{"id":94507,"date":"2026-08-02T08:41:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T07:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=94507"},"modified":"2026-08-02T11:33:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T10:33:00","slug":"94507","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2026\/08\/02\/94507\/","title":{"rendered":"Andy Burnham wants a constitution. This is what it should include."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Guardian notes<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2026\/aug\/02\/devolution-programme-written-uk-constitution-andy-burnham?CMP=GTUK_email\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> this morning that<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Andy Burnham has said his programme of devolution strengthens the case for a written constitution for the UK, a move that would fundamentally alter the workings of the state that have developed over centuries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The prime minister has long believed the UK\u2019s \u201cantiquated\u201d political system needs a dramatic overhaul if opportunity is to be shared equally across the country.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I have long argued for the need for such a constitution. So, this is a quick summary of what I would include. I stress, this is an opening suggestion. I would refine it with more time.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>1. A written constitution<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Define the powers of Parliament, government, the courts and devolved administrations.<\/li>\n<li>Protect fundamental civil, political, social and environmental rights, and the right to free speech and protest without government constraint.<\/li>\n<li>Require government to uphold democratic accountability and equality before the law.<\/li>\n<li>Remove the remaining constitutional roles of the royalty and transfer them to elected politicians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>2. Replace first-past-the-post with proportional representation<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Every vote should count.<\/li>\n<li>Parliament should reflect how people actually vote.<\/li>\n<li>End manufactured majorities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>3. Abolish the House of Lords<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>End hereditary and appointed legislators.<\/li>\n<li>Replace it with a democratically legitimate second chamber representing the nations and regions of the UK, with clearly defined constitutional functions rather than a rival to the Commons.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>4. Constitutionally protect devolution<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Devolved powers should not be removable by a simple Westminster majority.<\/li>\n<li>England should also have meaningful regional devolution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>5. Guarantee the right of every nation to choose its future<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should have a constitutional right to hold regular referendums on independence under agreed rules.<\/li>\n<li>England\u2019s constitutional position should also be explicitly defined.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>6. A constitutional right to local government<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Local government should exist by constitutional right, not by permission of Parliament.<\/li>\n<li>Councils should have secure powers, responsibilities, revenue, and sources of borrowing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>7. Restore democratic control over economic policy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Parliament should determine fiscal and monetary policy.<\/li>\n<li>The Treasury should become accountable to Parliament for delivering agreed social, economic and environmental objectives.<\/li>\n<li>Economic policy should not be constrained by self-imposed fiscal rules presented as immutable truths.<\/li>\n<li>The Bank of England should have its notional independence removed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>8. A constitutional commitment to economic justice<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Government should be required to pursue full employment.<\/li>\n<li>It should seek to reduce inequality.<\/li>\n<li>It should provide universal access to healthcare, education, housing and social security.<\/li>\n<li>Economic success should be judged by outcomes for people, not arbitrary financial targets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>9. Recognise government\u2019s monetary powers<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The constitution should acknowledge that a currency-issuing government cannot be treated as if it were a household.<\/li>\n<li>Public spending decisions should be based on the availability of real resources and inflationary limits, not myths about \u201crunning out of money.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>10. Guaranteed transparency<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A constitutional right to government information.<\/li>\n<li>Strong protections for whistleblowers.<\/li>\n<li>Open public accounts and beneficial ownership registers for all companies and trusts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>11. Reform political finance and lobbying<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tight limits on political donations.<\/li>\n<li>Full transparency over lobbying.<\/li>\n<li>Restrictions on the revolving door between government and large corporations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>12. Protect the independence of public institutions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An independent civil service.<\/li>\n<li>Independent courts.<\/li>\n<li>Independent electoral administration.<\/li>\n<li>Independent anti-corruption bodies.<\/li>\n<li>Public service broadcasters protected from political interference.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>13. Constitutional protection for the environment<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A duty on governments to safeguard biodiversity and address climate change.<\/li>\n<li>The legal requirement to meet net-zero targets by 2050 should be constitutional.<\/li>\n<li>Recognition that future generations have interests that deserve protection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>14. A constitutional right to participation<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Constitutionally granted rights to public services, including health, education to undergraduate or equivalent level, housing, clean air and water, justice, and environmental protection.<\/li>\n<li>Stronger rights to petition Parliament.<\/li>\n<li>Easier mechanisms for public consultation on major legislation.<\/li>\n<li>The right to call for Citizens' Assemblies and to have their findings considered.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b32424;\"><strong>15. The right to redress<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The right to constitutional redress for a government's failure to uphold its duties must be available, with legal funding provided to petitioners.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Guardian notes this morning that: Andy Burnham has said his programme of devolution strengthens the case for a written constitution for the UK, a<br \/><a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2026\/08\/02\/94507\/\"><em> Read the full article&#8230;<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[204,35,122,108,16,118,106,223],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economic-justice","category-economics","category-election","category-environment","category-ethics","category-labour","category-politics","category-politics-of-care"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94507"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94510,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94507\/revisions\/94510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}