This summer marks a year since Labour’s landslide victory at the 2024 general election. The party’s manifesto contained a number of pledges for reforming the UK’s constitution and political institutions. So how have those pledges fared since Labour took office? Which promises have been delivered? What unexpected changes have been introduced? And what further reforms will – or should – be on the government’s agenda?

Standards in public life

The Labour Party put standards and ethics at the heart of its attacks on the previous Conservative government, promising to bring in a ‘politics of service’. Has the party's conduct in office lived up to this rhetoric? How has it changed the regulation of standards in government and parliament? What further changes are needed in this area, and what is the best means to ensure that these are delivered?

Speakers:

• Sir Jeremy Wright KC MP – Conservative MP for Kenilworth and Southam, former Attorney General and former member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life
• Phil Brickell MP – Labour MP for Bolton West
• Professor Gillian Peele – member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and Emeritus Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford

Chair: Lisa James – Senior Research Fellow, Constitution Unit

Links:

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved/mailing-list

Blog: constitution-unit.com

This summer marks a year since Labour’s landslide victory at the 2024 general election. The party’s manifesto contained a number of pledges for reforming the UK’s constitution and political institutions. So how have those pledges fared since Labour took office? Which promises have been delivered? What unexpected changes have been introduced? And what further reforms will – or should – be on the government’s agenda?

This online conference took stock of constitutional developments in the last year, and looked ahead, with a range of senior speakers including parliamentarians, academics, and commentators.

Opening keynote from Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office

In this opening keynote address, Nick Thomas-Symonds summarised the government’s approach to the constitution, and priorities for constitutional reform. What has been achieved so far, and what are the most important priorities for the future? Which key principles underpin the government’s plans?

Speaker:

Nick Thomas-Symonds MP is Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with responsibility for the constitution and EU relations. He has been the Labour MP for Torfaen since 2015 and his previous posts include Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Solicitor General. He is a former barrister and academic.

Chair: Professor Meg Russell FBA – Director of the Constitution Unit

Links:

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved/mailing-list

Blog: constitution-unit.com

Artificial intelligence (AI) is predicted to transform many aspects of our lives in the coming years. One of these is the functioning of the democratic system. AI could shift how election campaigns are conducted and how citizens receive and process information. It could also fundamentally alter patterns of power across society. So what potential effects of AI on democracy should we be particularly aware of? To what degree are there opportunities as well as dangers? And how should policy-makers respond? We discussed these questions with an expert panel.

Speakers:

• Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, specialising in political philosophy, public policy, and ethics, and Founder and Chairperson of Partners In Democracy.
• Helen Margetts, Professor of Society and the Internet at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, and Director of the Public Policy programme at the Alan Turing Institute.
• Ciaran Martin, Professor of Practice in the Management of Public Organisations at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, and formerly Chief Executive of the UK government’s National Cyber Security Centre.

Chair: Professor Alan Renwick – Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit

Additional reading:

'The Real Dangers of Generative AI' by Danielle Allen and E. Glen Weyl

Links:

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved/mailing-list

Blog: constitution-unit.com