Category Archives: Constitutional reform

Next UK election set to be most unequal in 60 years, study finds

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Voter turnout gap between top and bottom earners growing since 60s, says IPPR thinktank

The next election is set to be the most unequal in 60 years thanks to a rising gap in voter turnout based on age, income, class, home ownership and ethnicity, a new study has found.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a centre-left thinktank, found that the turnout gap was negligible between social groups in the 1960s, but that it had grown by 2010 to 18 percentage points between the top set of earners – who are more likely to vote – and the bottom set.

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Princess Anne: slimmed-down royal family ‘doesn’t sound like a good idea’

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King Charles’s sister responds to reports that monarch could reduce number of working royals and cut back staffing

Princess Anne, the 16th in line to the British throne, has said she does not think a slimmed-down monarchy is a “good idea”.

Speaking to the Canadian public broadcaster, CBC News, the princess royal was asking about reports that her brother King Charles intends to overhaul the institution, in a move frequently referred to as a “slimmed down” monarchy.

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The ‘indefensibles’: donors, cronies and lackeys embody case to abolish Lords

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After Boris Johnson took political patronage to new levels by his appointments, Labour sees public mood is ripe for radical reform

What do Boris Johnson’s brother, a historian who has written favourably about him, and a defeated MP who gave him a free holiday all have in common?

All of them now grace the prestigious red benches of the House of Lords, along with 27 donors to the Conservative party.

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Only UK parliament can approve a Scottish independence poll, court told

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All four nations would have interest in referendum so Westminster has authority, UK government lawyer tells supreme court

Judges sitting in the UK’s highest court have been told Westminster is the ultimate authority on Scotland’s future because Scottish independence is of “critical importance” to the future of the UK.

Sir James Eadie KC, a senior lawyer acting for the UK government, said the union between Scotland and England was “the constitutional foundation of the modern British state”, and mattered to everyone in the UK.

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Vote on world’s most progressive constitution begins in Chile

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Approval would replace Pinochet-era document, recognizing Chile’s Indigenous peoples and requiring action on the climate crisis

Chileans head to the polls on Sunday to either approve or reject what has been described as the world’s most progressive constitution, which would replace the 1980 document drawn up during Gen Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.

The referendum marks the culmination of three tumultuous years of protest and political upheaval, in which a protest over subway prices grew into a broad uprising against deeply rooted inequalities and a disconnected political class.

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Boris Johnson’s criticism of sexist smear against Angela Rayner inadequate, says Labour – UK politics live

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Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says action is needed, ‘not just warm words’

The Downing Street lobby briefing has just ended. And we’ve learned that Boris Johnson has not received a fine over the party in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020 – or at least not yet.

There has been speculation that he will be fined for this because at the end of last week it emerged that other people who attended the event in response to an invitation from Johnson’s then principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, are being fined. The invitation told people to BYOB (bring your own bottle).

I, and others in Whitehall, have been clear that the prime minister himself had no direct involvement in decisions around Nowzad.

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Lords rally to protect independence of UK’s Electoral Commission

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Boris Johnson’s government faces new defeat over what critics say is democratic meddling

Boris Johnson is facing another damaging parliamentary defeat on Monday over controversial plans that would give ministers new powers to determine the remit of the independent watchdog that oversees UK elections.

A cross-party group of peers is this weekend rallying behind an amendment to the elections bill that would strike out key clauses which, they believe, would seriously undermine the Electoral Commission’s independence and open the way for political interference in the conduct of elections.

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Labour leadership: Thornberry gives Corbyn ‘0 out of 10′ for election, but ’10 out of 10’ for principle – live news

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Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

The troubled Northern rail franchise faces financial collapse within months, Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has said, as the government set out a timetable to tackle the “unacceptable services” for rail passengers in the north. My colleague Gwyn Topham has the full story here.

Related: Northern rail franchise could collapse within months, says Shapps

Nadia Whittome, the new Labour MP for Nottingham East, also says she is going to nominate Clive Lewis for Labour leader without necessarily planning to vote for him because she wants his ideas to be part of the debate. Lloyd Russell-Moyle is in this position too. (See 1.55pm.)

I have nominated @DawnButlerBrent for Deputy and @labourlewis for Leader to ensure both are on the ballot.

I haven't decided who I'll endorse but Clive's steadfast commitment to migrants' rights, and electoral reform and party democracy proposals, must be part of the debate.

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John Bercow: I’ll stop Boris Johnson breaking the law on Brexit

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Commons Speaker issues direct challenge to ministers threatening to ignore legislation

John Bercow has threatened Boris Johnson that he will be prepared to rip up the parliamentary rulebook to stop any illegal attempt by the prime minister to take the UK out of the EU without a deal on 31 October.

In a direct warning to No 10, the Speaker of the House of Commons said he is prepared to allow “additional procedural creativity” if necessary to allow parliament to block Johnson from ignoring the law.

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