Thank you, David - that's very kind of you!

You're very kind - thank you!

Great to see you too!

It was great to see you!

Thank you, Nigel! I hope we'll have a chance to work with you too.

Thank you, Mark! I look forward to working with you on many issues!

Thank you, Cat! It will be great to feed into the great work you are doing on so many issues.

I'm thrilled to be taking over as Director of the Constitution Unit next month. Amid many challenges to democracy, our work remains vital.

But, gosh, it's daunting to try to fill Meg Russell's shoes! She has been a terrific Director for over a decade, and will be an incredibly hard act to follow.

On a quick read this looks very welcome indeed. Philip Rycroft will be saying a few words about his review at the @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk annual conference tomorrow.

The new law won't pass for a while, but the government will ask parliament to legislate with retrospective effect - that is, with effect from today. Retrospective legislation is tricky, but there's a good case for it here.

The Rycroft Review: Report of the independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics Report of the independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics.

Three excellent things have just happened:

1) the Rycroft Review of pol finance has been published
2) govt is implementing key changes with immediate effect
3) those changes got cross-party support in the Commons.

Careful scrutiny of the detail will now be essential.

www.gov.uk/government/p...

I'm looking forward very much to giving this lecture in Oxford in May - it's a huge privilege to have been asked to do it, and it's a chance for me to explore some questions that have long intrigued me.

It would be lovely to see lots of you there!

The latest Constitution Unit Monitor, rounding up constitutional developments since November, is now online.

It's a bumper edition. Challenges to the established order are growing. The government is pursuing some changes in response. But are they enough?

The Representation of the People Bill: contours of the debates to come The government’s long-awaited proposals for electoral reforms, published last month, will receive their first scrutiny in the House of Commons next Monday. Ahead of that debate, Alan Renwick analys…

*Representation of the People Bill update*

Steve Reed has just announced: 'We will repeal in full the power for government to impose a strategy and policy statement on the Electoral Commission'.

A very welcome change. I set out last week why it was needed.

constitution-unit.com/2026/02/26/t...

The @niassembly.bsky.social has produced a briefing paper on public views towards reform of Stormont. It looks at a range of evidence, including my 2023 report 'Perspectives on the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement' co-authored with @alanrenwick.bsky.social at the @conunitucl.bsky.social

Links below

Firm but fair criticism from @alanrenwick.bsky.social of the "glaring omission" in the Representation of the People Bill.

The independence of the Electoral Commission has been seriously undermined. The government must act to restore it.

Read in full @conunitucl.bsky.social 👇
buff.ly/qhmruE3

Must read by @alanrenwick.bsky.social

The Representation of the People Bill: contours of the debates to come The government’s long-awaited proposals for electoral reforms, published last month, will receive their first scrutiny in the House of Commons next Monday. Ahead of that debate, Alan Renwick analys…

Excellent round-up of the considerable room for improvement by @alanrenwick.bsky.social

You are much, much too kind!

We're recruiting!

Please do spread the news far and wide. We're excited by the prospect of being joined by another great new colleague!

Really looking forward to speaking at this event tomorrow on democracy, and hearing the perspectives of other participants.

There's an option to attend online for those who can't join in person - just follow the link below for details.

The Constitution Unit's latest round-up of constitutional developments in the UK is out now!

Between 2019 and 2021, we led the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland.

This examined how any future referendum on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland would be best designed and conducted.

Find out more 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....

The Constitution Unit. Do the government's electoral reforms go far enough? 24 October 2025, 1:00pm–2:00pm. Cat Smith MP (Labour MP for Lancaster and Wyre). Rose Whiffen (Senior Research Officer at Transparency International UK). Tom Hawthorn (Head of Policy at the Electoral Commission). Prof David Howarth (Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Cambridge and former Electoral Commissioner). Chair: Prof Alan Renwick (Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit).

Does the elections white paper go far enough?

At 1pm today, join @catsmithmp.bsky.social, @rosewhiff.bsky.social, Tom Hawthorn and David Howarth at our free, online event to consider if the government's plans are sufficient to ensure electoral integrity.

Sign up 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....

📢 Do the Government's electoral reforms go far enough?

📺 Looking forward to this @conunitucl.bsky.social event featuring APPG member @catsmithmp.bsky.social

🎯 Ministers must go further: from a truly independent regulator, to a National Commission on Electoral Reform

🔗 ucl.ac.uk/social-histo...

How does politics work in Northern Ireland? Politics in Northern Ireland has long been dominated by two alternative constitutional visions: remaining part of the United Kingdom, or unifying with Ireland. In this post – part of the Unit’s new and updated briefing series on key constitutional topics – Lisa James, Conor J. Kelly and Alan Renwick discuss Northern Ireland’s distinctive politics and political structures, and explain the UK government’s role in supporting long-term stability.

NEW BLOG: How does politics work in Northern Ireland?

@lisajames.bsky.social, @conorjkelly.bsky.social and @alanrenwick.bsky.social explain Northern Ireland's politics and political structures, including power-sharing, the impact of Brexit and debates over Northern Ireland's future.

Many thanks, David. We wanted to keep the description as simple as we could, so chose to focus on the effect of the system. But we do realise that some points deserve more qualification. Thank you for highlighting this one.

The Constitution Unit has today published a fully updated set of briefings on aspects of politics and the constitution in the UK - with three entirely new briefings added too.

See the thread below for tasters and links.

Happy reading! We hope the briefings will be super-useful for many people.

Prime Minister's Question Period in the Canadian House of Commons: Lessons in parliamentary reform Between 2017 and 2025, the Canadian House of Commons operated a Prime Minister’s Question Period procedure, introduced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In a new published article summarised here, Ruxandra Serban explores how this procedure worked, and how it differed from the traditional Question Period model.

ON THE BLOG: Prime Minister's Question Period in the Canadian House of Commons: Lessons in parliamentary reform

@ruxandrasrbn.bsky.social explains how Canada's experiment with a Prime Minister's Question Period procedure between 2017 and 2025 worked and how it differed from the traditional model.

The Constitution Unit. Do the government's electoral reforms go far enough? 24 October 2025, 1:00pm–2:00pm. Cat Smith MP (Labour MP for Lancaster and Wyre). Rose Whiffen (Senior Research Officer at Transparency International UK). Tom Hawthorn (Head of Policy at the Electoral Commission). Prof David Howarth (Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Cambridge and former Electoral Commissioner). Chair: Prof Alan Renwick (Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit).

Does the elections white paper go far enough?

On 24 October, join @catsmithmp.bsky.social, @rosewhiff.bsky.social, Tom Hawthorn and David Howarth at our free, online event to consider if the government's plans are sufficient to ensure electoral integrity.

Sign up 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....