In late October, it was announced that the King would formally strip Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal status. At the start of November, the Gazette announced that the King had issued a Warrant directing the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice to remove Andrew from the Roll of the Peerage along with Letters […]
The Oddly Worded Instruments That Undid a Prince
The Oddly Worded Instruments That Undid a Prince
05 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law, British politics
Erasing the Duke of York: The Roll of the Peerage and the limits of removal
31 Oct 2025 1 Comment
in law and economics, property rights Tags: British constitutional law
Buckingham Palace today announced that the King has “initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.” The style of Royal Highness, the title of prince, and his appointments to the various chivalric orders can be revoked under the royal prerogative without too much difficulty,[1] but Andrew’s peerages are another […]
Erasing the Duke of York: The Roll of the Peerage and the limits of removal
Cassandra Somers-Joce: A New Chapter for Governmental Candour? The Public Office (Accountability) Bill
07 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of crime, health and safety, health economics, labour economics, law and economics, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law, British politics, Internet
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill was introduced into the House of Commons on 16 September 2025. It gives effect to the Labour Party’s 2024 Manifesto commitment to introduce a ‘Hillsborough Law’ which will ‘place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities and provide legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related deaths’. As the Government’s ‘Duty of […]
Cassandra Somers-Joce: A New Chapter for Governmental Candour? The Public Office (Accountability) Bill
Francesca Jackson: The Oath of Allegiance, and the Battle for Independence
04 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law, British politics
In the UK and Commonwealth, an oath of allegiance is a promise to be loyal to the monarch, their heirs and successors. Also known as ‘swearing in’, it is pledged in various contexts, including at the beginning of a Parliament and when government ministers assume office. The allegiance is pledged to the monarch as the […]
Francesca Jackson: The Oath of Allegiance, and the Battle for Independence
The role and power of the Victorian House of Lords
01 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law, British politics
Dr Philip Salmon looks at a key element of Parliament which we don’t usually have much opportunity to reflect on in our work on Victorian MPs and constituencies: the House of Lords. As he explains below, the upper chamber played a vital role in many important 19th century reforms and continued to wield significant influence […]
The role and power of the Victorian House of Lords
Richard Brant and Lauren Butler: Reform UK’s Plans for “Getting Tough on Illegal Immigration”: From Legal Reset to Sunset
29 Sep 2025 1 Comment
in health and safety, International law, labour economics, law and economics Tags: British constitutional law, British politics, economics of immigration
On 26 August 2025 Nigel Farage (Leader of Reform UK) and Zia Yusuf (now Head of Policy at Reform UK) unveiled their plan titled, ‘Operation Restoring Justice’. Key points from the plan were also reiterated at the Next Step Conference on 05 September 2025. Reform UK address the topic of immigration in their plan, adding […]
Richard Brant and Lauren Butler: Reform UK’s Plans for “Getting Tough on Illegal Immigration”: From Legal Reset to Sunset
A very British fudge
23 Sep 2025 1 Comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law, British politics
On September 10, 2022, Penny Mordaunt presided over the King’s Accession Council. Since then, there has been some confusion regarding the nature of her role. Was she Lord President or merely Acting Lord President? What seems like a straightforward question at first glance turns out to be surprisingly complex. Appointing the Lord President The […]
A very British fudge
Parliament and Politics in the Later Middle Ages
22 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history Tags: British constitutional law, British politics
Dr Simon Payling, of our 1461-1504 section, tracks the development of Parliament and Politics in the Later Middle Ages, from its Anglo-Saxon roots to the more formal split between the House of Commons and House of Lords that we recognise today… All long-lived institutions have their antecedents, and the antecedents of Parliament (or, perhaps more […]
Parliament and Politics in the Later Middle Ages
Stephen Tierney: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – a dangerous licence for executive law-making
15 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in health economics, liberalism Tags: British constitutional law, British politics, end-of-life choice
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is now in the House of Lords. After months of frantic activity in the Commons there is an opportunity for Parliament to draw breath and for the upper house to consider this measure carefully. It already has two critical committee reports published by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee and […]
Stephen Tierney: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – a dangerous licence for executive law-making
House of Lords reform: a Victorian perspective
18 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law, British history, British politics
Unlike the House of Commons, which underwent major ‘democratic’ reform in the 19th century, the Lords remained virtually unchanged during the entire Victorian period. With a new hereditary peers bill now entering its final stages, Dr Philip Salmon explores how and why the House of Lords was able to survive the ‘age of reform’, highlighting […]
House of Lords reform: a Victorian perspective
Stefan Theil: Medical Incapacity and the UK Constitution
15 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, politics, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law
In the United Kingdom, the mental health of politicians has traditionally commanded relatively little attention, perhaps due to popular cynicism and distrust towards elected officials. Still, those involved in UK political life have characterised it as a ‘rough old game’, with MPs referencing broken marriages, overwork, loss of friendships and poor sleep. Over time, MPs […]
Stefan Theil: Medical Incapacity and the UK Constitution
British Blasphemy Prosecution: London Man Convicted After Burning Qur’an
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics Tags: Blasphemy, British constitutional law, British politics, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
We recently discussed how the United Kingdom has continued its erosion of free speech by pushing an effective blasphemy law. Now, a London man has been convicted of a “religiously aggravated public order offence.” Hamit Coskun, 50, a Turkish-born Armenian-Kurdish atheist was arrested after burning a Qur’an.
British Blasphemy Prosecution: London Man Convicted After Burning Qur’an
Dane Luo: There is ‘Advice’ and then there is ‘advice’: The Constitutional Conventions on the Appointment of the Prime Minister
31 May 2025 1 Comment
in constitutional political economy, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law
On 23 May 2025, the Court of Appeal held that the Conservative Party was not exercising a ‘public function’ for the purposes of s 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 when it elected Liz Truss as party leader, who would go on to be appointed as the Prime Minister: R (Tortoise Media Ltd) v […]
Dane Luo: There is ‘Advice’ and then there is ‘advice’: The Constitutional Conventions on the Appointment of the Prime Minister
‘A negative achievement’: Behind the scenes of the House of Lords Act 1999
06 May 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law, British politics
Ahead of major pieces of legislation designed to reform the composition of the House of Lords, and our recent event ‘Reforming the House of Lords’ discussing the history of this tricky issue, Dr Emma Peplow, Head of Contemporary History, draws upon our Oral History Project to revisit the last time significant reforms were introduced. The […]
‘A negative achievement’: Behind the scenes of the House of Lords Act 1999
Catholics in the Commons after emancipation
13 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, economics of religion Tags: British constitutional law, British politics
Today (13 April) marks the anniversary of the Roman Catholic Relief Act gaining royal assent in 1829, which removed many of the barriers restricting Roman Catholics from sitting in Parliament. However, as Dr Philip Salmon of the Victorian Commons explores, hostility to Catholics continued despite their emancipation … It may seem surprising to some that […]
Catholics in the Commons after emancipation
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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