This report from UK think tank the Constitution Unit aims to help MPs navigate their core constitutional functions. MPs hold a huge and important job, and one which is central to the UK’s constitutional system. But they also have busy lives and numerous pressing demands on their time, which can make it easy to lose...

This report from UK think tank the Constitution Unit looks at the challenges for the next Westminster government. Whatever the result of the upcoming general election, a new Westminster government may want to comprehensively reappraise the way that it addresses Northern Ireland issues, a new Constitution Unit report says. The report, which offers an agenda...

This report from UK think tank The Constitution Unit explores different institutional vehicles for developing and delivering proposals for House of Commons reform. Recent years have seen many proposals for reforming the internal procedures of the House of Commons, against a backdrop of clear public dissatisfaction with parliament. Less attention has been given to the...

This report from UK think tank The Constitution Unit argues that there is an urgent need to rebuild the system for upholding standards in public life. Constitutional watchdogs are the guardians of the system for upholding standards. This project concerns seven constitutional watchdogs which monitor the conduct of the executive: the Advisory Committee on Business...

This report from UK think tank the Constitution Unit looks at public attitudes and policy responses to democracy in the UK. Over the last three years, the Constitution Unit has conducted detailed research into public attitudes to democracy in the UK. This has comprised two large-scale surveys of the UK population, conducted in summer 2021...

This report from UK think tank the Constitution Unit provides new insights into who works for MPs. A good deal is known about the 650 MPs who sit in the House of Commons, and they are frequently the focus of research. Far less is known about the over 3,500 people who work for them across...

This report from UK think tank the Constitution Unit looks at diverse views from 1998–2023. The current impasse at Stormont and the political disruption caused by Brexit and the Protocol in recent years point to a continued need to understand the diverse viewpoints that exist on this key document from the Northern Ireland peace process....

This report from UK think tank the Constitution Unit provides the results of a second survey of the UK population on integrity in politics. Trust in politicians is at a low ebb and the health of the UK democracy matters as much to voters as issues such as crime and immigration, according to a new...

This report from UK think tank the Constitution Unit looks at House of Lords reform. The House of Lords is still an entirely unelected body, leading many to see it as an outdated throwback to earlier times. But the institution is in fact far more complex than that. It has evolved gradually over centuries and,...

This report from UK think tank the Constitution Unit looks at the role of the monarchy in our political system. The Queen’s death has naturally prompted reflection on the role of the monarchy in our political system. The monarchy is tightly regulated by law and by convention. Laws passed by parliament regulate the rules of...