Brexit, Parliament and the Constitution

A programme of research and commentary on the principles of democracy in the UK constitution, parliament's influence over Brexit, and the implications of these developments for parliamentary reform.

翱谤诲别谤听The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit

This project was funded through the Director of the Constitution Unit, Meg Russell's, Senior Fellowship with the ESRC-funded听听programme, which ran for three years, from June 2019 to May 2022. She was听one of听nine such Senior Fellows听focused on a variety of Brexit-related fields.

Professor Russell's Fellowship focused on the broad topic of 'Brexit, Parliament and the Constitution'. Within this, the project focused on three main topics:听

The relationship and tensions between principles of direct and representative democracy in the UK constitution.
The extent and shape of parliament鈥檚 influence over the Brexit process.
What the Brexit process has told us about the need for possible future parliamentary reforms.

This work built on various previous projects conducted by Professor Russell, including the听Independent Commission on Referendums, her work on the听policy impact of the Westminster parliament, and multiple听projects on parliamentary reform, including the project on听parliament鈥檚 control of its own agenda听that helped lay the groundwork for the 2009 recommendations by the 'Wright committee'.

The Fellowship comprised two main elements. The first was to work alongside the UKICE team to facilitate events and up-to-date commentary. The second was to carry out and publish detailed research.听As such, outputs from the Fellowship included blogposts, podcasts and media appearances, as well as academic journal articles and detailed reports. This culminated in the publication of The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit听by Meg Russell and Lisa James in March听2023. Selected听examples of each can be found below.

Publications:

The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit by Meg Russell and Lisa James, published by Oxford University Press in March 2023.
, by Thomas Fleming and Lisa James, published in Parliamentary Affairs in June 2022. This article analyses parliament's influence on the Brexit legislation of 2017-19.
Chapters by Meg Russell, on 'Government-Parliament Relations', and Lisa James, on 'Public Appointments', in UK in a Changing Europe's March 2022 report ''.
Taking Back Control: Why the House of Commons Should Govern its Own Time听-听published in January 2021.听This report by Meg Russell and Dr Daniel Gover, an Honorary Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit,听addresses why MPs lack control of their own institution, the听problems this causes, and what should be done. This report was published in collaboration with UK in a Changing Europe.听
A chapter on parliament by Meg Russell, in UK in a Changing Europe's January 2021 report ''.
A chapter on legislation, by Meg Russell and Lisa James, in听UK in a Changing Europe's September 2020 report ''
- published, free to access, in听Parliamentary Affairs in June 2020. In this article, Meg Russell听charts the stages of parliament鈥檚 Brexit 鈥榩erfect storm鈥�, tracing its causes to four factors: the design of the referendum, a period of (unfamiliar) minority government, deeply divided political parties, and the weakness of parliamentary rules in facilitating a solution. In the end, the Brexit argument was primarily one inside the Conservative Party, but parliament got the blame.
Parliament and Brexit

Parliament and Brexit

听- published jointly with听UK in a Changing Europe and the University of Leicester in March 2020. This report analyses听parliament鈥檚 role in the听Brexit听process to听date,听补苍诲听asks听what changes may be needed to ensure that parliament is ready for phase two of the negotiations听and beyond. It includes chapters authored by Meg Russell and Lisa James.听听
A chapter on parliament by Meg Russell in UK in a Changing Europe's February 2020 report ''.
The Mechanics of a Further Referendum on Brexit Revisited: Questions for the听New Parliament - published in December 2019. This听report examines听the scenarios under which a further referendum on Brexit might听take place - depending听on the outcome of the 2019 general election,听unknown at the time of publication听-听and the key questions its designers would face

Blog posts:

All of Meg Russell's blog posts can be found on the , with many also available on the听. Selected posts include:

