Rebuilding the bonds of trust and confidence? Labour’s constitutional reform programme

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

The New Labour governments of 1997–2010 arguably rewrote the British
constitution to a greater extent than any previous administration had done
since 1922, when most of the island of Ireland left the United Kingdom.
Separately, elected devolved institutions were introduced in Scotland and
Wales, and restored in Northern Ireland. London acquired a directly elected
Mayor, as did a number of other towns and cities. New electoral systems were
introduced both in elections to the new devolved bodies and in elections to
the European Parliament. Government information and decision making
were exposed to far greater public scrutiny via freedom of information
legislation. Legislation passed by Parliament became subject to a degree of
domestic judicial review following the passage of the Human Rights Act.
Finally, political parties were made subject to far greater regulation, not least
in respect of their financial affairs.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationReassessing New Labour: Market, State and Society under Blair
EditorsPatrick Diamond, Michael Kenny
Place of PublicationOxford
PublisherWiley-Blackwell
ISBN (Print)1444351346
Publication statusPublished - 7 Oct 2011

Keywords

  • new labour
  • british politics
  • elections

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