A Clean Break?

Post-Brexit, the UK governments led by Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak, implemented policies that breached both domestic and international law, undermining constitutional order and, alongside it, liberal-democratic principles. The UK’s constitutional framework, notably its doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, grants significant leeway to the executive. This leeway expanded post-Brexit, removing numerous EU-derived laws. However, legal obligations persist through other legislation like the Human Rights Act, international agreements, and the more general demands of the rule of law. This chapter examines instances of these transgressions. Examples include the ‘Rwanda scheme’, which aimed to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, violating international and domestic law; the Internal Market Act 2021, which disrupted post-Brexit trade agreements with the EU; and the unlawful prorogation of Parliament in 2019. Additionally, the government’s data collection practices under the Prevent anti-terror programme have raised significant legal concerns. These actions collectively signify an erosion of the rule of law by the Conservative government. The chapter concludes that these developments represent a shift towards illiberal governance.