Governance of Britain

 Today the Joint Committee on Human Rights released a report on a proposed Bill of Rights for Britain. “We are of the view that the United Kingdom should adopt a Bill of Rights and Freedoms. Our work over the last few years has demonstrated that there are many groups in society, such as older people and [...]

The Home Office released the Government’s response to the Consultation Paper “The Path to Citizenship: next steps in reforming the immigration system” on 15 July. Access the report here

Today the Justice Secretary Jack Straw marked the anniversary of the Governance of Britain with a statement to the House of Commons in which he set out the progress made in meeting the objectives of the programme.  He said that in July last year the Prime Minister outlined steps toward further constitutional reform to renew our democracy, building a [...]

The Ministry of Justice today published a consultation on the day we vote. This debate will also look at the other barriers to voting and could potentially lead to a change to voting at the weekend. Launching the consultation, the minister Michael Wills, said: ‘Decisions are made by those who vote. The government wants to make it easier for people [...]

Jack Straw gave evidence on a Bill of Rights to the Joint Committee on Human Rights on Wednesday 21 May. A video of his appearance can be seen here. More information about the Committee’s inquiry into a British Bill of Rights can be found here.

The Hansard Society published its 5th annual Audit of Political Engagement with a special focus on the Constitution. The Audit measures the nature and extent of political engagement through a national survey conducted by IpsosMORI.  This year’s research also includes data on public attitudes to constitutional reform including issues such as the House of Lords, a Bill [...]

Michael Wills, Justice Minister, gave a speech yesterday at the Constitution Unit, University College London on the need for a national debate on constitutional reform to inform discussions about the new Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. “…the debate that will shortly begin on the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities can only make sense in the context of the wider debate [...]

Professor Jonathan Tonge was announced as chair of the new Youth Citizenship Commission today (29 February 2008). The Governance of Britain green paper published last year highlighted the importance of engaging young people as citizens, so they are able to take an active part in society. The Youth Citizenship Commission will focus on young people aged 11 [...]

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has outlined the biggest changes “for a generation” to immigration procedures, including the setting up of a “citizenship contract” that explains an individual’s rights and responsibilities. Speaking to members of the third sector and local government representatives in North London today, the PM said that he expected tougher tests for citizenship in [...]

Justice Minister Michael Wills gave a speech on the constitutional renewal programme at the Leslie Scarman Lecture on 13 February 2008. This year’s lecture was delivered by Professor Aharon Barak, the former President of the Supreme Court of Israel. The full text is available here.