Lords motion to take note of proposals for a written constitution. Agreed to on question.

Lords motion to take note of proposals for a written constitution. Agreed to on question.

My Lords, it is an extraordinary honour to open this debate, and I am grateful to all the clever people, from the Bingham Centre to the Constitution Unit, who have helped me prepare for it. But a written constitution is not a subject only for initiates. This debate is on...

My Lords, it is an extraordinary honour to open this debate, and I am grateful to all the clever people, from the Bingham Centre to the Constitution Unit, who have helped me prepare for it. But a written constitution is not a subject only for initiates. This debate is on...

I am very privileged to follow the noble Lord, Lord Anderson. When he started his speech, I thought I would disagree with him, but by the time he finished I agreed with every word he said. He mentioned the Constitution Committee, of which I am a member, as it stands,...

I am very privileged to follow the noble Lord, Lord Anderson. When he started his speech, I thought I would disagree with him, but by the time he finished I agreed with every word he said. He mentioned the Constitution Committee, of which I am a member, as it stands,...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Murphy of Torfaen. Unfortunately, I am no more able to agree with him today than I was during the many years we served together in the other place.

I have only one point to make. The one certain...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Murphy of Torfaen. Unfortunately, I am no more able to agree with him today than I was during the many years we served together in the other place.

I have only one point to make. The one certain...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Howard. I start by assuring him that I am not one of those judges who would seek to accrete further power to the judiciary. As the noble Lord, Lord Murphy, reminded us, he is a member of the...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Howard. I start by assuring him that I am not one of those judges who would seek to accrete further power to the judiciary. As the noble Lord, Lord Murphy, reminded us, he is a member of the...

My Lords, I speak with some hesitancy, given the expertise of many speakers in this debate. I will not talk for long; I want to say just a few things. I always believed that our constitution was flexible and adaptable, and preserved the sovereignty of Parliament. I can remember a...

My Lords, I speak with some hesitancy, given the expertise of many speakers in this debate. I will not talk for long; I want to say just a few things. I always believed that our constitution was flexible and adaptable, and preserved the sovereignty of Parliament. I can remember a...

My Lords, this is the first substantive contribution I have made to the work of this House since 2012, when I was disqualified from sitting here by virtue of the Constitutional Reform Act—one of a slew of recent judicial constitutional measures that demonstrate the evolving nature of the constitution. Reference...

My Lords, this is the first substantive contribution I have made to the work of this House since 2012, when I was disqualified from sitting here by virtue of the Constitutional Reform Act—one of a slew of recent judicial constitutional measures that demonstrate the evolving nature of the constitution. Reference...

My Lords, I begin with two quick points. First, to share my noble friend Lord Murphy’s point, we came to the fray expecting to hear solid advocacy for a written constitution and had prepared the finest speeches imaginable against such a proposition, whereas it has not turned out that way...

My Lords, I begin with two quick points. First, to share my noble friend Lord Murphy’s point, we came to the fray expecting to hear solid advocacy for a written constitution and had prepared the finest speeches imaginable against such a proposition, whereas it has not turned out that way...

My Lords, our uncodified constitution has four legs—short or long: common law, statutes, conventions and practice. Our modern system of administrative law, elicited from our well-respected Government Legal Service, has a measured guide, The Judge Over Your Shoulder, now in its sixth edition. Its witty acronym is JOYS, but I...

My Lords, our uncodified constitution has four legs—short or long: common law, statutes, conventions and practice. Our modern system of administrative law, elicited from our well-respected Government Legal Service, has a measured guide, The Judge Over Your Shoulder, now in its sixth edition. Its witty acronym is JOYS, but I...

My Lords, it is a privilege to follow so many distinguished speakers. The primary purpose of a constitution is to establish the fundamental legal framework for governing a state. In the United Kingdom, two key facets of this are protecting and strengthening our democracy and providing a framework for effective...

My Lords, it is a privilege to follow so many distinguished speakers. The primary purpose of a constitution is to establish the fundamental legal framework for governing a state. In the United Kingdom, two key facets of this are protecting and strengthening our democracy and providing a framework for effective...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, for securing this debate, and so clearly and entertainingly introducing it, even though I profoundly disagree with his conclusions. It will probably not surprise your Lordships’ House when I say that I am going to bring a very different...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, for securing this debate, and so clearly and entertainingly introducing it, even though I profoundly disagree with his conclusions. It will probably not surprise your Lordships’ House when I say that I am going to bring a very different...

