Aug 02 (v7n) - Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has indicated his support for introducing a written constitution for the UK—a move that would mark a historic departure from the country's centuries-old unwritten political framework.
Just two weeks into office, Burnham—formerly the mayor of Greater Manchester—has made regional devolution a central pillar of his administration. Speaking over the weekend, he said his devolution plans "start to point towards a new constitutional settlement" and called for "a new clear set of principles about how this country should be run."
Burnham, who had advocated for a written constitution even before becoming prime minister, argued that the current system leaves people arguing over basic fundamentals. "The lack of a constitution disempowers places in that situation," he said.
Unlike most nations, the UK does not have a single authoritative constitutional document, relying instead on a mix of statutes, common law, and treaties. The push for a written constitution gained traction under former Labour PM Gordon Brown, in whose government Burnham served as a minister. A parliamentary review that ran until 2015 found no clear consensus on the issue.
Any serious effort by Burnham to codify the constitution would be a years-long undertaking, likely requiring extensive public consultations and a major inquiry.
On Friday, Burnham announced plans to allow regional mayors in England to retain a share of locally collected taxes—part of his broader effort to move power away from Westminster. While the UK's devolved parliaments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were established in the late 1990s, England itself remains one of Europe's most centralized nations, experts say, despite recent creation of some regional mayoralties.
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