'', by Meg Russell, 6 September 2022.
'', by Lisa James, 4 September 2022.
'', by Lisa James, 19 May 2022.
'', by Meg Russell, 14 April 2022.
'', by Tom Fleming and Meg Russell, 9 March 2022.
'', by Meg Russell, 8 November 2021.
Two September 2021 posts on the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, its role in Brexit,听and its proposed repeal: '', and '', both by Meg Russell.
'', by Meg Russell and Alan Renwick, 24 June 2021.
'', by Robert Hazell and Meg Russell, 12 April 2021.
'', by Meg Russell, 5 February 2021.
, by Meg Russell and Daniel Gover, 19 January 2021.听
'' by Daniel Gover and Lisa James, 17 January 2021.
'' by Meg Russell and Lisa James,听28 September 2020.
'', by Meg Russell, 13 September 2020.
'', by Meg Russell, 1 September 2020.
'', by Meg Russell, 14 June 2020.
'', by Meg Russell and Ruth Fox, Director of the , 14 April 2020.
'', by Lisa James and Meg Russell, 30 January 2020.
'', by Meg Russell, 5 November 2019.
'', by Lisa James and Meg Russell, 24 October 2019.
'', by Meg Russell, 2 October 2019.

Media:

A from Meg Russell to Prospect on standards and trust in democracy, on 9 February 2022.
An article by Meg Russell in Prospect on 9 November 2021: ''.
An article by Meg Russell in the Financial Times on 24 April 2021: ''.
A letter to the Times on 21 April 2021, summarising a briefing to all MPs, signed by Meg Russell and experts from听the,听补苍诲听. The letter and briefing warn听that parliamentary accountability and control over decisions have diminished to a degree that would have been unthinkable before COVID-19.
An article by Meg Russell in The Times Red Box on 19 January 2021, arguing that '', and introducing our report on the topic (see the publications section above).
An appearance on the on 12 October 2020, discussing the government's relationship with its backbenchers.
A letter to the Times on 8 June, signed by Meg Russell and a group of other democracy specialists, arguing that the ending of the hybrid House of Commons breached fundamental democratic principles. Available in The Times , or in an expanded version as an open letter to Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg on our blog .
Meg Russell's appearance on , discussing the Queen's Speech.
Appearance on a on the UK constitution after the Supreme Court ruling, on 26听September 2019.
An on 6 September 2019, about the strains recent Brexit events had听put on parliament and the constitution.
A on BBC Radio 4's World at One Programme on 28 August 2019, discussing the recently-announced prorogation.
A with Meg Russell on the BBC Radio 4 PM Programme on 9 August 2019 discussing what MPs could听do to block a 'no deal' Brexit

Podcasts:

Meg Russell's appearance on the New Statesman's on 27 April 2022, on the topic 'Is democracy slowly collapsing in Westminster?'.
Meg Russell's appearance on the Oxford University on 10 March 2022, discussing democratic backsliding.
Meg Russell's appearance on UK in a Changing Europe's , on 28 January 2022, discussing political leadership and trust in politicians.
Meg Russell's appearance on the Channel 4 podcast, , on 6 July 2021, discussing Lords reform.
Meg Russell's appearance on the听, on 25听March听2021, discussing forms of democracy.
Meg Russell's appearance on the 'Never Mind the Bar Charts' podcast, on听28 January 2021, discussing ''.
Meg Russell's appearance on the , on 8 October 2020, discussing democratic checks and balances.
Meg Russell's appearance on UK in a Changing Europe's , on 16 January 2020.
Meg Russell's appearance on the We The People podcast听on 31 October 2019, discussing the question ''
Appearances by Meg Russell on UK in a Changing Europe's Brexit Breakdown听podcast, on and .
Meg Russell's appearance on the ,听on 14 August 2019, discussing a possible vote of no confidence and 'unity' government.

Conferences and events:

