Lisa James

I have some good news for election nerds - "The British General Election of 2024" will be out this autumn, and if you're quick you can grab a 25% pre-order discount from Waterstone's by ordering your copy by 31st July, just enter code SUMMER25 www.waterstones.com/book/the-bri...

Hybrid bills: Parliament’s role in delivering major infrastructure | Institute for Government How to improve the hybrid bill legislative process.

How can government legislate better to deliver major infrastructure projects? Fantastic new paper from @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on how to improve the little-known hybrid bill procedure! www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

The latest edition of our regular constitutional review is now available!

Monitor 90 describes this government's constitutional reform scorecard as 'mixed'. It says that much remains to be done and progress in some areas has been disappointing.

Read it 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution....

Today the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill is set to have its second day of report stage in the Lords.

We will mainly be looking out for amendment 23, from Crossbencher Lord (Terry) Burns. This would cap the chamber's size at 650 and limit prime ministerial appointments.

A thread 👇

House of Commons procedure: why does it matter and how does it change? House of Commons procedure combines formal rules with conventions and precedents, providing the framework for conducting business and making decisions. Hannah Kelly, Lisa James and Meg Russell expl…

House of Commons procedure: why does it matter and how does it change?

@hannahkelly.bsky.social, @lisajames.bsky.social and Meg Russell explain that House of Commons procedure provides a roadmap for decision-making and helps to set the balance of power between different actors.

Read it 👇

There’s been progress in some areas, particularly on governance within England. But elsewhere, movement has so far been slow - and on some topics, like Lords reform, the government seems to be dialling down its ambitions. Plenty more to do in the remaining years of this parliament.

Labour and the constitution: (almost) one year on The Constitution Unit’s annual conference takes place next week, bringing together a wide range of speakers to discuss ‘Labour’s Constitutional Agenda in Office’. Starting with a keynote address by…

Today marks one year since the 2024 general election, so here’s something I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the government’s progress on its manifesto pledges for constitutional reform.

constitution-unit.com/2025/06/13/l...

With the Hereditary Peers Bill back in the Lords on Wednesday, we asked the public what they think about the options for going further on Lords reform. Results below 👇

We have a fantastic line-up of politicians for our conference this year: the Labour Minister for the Constitution giving the keynote, the Conservative Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokesperson, six other cross-party MPs and two peers!

Big day today! The launch of 'Exploring Parliament' - really looking forward to catch up with other authors and celebrate the book. Thank you to the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk for hosting us and to @studyofparl.bsky.social for sponsoring the launch. You can still register online👇:

But we need your accidental unmuting to cancel out all the times I will forget to unmute!

Our annual conference is coming up!

We'll be taking stock of the Labour government's constitutional policy so far - looking at what has, and hasn't, happened during the first year in office, with a great line-up of speakers.

Huge thanks to everyone involved - especially Hazel Blake & @arabellalaw.bsky.social, who contributed the fascinating piece on access to justice. ⚖️

The Constitution Unit’s new report is out today!

If you’re interested in:

📜 parliament
💼 government
👑 the royal prerogative
📍 devolution & the future of the Union
🗳️ elections & public participation
👩‍⚖️ law, justice & the courts

– then we have something for you.

A job advert for a communications intern, starting in July 2025. The salary is £29,000 per annum. Applications close on Monday 3 March, 11:00

Looking to kickstart your career in communications? Applications are now open to join our team as a Communications Intern, starting in early July 2025.

⏰ Closing date: Monday 3 March, 11:00

Find out more www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/about-us/car...

A screenshot of the Twitter/X post announcing our departure.

From today, we will no longer be posting regularly on Twitter/X.

Instead, we will focus our social media activities here, on Bluesky, where we have been active since last year.

Please encourage colleagues and friends to follow us here!

If, like me, you're spending large parts of today on trains, why not entertain yourself with this year's Constitution Unit blog greatest hits.

Featuring various brilliant Unit colleagues, and also me.

Calling all parliament watchers 🚨

Congratulations Alex!

Who are the last hereditary peers? The Labour government has pledged to remove the remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords. With a bill to do so now in the Commons, Lisa James looks at the profiles of the sitting heredita…

NEW BLOG: Who are the last hereditary peers?

A bill to remove all hereditary peers from the House of Lords has been introduced. @lisajames.bsky.social asks how, given the makeup of this group, its removal might impact the Lords

constitution-unit.com/2024/09/11/who-are-the-last-hereditary-peers/

A screenshot from the article.

Constitution Unit Senior Research Fellow @lisajames.bsky.social has a new article out about the new government's constitutional reform agenda in the IPPR Progressive Review.

Read all about it 👉 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/newe.12388.