Event

The constitution under Labour: Constitution Unit conference 2026 – Day 1

This event hosted by UK think tank the Constitution Unit takes stock of recent constitutional developments.

Labour took office two years ago promising change, including multiple reforms to the UK’s constitution and political institutions. As we near the halfway point of this parliament, how have those promises fared? What changes has the government actually made? What challenges and criticisms has it faced? And what further developments can we expect in the year ahead? 

This online conference hosted by the UCL Constitution Unit will take stock of recent constitutional developments, and look ahead, with a range of senior speakers including parliamentarians, academics, and commentators. 

9:30am – 10:30am: UK–EU relations ten years after the referendum 

This opening panel will be held 10 years to the day since the 2016 ‘Brexit’ referendum result was announced. As was predicted at the time, neither the referendum nor the UK’s eventual departure from the EU in 2020 definitively settled the UK–EU relationship, which has continued to evolve.  Recent discussions have focused particularly on the Labour government’s efforts to achieve closer cooperation with the EU, and its plans for more ongoing alignment with EU rules. Particular challenges also remain in Northern Ireland. So, ten years after the referendum, what is the current state of UK–EU relations? What has changed since Labour took office? And what further changes might be coming? 

Speakers

Professor Katy Hayward – Professor of Political Sociology at Queen’s University Belfast

Professor Anand Menon – Director of the UK in a Changing Europe and Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London

Lord (Jock) Stirrup – Crossbench peer and chair of the House of Lords European Affairs Committee 

Lisa James – Senior Research Fellow, Constitution Unit (Chair)

11:30am – 12:30pm: How can public confidence in UK democracy be restored? 

The British public’s faith in the political system is in serious need of repair. This is particularly urgent given international fears about a wider turn away from democracy in many countries including the United States. Labour’s 2024 manifesto promised to ‘deepen’, ‘strengthen’ and ‘protect’ democracy in the UK. But what can be done to restore public confidence in the health of British democracy? To what extent does it depend on politicians delivering tangible improvements in citizens’ everyday lives? And to what extent does it require wider institutional and cultural changes in our political institutions? With respect to the latter, how could such changes be delivered? 

Speaker

Polly Curtis – Chief Executive of Demos

Professor Marc Stears – Director of the UCL Policy Lab

Sue Tibballs – Chief Executive of Involve 

Professor Alan Renwick – Director of the Constitution Unit (Chair)

1:45pm – 2:45pm: How should political parties choose their leaders? 

Uncertainty over Keir Starmer’s future has revived interest in the question – familiar from previous Conservative governments – of how political parties should select and remove their leaders. This raises various important issues, including the process by which MPs can remove incumbent leaders, the respective roles of MPs and party members in choosing a replacement, and – in an era of greater devolution – whether politicians beyond Westminster should be able to throw their hat into the ring. This panel will therefore ask: are UK political parties’ leadership selection rules fit for purpose? 

Speakers

Lord (Graham) Brady of Altrincham – Conservative peer and former Chair of the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee

Sienna Rodgers – Deputy Editor of The House magazine and former editor of LabourList

Dr Robert Saunders – Reader in Modern British History at Queen Mary University of London 

Professor Meg Russell – Director of the Constitution Unit to May 2026 (Chair)

3:30pm – 4:30pm: Making policy on difficult issues 

The last year has seen much discussion of how policymakers should approach changing the law in unusually difficult policy areas. In particular, failed attempts to legalise ‘assisted dying’ at Westminster and Holyrood have highlighted the challenges of legislating in areas that involve ethical debates as well as more practical questions of policy design. Meanwhile, the UK government has announced a ‘Peoples’ Panel’ on Digital ID, which adds to questions of whether innovative processes could help. This panel will discuss how the policymaking process can best be designed to handle particularly controversial issues. Might it require reforms to how legislation is prepared, drafted, and debated? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using backbench bills, and of more direct public involvement? 

Speakers

Lord (Charlie) Falconer of Thoroton – Labour peer, former minister, and Lords sponsor of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Dr Ruth Fox – Director of the Hansard Society

Professor Jane Suiter – Director of Dublin City University’s Institute for Future Media, Democracy and Society 

Dr Tom Fleming – Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit (Chair)