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Anderson, for providing the opportunity for this debate and for his far-reaching introduction.

This is a huge issue. We have heard various views expressed on the pros and cons of a codified constitution. I am not entirely sure that I have much...

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Anderson, for providing the opportunity for this debate and for his far-reaching introduction.

This is a huge issue. We have heard various views expressed on the pros and cons of a codified constitution. I am not entirely sure that I have much...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow my noble friend Lady D’Souza. In so doing, I join other noble Lords in thanking my noble friend Lord Anderson of Ipswich for having secured this important debate and introduced it in such a thoughtful manner.

I am one who is opposed to...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow my noble friend Lady D’Souza. In so doing, I join other noble Lords in thanking my noble friend Lord Anderson of Ipswich for having secured this important debate and introduced it in such a thoughtful manner.

I am one who is opposed to...

“Up to a point, Lord Kakkar”, as Evelyn Waugh might have very nearly said. I agree with the general thesis, but I think HOLAC needs to be on a statutory basis and with a wider remit.

I once tried to write a constitution for the European Union. It was a constitutional...

“Up to a point, Lord Kakkar”, as Evelyn Waugh might have very nearly said. I agree with the general thesis, but I think HOLAC needs to be on a statutory basis and with a wider remit.

I once tried to write a constitution for the European Union. It was a constitutional...

My Lords, I am very pleased to contribute to this debate, not least because I welcome any opportunity to debate the constitution. Being so low down in the list at least gives me the opportunity to say what a wonderful debate it has been so far. I commend the noble...

My Lords, I am very pleased to contribute to this debate, not least because I welcome any opportunity to debate the constitution. Being so low down in the list at least gives me the opportunity to say what a wonderful debate it has been so far. I commend the noble...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Anderson, for securing this debate and for his masterly introduction of it with a light touch. Andrew Blick and Peter Hennessy, in their book The Bonfire of Decencies: Repairing and Restoring the British Constitution, written following the Boris premiership, highlighted how the...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Anderson, for securing this debate and for his masterly introduction of it with a light touch. Andrew Blick and Peter Hennessy, in their book The Bonfire of Decencies: Repairing and Restoring the British Constitution, written following the Boris premiership, highlighted how the...

My Lords, in this House, we are a bit formulaic about congratulating colleagues on obtaining a slot for a topical debate, and I will not miss out today. However, my noble friend deserves more than that, because subjecting Britain’s lack of a written constitution to scrutiny is an essential exercise....

My Lords, in this House, we are a bit formulaic about congratulating colleagues on obtaining a slot for a topical debate, and I will not miss out today. However, my noble friend deserves more than that, because subjecting Britain’s lack of a written constitution to scrutiny is an essential exercise....

My Lords, I too follow in that honourable and venerable convention of thanking the noble Lord, Lord Anderson, for securing this important debate, particularly at a time when democracy in different countries is being so tested both by economic and social strains and by authoritarians and extremists. That makes this...

My Lords, I too follow in that honourable and venerable convention of thanking the noble Lord, Lord Anderson, for securing this important debate, particularly at a time when democracy in different countries is being so tested both by economic and social strains and by authoritarians and extremists. That makes this...

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, for bringing this debate to the House today. In his Lord Renton lecture on a written constitution in 2023, he said that

“our constitution is sick (though the illness is chronic rather than acute)”.

That diagnosis, combined with the Prime...

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, for bringing this debate to the House today. In his Lord Renton lecture on a written constitution in 2023, he said that

“our constitution is sick (though the illness is chronic rather than acute)”.

That diagnosis, combined with the Prime...

My Lords, I add my thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, for securing this fascinating debate on the proposals for a written constitution and for his very thought-provoking introduction. This is a vast and complex subject that has been long debated, including in your Lordships’ House.

We have...

My Lords, I add my thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, for securing this fascinating debate on the proposals for a written constitution and for his very thought-provoking introduction. This is a vast and complex subject that has been long debated, including in your Lordships’ House.

We have...