General Elections, Prorogation and Power: Britain’s Broken Rules

Britain’s constitution is often described as flexible. But is it now too flexible for its own good?

In this episode of Change from the Centre, I make the case for a written constitution — not as a dry legal document, but as a practical answer to some of the biggest problems in British politics.

I focus on three examples.

First, the current argument over whether a change of Prime Minister should automatically mean a General Election. If politicians can argue one thing when it suits them and the opposite when it does not, maybe the rules need to be clearer.

Second, Boris Johnson’s unlawful prorogation of Parliament in 2019, when the Supreme Court ruled that there had been no good reason to shut Parliament down for five weeks. That moment showed why political convention is not always enough.

Third, the need to protect and strengthen devolution to local government. If we want power to move away from Westminster, local democracy should not depend entirely on what central government chooses to allow.

A written constitution would not fix everything. But it could set out the rules of power more clearly, protect Parliament, strengthen local government and help rebuild public trust in the political system. There are of course many other areas where a written constitution would help, but for clarity I have focused on just three.

If Britain is tired of political chaos, maybe it is time to stop arguing about each crisis separately — and start fixing the system that keeps producing them.

#andyburnham #keirstarmer #kemibadenoch #labour #conservative #liberaldemocrat #reformuk #UKPolitics #WrittenConstitution #PoliticalReform #BritishPolitics #Devolution #LocalGovernment #Democracy #ChangeFromTheCentre

Видео General Elections, Prorogation and Power: Britain’s Broken Rules канала UK Politics - Change from The Centre