On 7 June 2022, Meg Russell spoke at a UK in a Changing Europe event on 'The future of parliamentary treaty scrutiny'. A video is available .
On 29 March 2022, Meg Russell spoke at a UK in a Changing Europe conference on 'Constitution and Governance in the UK', as part of a panel discussing 'Can - and should - parliament take back control from the executive?'. A video is available .
On 10 March 2022, Meg Russell spoke at an Institute for Government/Bennett Institute for Public Policy event on 'The Failure of "Good Chaps": Are Norms and Conventions Still Working in the UK Constitution?'. A video is available .
On 20 January 2022, Meg Russell spoke at a Keele World Affairs Council event on the topic of 'Lords Reform'. A video is available by signing up to the Keele World Affairs Council听.
On 13 January 2022, Meg Russell chaired a Constitution Unit event titled 'What Can Be Done About the House of Lords?'. A video is available here.
On 1 December 2021, Meg Russell chaired a Constitution Unit event titled 'Riding the Populist Wave: The UK Conservatives and the Constitution'. A video is available here.
On 12 November 2021, Meg Russell chaired a Constitution Unit event on 'Improving Standards of Conduct in Public Life'. A video is available here.
On 21 October 2021, Meg Russell spoke at a Mishcon de Reya event on the 'Expansion of Executive Power'. A highlights video is听available .
On 20 October 2021, Meg Russell appeared on a Cambridge Law Faculty panel, discussing 'Who's in charge of the Westminster Parliament?'. A short talk produced before the event is available , and the full panel discussion .
On 17 and 18 June 2021,听the Constitution Unit, the Department of Politics & International Relations at the University of Oxford and UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) jointly organised a conference on 'Johnson's Constitutional Reform Agenda', bringing together academics and practitioners to discuss the government's progress to date, and what might lie ahead. Video and audio of all the conference sessions - including sessions at which Meg Russell spoke, or which she chaired - can be found here.
On 16 June 2021, Meg Russell spoke at a joint Political Studies Association and UK Parliament听Education and Engagement听Service event on the topic ''
On 19 May 2021, Meg Russell appeared on a UK in a Changing Europe panel, discussing the topic ''.
On 29 April 2021, Meg Russell chaired a Constitution Unit event on 'Regulating Public Appointments'. A video is available here.
On 15 March 2021, Meg Russell appeared on a panel for the Aspen Institute, discussing ''.
On 21 January 2021, Meg Russell appeared on a UK in a Changing Europe panel, discussing the topic of ''.
Meg Russell chaired a Constitution Unit/最准的六合彩论坛 Political Science discussion on , on 3 December 2020, with Anne Applebaum, Nadia Urbinati and Rory Stewart.
On 24 November 2020, Meg Russell appeared on a panel for the , alongside Baroness Grey-Thompson 补苍诲听Lord Norton of Louth, discussing the topic of ''. The full video can be found : Meg's talk begins at 44:08.
On 18 November 2020, Meg Russell appeared on the final panel of the 2020 Oxford Putney debates, which were on the topic of parliamentary sovereignty. A video of the final panel, on the topic of 'Parliamentary Sovereignty in Perspective', can be found听, with Meg's remarks starting at 08:17.
Meg Russell appeared on a panel for the PSA Parliaments Annual Conference, on 11 November 2020, discussing the impact of COVID-19 on parliaments. A video of Meg's talk can be found .
The Unit partnered with UK in a Changing Europe to hold a听conference on 10 March 2020 on the topic of Parliament and Brexit - including a panel on parliament's place in the constitution which featured Meg Russell. See here for more details, including links for videos of the conference panels.
A of Brexit, Parliament and the Constitution at 最准的六合彩论坛's It's All Academic Festival on 5 October 2019.
A conference held on 15 July 2019 on '' - of Meg Russell's panel at the conference.

Select committee and similar appearances:

Invited oral evidence to the Scottish Parliament Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee on 21 April 2022 on the Coronavirus pandemic and parliaments. A transcript is available .
Invited oral evidence听to the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 6 October 2020 on the prospects for the government's proposed Commission on the Constitution, Democracy and Human Rights, summarised here.
Invited oral evidence to the House of Commons Procedure Committee on 8 July 2020, on Commons procedure during the pandemic. Our summary, including links to the full evidence session and other relevant resources, is here.
Invited oral evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee on 24 June 2020, on parliament's workings during the coronavirus pandemic. Find our summary, including a link to the full evidence session, here.
Meg Russell's expert evidence to a committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 29 May 2020, on how parliaments have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, summarised here.
Meg Russell's evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on prorogation and the Supreme Court judgment on 8 October 2019.
Evidence to the House of Commons Exiting the European Union Committee on prospects for a further Brexit referendum on 24 July 2019.

Project information:

This听project was led by听Professor Meg Russell, with Lisa James as Research Assistant. It was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council鈥檚 initiative and lasted between听June 2019 to May 2022.

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