
Sir Stephen Laws
Senior Fellow, Judicial Power Project
Sir Stephen Laws KCB QC (Hon) is a Senior Research Fellow on Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project. He was First Parliamentary Counsel from 2006-12. As such, he was the Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office responsible for the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (an office in which he had served as a legislative drafter since 1976), for the offices of the Government Business Managers in both Houses and for constitutional advice to the centre of Government. After he retired in 2012, he was a member of the McKay Commission on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons and subsequently a member of the advisory panel for Lord Strathclyde’s review of secondary legislation and the primacy of the House of Commons. He writes on constitutional and legal matters He is a Senior Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, an Honorary Senior Research Associate at University College London and an Honorary Fellow of the University of Kent Law School.

Related Posts & Publications


Legislating for the relaxation of the lockdown
by Sir Stephen Laws | May 8, 2020
Related Content This paper examines what lessons can be learned from the first stage of the coronavirus crisis and applied to legislating for the next stage. The focus will be on the aspects of the legislative response that have had the greatest impact on the largest...
The Future for Constitutional Reform
by Sir Stephen Laws | Jan 27, 2020
Related Content Lessons from the process of leaving the EU Did the United Kingdom’s constitution work as it should have done in the process to leave the European Union? In essence, yes, says Sir Stephen Laws, Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange and a former First...
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act and the Next Election
by Sir Stephen Laws | Oct 24, 2019
Related Content Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, if the government loses a vote of no confidence (VONC), there are 14 days in which either the incumbent government or a new government appointed by the Queen may attempt to win a vote of confidence. Otherwise, the...
The Speaker should allow a third meaningful vote on the Brexit deal
by Sir Stephen Laws | Mar 19, 2019
Related Content The Speaker is right that the “same question” rule is well precedented and would need consideration in this case. But it would be quite wrong to apply the “same question” rule to disallow a third meaningful vote on the Government’s Brexit deal. He has...Support Us
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