THE CONSTITUTION UNIT - The Johnson government's constitutional reform agenda: prospects and challenges

Conservative experts Lord Dunlop and Chris White speak at The Constitution Unit's first seminar of 2020. The Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto commits the new government ‘to look at the broader aspects of our constitution: the relationship between the government, parliament and the courts; the functioning of the Royal Prerogative; the role of the House of Lords; and access to justice for ordinary people’. There were also specific commitments: to update the Human Rights Act; to ensure that judicial review is not abused; and to set up a Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission. In this seminar two Conservative experts, Lord (Andrew) Dunlop (member of the House of Lords Constitution Committee and former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland) and Chris White (former Special Adviser to Conservative Cabinet Ministers William Hague, Andrew Lansley and Patrick McLoughlin) will discuss how the new government might implement this agenda, the obstacles it might face, and how they could be overcome. Speakers: Lord Dunlop, Member of the House of Lords Constitution Committee Chris White, former Special Adviser to Conservative Cabinet Ministers Chair: Prof Meg Russell, Director of the Constitution Unit