Bending the Rules

The UK Conservative government which lost office in July 2024, particularly under Boris Johnson, implemented policies that, while legally permissible, raise concerns about their impact on core democratic principles. This includes legislation limiting the right to protest, changes to voter identification requirements which disproportionately affect younger and minority voters and were seemingly designed to tilt electoral outcomes in favour of the Conservatives. The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill consolidated power within the executive, having the effect of reducing parliamentary oversight over the retention or repeal of EU laws in UK legislation. These changes exploit the UK’s ‘majoritarian flexibility’ in the area of constitutional and political reform. Additionally, the government’s handling of Freedom of Information requests has become increasingly partial, hindering public access to crucial information and weakening accountability. Moreover, appointments of politically aligned individuals to influential roles within ostensibly independent institutions like the BBC suggest efforts to influence the public informational landscape in ways favourable to their political interests. These actions collectively challenge democratic norms of transparency, electoral integrity, and parliamentary scrutiny.