Constitution Reform Group
The Constitution Reform Group seeks a constitutional settlement for the UK by way of the Act of Union Bill 2018[1]. The organisation advocates for the implementation of the Act of Union Bill 2018[2], which was formulated and drafted by the Group, and calls for greater clarity, consistency and coordination in relation to constitutional issues in the UK across the devolved parliaments and assemblies, particularly in light of the constitutional uncertainties surrounding Brexit.
It is not aligned with any political party and includes former and current members of the Conservative Party (UK), the Liberal Democrats (UK) and the Labour Party (UK), and welcomes support from other political parties and those who belong to none.
History
Formation
The Constitution Reform Group was initiated by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, the former Leader of the House of Lords, in response to patchwork constitutional developments, primarily since 1997, including the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and the introduction of the English Votes for English Laws procedures in the House of Commons. In a 2015 article published in The Times[3] about William Hague’s proposed English Votes for English Laws procedures, Lord Salisbury stated that “The UK is sleepwalking into an existential crisis” and “Whether we like it or not we are therefore heading for a federal system and it is no good being half-hearted about it”. In response to his concerns about the UK’s current constitutional arrangements, he convened the Constitution Reform Group Steering Committee in July 2015 with Lord Lisvane, Menzies Campbell, Lord Hain, Sir Paul Silk, Gisela Stuart, Daniel Greenberg, Shana Fleming, David Burnside, Caroline Roberts, David Melding and Joanna George.
Lisa Nandy, Bim Afolami and Seema Malhotra joined the Steering Committee at the end of 2018.
Activities
Prime Minister's Questions
On Wednesday 20 January 2016 Gisela Stuart asked David Cameron during Prime Minister’s Questions to meet with her and others from the Constitution Reform Group to discuss a new Act of Union. He agreed, stating that “there is a common interest in it”.[4]
Evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee
In January 2016 Lord Salisbury, Lord Hain and Daniel Greenberg gave evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee on The Union and devolution.[5] Lord Hain explained that “Devolution up until now has been a top-down process: the centre deciding to devolve powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and more recently in parts of England. The model we are proposing is a bottom-up process. It is turning it on its head”.[6]
Draft Act of Union Bill launched
In July 2016 a draft version of the Act of Union Bill was published which included Explanatory Notes[7] about the Bill’s proposals.
The Bill is not a full written constitution. Where something is generally perceived to be working well, such as the judicial and court structure, the Bill does not seek to reinvent it.
Formal first reading of the Act of Union Bill 2018 in the House of Lords
On 9 October 2018 the former Clerk of the House of Commons, Lord Lisvane, introduced the Act of Union Bill 2018[8] as a Private Member's Bill in the House of Lords:
“A Bill to provide a renewed constitutional form for the peoples of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to continue to join together to form the United Kingdom, to affirm that the peoples of those nations and parts have chosen, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this Act, to continue to pool their sovereignty for specified purposes, and to protect social and economic rights for citizens”. [9]
The Bill is currently awaiting a date for its second reading.[10]
Lord Lisvane’s motion ‘to take note of the possible effects of Brexit on the stability of the Union’ came first out of 20 motions voted for by Cross-Bench peers which was debated on the Cross-Bench day in the House of Lords on 17 January 2019.[11]
Events and speeches
The Constitution Reform Group regularly holds events across the UK about the Act of Union Bill 2018.[12] Past events include talks at King’s College London[13], University of St Andrews[14] and Cardiff University.[15]
Lord Hain provided a speech[16] about the work of the Constitution Reform Group on 13 December 2018 in the House of Lords debate[17] on the case for a UK Constitutional Convention.
Gisela Stuart will be speaking on behalf of the Constitution Reform Group at the ‘Remaking the UK Constitution’ conference[18] at Oxford University on 22 February 2019.
People
- Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury (Chairman) 2015 - present
- Lord Lisvane 2015 - present
- Menzies Campbell 2015 - present
- Lord Hain 2015 - present
- Sir Paul Silk 2015 - present
- Gisela Stuart 2015 - present
- Daniel Greenberg 2015 - present
- David Burnside 2015 - present
- Shana Fleming 2015 - present
- Caroline Roberts 2015 - present
- David Melding AM 2015 - present
- Joanna George 2016 - present
- Lisa Nandy 2018 - present
- Bim Afolami 2018 - present
- Seema Malhotra 2018 - present
References
- ↑ "Act of Union Bill [HL] 2017-19 — UK Parliament". services.parliament.uk.
- ↑ https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2017-19/actofunion.html
- ↑ Salisbury, Robert (1 March 2015). "Four federal parliaments, one ancient force for good". The Sunday Times.
- ↑ https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/12cab491-2c5b-4390-80a2-2c4a9e4b03c9
- ↑ "House of Lords - The Union and devolution - Select Committee on the Constitution". publications.parliament.uk.
- ↑ https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/constitution/union-and-devolution/FINAL-Evidence-volume-UDE.pdf
- ↑ "Publications".
- ↑ https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2017-19/actofunion.html
- ↑ "Act of Union Bill [HL] - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk.
This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
- ↑ "Bill stages — Act of Union Bill [HL] 2017-19 — UK Parliament". services.parliament.uk.
- ↑ "Brexit: Stability of the Union - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk.
- ↑ https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2017-19/actofunion.html
- ↑ "King's College London - A New Act of Union to Address the UK's Current Constitutional Settlement". www.kcl.ac.uk.
- ↑ "Reflections on the Union: Past, Present and Future – Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research". ilcr.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk.
- ↑ Nicholas, Luke (29 November 2018). "Hain and Silk call for new Act of Union".
- ↑ "Parliamentlive.tv". parliamentlive.tv.
- ↑ "Lords debates case for UK Constitutional Convention - News from Parliament". UK Parliament.
- ↑ https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/centres-institutes/bonavero-institute-human-rights/flagship-events-remaking-uk-constitution
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