers know if they support a cap on the size of the House of Lords. Listen 👉 pod.fo/e/2f59c4. See our polling 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution....

'Parliamentarians should seize this opportunity now to implement a reform that has been decades (even centuries) in the making. I hope our poll offers them the confidence to do so.' Meg Russell writes for @uk.theconversation.com ahead of the hereditary peers bill being debated today. Read it 👇

It is great to see @direthoughts.com cover our results in @theguardian.com! When asked about removing hereditary peers, limiting appointments, both or neither, only 3% support the government's policy of just removing hereditary peers. The most popular option (with 56%) is to do both! Read it 👇

Meg is publishing new resources about the hereditary peers bill like nobody's business this week! In this post, she sets out why peers should agree to the 'Burns amendment' to constrain prime ministerial appointments (including to explain why amending the bill will not jeopardise it!)

Very pleased to have been involved with this! There is massive public support for a 'one in, one out' approach to Lords appointments and giving HOLAC a veto, in line with amendments to the hereditary peers bill. And the public appear to care more about limiting appointments than hereditary peers!

Welcome to Bluesky! Before we begin, you may want to familiarize yourself with the concept of jokes. Don't fall for them! Jokesters abound on Bluesky and they all want to murder you in your sleep

This looks like another good piece of evidence that politicians really can lead the conversation, especially that jump around 2013.

We had a fantastic line-up and great discussions at our conference this year. And it was a real team effort internally! This from the keynote sticks with me. Voters on doorsteps may not explicitly refer to constitutional reform, but they still really care about it! Recordings are available below.

Today’s newsletter: on the Tory party’s lurching language:

Join us at 11am, 1pm and 3pm for day two of our free, online conference! Coming up today: ⚖️ The rule of law 🏠 Reforming the House of Commons 🪞 Reflections on Labour's constitutional agenda A recording of each session will be made available. Sign up 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution....

Today was the first day of our annual conference! Recordings of each session are now available. We kicked off with a keynote speech from Nick Thomas-Symonds, who has ministerial responsibility for the constitution. He also answered questions. Watch it 👇

Did you see Nick Thomas-Symonds speak at our conference this morning? The Minister for the Constitution gave the keynote speech and answered questions, including from the audience. Five panels of our conference remain, so make sure that you are signed up! Read a summary and watch a recording 👇