Latest Blogs

The Queen’s Speech and Levelling Up: Anyone for Governor of Wessex?
The Bill covers a huge range of policy space, similar to the Levelling Up White Paper tabled in February. In fact, many of the proposals are those put forward in the White Paper. For example, there will be a requirement for the Government to release annual reports on the Levelling Up “missions”, creating a framework to devolve power through ‘devolution deals’ in every part of the country by 2030, and greater local input in planning. The Government will also use the bill to reform how local infrastructure is funded by a new “infrastructure levy” which will give local communities more input in how the money is spent, compared to the existing Section 106 process.
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The Queen’s Speech and Deregulation: Who will regulate the regulators? Time for more parliamentary scrutiny
The Government confirmed it will introduce a Brexit Freedoms Bill, first announced by the Prime Minister in January 2022. Plans for the Bill were set out in The benefits of Brexit white paper, which outlined the Government’s broad ambition to make the UK the “best regulated economy in the world”. The Bill will remove the supremacy of EU law and make it easier for Ministers to amend, repeal, or replace retained EU law.
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The Queen’s Speech and Health & Social Care Reform: What was not announced may be more significant than what was announced
The passage of the centrepiece Health and Care Act during the previous session of this Parliament meant that this year’s Queen Speech had a smaller offering for health and social care. A number of priority commitments set out in March as part of the Annual Mandate (which sets out the Government’s priorities for the NHS) were repeated. The priorities are well understood: bring down the elective waiting list; deliver additional diagnostic capacity, including 100 community diagnostic centres; and make progress on the hospital building programme.
read moreLatest Publications



The Queen’s Speech and Levelling Up: Anyone for Governor of Wessex?
The Bill covers a huge range of policy space, similar to the Levelling Up White Paper tabled in February. In fact, many of the proposals are those put forward in the White Paper. For example, there will be a requirement for the Government to release annual reports on the Levelling Up “missions”, creating a framework to devolve power through ‘devolution deals’ in every part of the country by 2030, and greater local input in planning. The Government will also use the bill to reform how local infrastructure is funded by a new “infrastructure levy” which will give local communities more input in how the money is spent, compared to the existing Section 106 process.
read more


The Queen’s Speech and Deregulation: Who will regulate the regulators? Time for more parliamentary scrutiny
The Government confirmed it will introduce a Brexit Freedoms Bill, first announced by the Prime Minister in January 2022. Plans for the Bill were set out in The benefits of Brexit white paper, which outlined the Government’s broad ambition to make the UK the “best regulated economy in the world”. The Bill will remove the supremacy of EU law and make it easier for Ministers to amend, repeal, or replace retained EU law.
read more


The Queen’s Speech and Health & Social Care Reform: What was not announced may be more significant than what was announced
The passage of the centrepiece Health and Care Act during the previous session of this Parliament meant that this year’s Queen Speech had a smaller offering for health and social care. A number of priority commitments set out in March as part of the Annual Mandate (which sets out the Government’s priorities for the NHS) were repeated. The priorities are well understood: bring down the elective waiting list; deliver additional diagnostic capacity, including 100 community diagnostic centres; and make progress on the hospital building programme.
read moreLatest Events


“Staying the course: managing challenges to UK energy policy”
Policy Exchange host a discuss on the scale and pace of change needed for the UK to achieve its future decarbonisation goals. read more
Latest Events


Governing Power: Improving the administration of the GB energy industry
Policy Exchange hosts a discussion on how our energy industry are markets are run. read more
Upcoming Event


Rethinking CO2: how can we put it to use?
Policy Exchange hosts the Rt Hon Lord Deben PC and others to discuss the potential of Carbon Capture and Use technologies. read more


Judicial Policy Project
Latest Publications
Reforming the Lord Chancellor’s Role in Senior Judicial Appointments
Richard Ekins and Professor Graham GeeThe system for appointing senior judges needs to be reformed. In this paper, we explain what has gone wrong and what should now be done to put it right. We take senior appointments to include the High Court, the Court of Appeal, leadership roles such as the Lord Chief Justice (the Head of the Judiciary in England and Wales) and Heads of Division (Master of the Rolls, President of the Queen’s Bench Division, President of the Family Division, and Chancellor of the High Court) and the Supreme Court. Our focus is therefore only on appointments to senior courts in England and Wales and to the UK Supreme Court, and not to senior judicial offices in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Ten Ways to Improve the Overseas Operations Bill
Richard Ekins and John LarkinThis short paper sets out ten ways in which the Overseas Operations Bill could be amended to improve its effectiveness and to minimise the risk of unintended consequences. None of the proposed changes are wrecking amendments. Like many parliamentarians, we share the concern about the way in which the law has been applied to UK forces and about the risks that litigation may pose to the UK’s capacity to defend itself. But legislation to correct these problems must be carefully framed. The ten changes we propose for Parliament’s consideration (the first two of which are alternatives to each other) would, in our view, help to minimise the objections that have been made to the Bill while improving the Bill’s effectiveness as a means to secure the Government’s intended policy.
The Case for Reforming Judicial Review
Richard EkinsThis paper is the text of a submission made on behalf of Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project to the Independent Review of Administrative Law. It complements the related submission made by Sir Stephen Laws. Since its foundation, a little over five years ago, Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project has argued that the inflation of judicial power unsettles the balance of our constitution and threatens to compromise parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, and effective government. While the inflation has in part been a function of human rights law and European integration, the Project has consistently argued that it also arises in the context of “ordinary” judicial review and statutory interpretation – a number of high-profile cases decided between 2015 and 2020 confirm the point.
Latest Blogs
Supreme Court Reform
In the wake of our August paper, Reforming the Supreme Court, Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project is pleased to publish a new symposium on Supreme Court reform, in which distinguished legal commentators engage with the question of how and by whom appellate authority should be exercised.
Our Ultimate Appellate Court
The politically febrile aftermath of Miller I[1] and Miller II[2]is not an ideal time to consider the reform of our Supreme Court. Those decisions seemed, at the time, of enormous political significance, and partisans for the losing side (I am not one) may appear to be motivated by a desire for revenge.
There are two bad arguments for the reform of our ultimate level of appeal that I disassociate myself from at the outset.
Some reasons for scepticism about a new War Powers Act
The Labour Party manifesto, published last week, promises that the first year of a Labour government would see the introduction of “a War Powers Act to ensure that no prime minister can bypass Parliament to commit to conventional military action”. Enacting legislation of this kind would be a major change in our constitutional arrangements. The risk is that it would distort decision-making about the use of force and would undermine political responsibility for its use.
Latest News
Policy Exchange’s Richard Ekins gives evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee
Policy ExchangeProfessor Richard Ekins, Head of Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power project, gave spoken evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Defence on investigations in fatalities involving British service personnel
Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project mentioned in House of Lords
Martin KendrickPolicy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project was praised by Lord Faulks in the House of Lords during a debate on Article 50. He said, “There is an important debate to be had about the proper reach of judicial power—one that is taking place under the auspices of Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project.”
Policy Exchange’s Richard Ekins gives evidence to Defence sub-Committee inquiry, and comments on the inquiry’s final report
Policy ExchangeRichard Ekins, Head of Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project (JPP), recently gave evidence to the Defence sub-Committee inquiry ‘MoD support for former and serving personnel subject to judicial processes’. Here, you can read his submission; the inquiry’s final report; the JPP’s response to the report; and a speech given, in 2014, by the Secretary of State for Defence, which highlights Policy Exchange’s continued role in highlighting and pushing for action on this issue.
Latest Events
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