The UK's unwritten constitution is put to the test by Johnson's unprincipled acts, The observer - Catherine Haddon (10 july 2022) - Analysis of British politics and its impact

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[...] As the UK does not have a written constitution, there is no real constitutional rigidity. Constitutional rigidity: a legal term for the degree of difficulty in amending a constitution. In a country with a written constitution (USA, France, Germany), series of provisions spelling out how the constitutional text can be amended. Article: « "But where is that written?" or "Can you make it is hard to point even to documents that set out our constitution in writing, let alone those that have the teeth to back them up. [...]

[...] - Revising ministerial code Ministerial code : no legal status. Mirrors constitutional principles. Definition : set of rules and principles that define standards of conduct for government. The Prime Minister has the final word and decision. Conclusion: Not a proper written constitution: UK is too much attached to its traditional law (that's why no proper "caretaker convention"). Strengthening constitutional control over government may be a good idea. But this power must also be democratic. [...]

[...] The UK's unwritten constitution is put to the test by Johnson's unprincipled acts, The observer - Catherine Haddon (10 july 2022) - Analysis of British politics and its impact The English constitution is not a single, codified document, but a collection of texts and unwritten principles. The government of prime minister Boris Johnson, in office between 2019 and 2022, would have undermined some of these rules, particularly regarding transitional governments, and thought should be given to strengthening them. At least that is the thesis defended by Catherine Haddon in her article published on July three days after Boris Johnson's resignation, in the social-democratic weekly The Observer. [...]

[...] - The NZ and Australia counter-example: Article: "long experience with such conventions in Australia and New Zealand" aka "caretaker" convention When the parliament is dissolved, and while they do not have the force of law, caretaker conventions limit the Government from taking some actions and making some decisions. Transition is ensured that way. Political stability Political stability is relatively low, especially since the Brexit in 2016. The UK is ranked 29th by the World Bank in terms of political stability (period: 1996-2021). UK faced recently a series of external crises (Covid 19, inflation) ; but also internal (strikes, economic difficulties following Brexit). [...]

[...] Northern Protocol Aim of the protocol: to avoid the return of a physical border between Northern Ireland, a member of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the EU. The protocol is intended to ensure the implementation of the Good Friday peace agreement that ended decades of violence. Boris Johnson: wanted to make exceptions to the NI protocol (on commercial rules and taxes). Article: « and international law - twice - over the Northern Ireland protocol » Braking IN law: argument of Sinn Fein (Republican party of NI). Conclusion: Johnson has indeed played with the institutional rules to impose his political agenda. [...]