Devolution plans strengthen case for written UK constitution, says Burnham

Andy Burnham has said his programme of devolution strengthens the case for a written constitution for the UK, a move that would fundamentally alter the workings of the state that have developed over centuries. The prime minister has long believed the UK’s “antiquated” political system needs a dramatic overhaul if opportunity is to be shared equally across the country. The UK is one of only a few major democracies without a written constitution, a document that codifies how a nation is governed within a set of fundamental rules. In a potentially historic shift, Burnham said this weekend that his government’s programme of decentralisation – which includes giving regional leaders much greater control over their finances – strengthens the argument for a codified arrangement. “It will increase the case for a constitution because Britain is changing through this, England is certainly changing through this,” he said. Burnham said the UK needed to devise a codified model of devolution that works for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the English regions. “In the end, I think it does start to point towards a new constitutional settlement … with that commitment to equivalent living standards,” he said, adding that his pledge of “good growth in every postcode” was “more than just a soundbite”. Burnham described the further devolution measures outlined on Friday as the most radical departure from Britain’s overcentralised political establishment. The “rewiring” of the UK had “gone to a new level of seriousness” and was centred on shifting decision-making outside Whitehall to mayors and local authorities through No 10 North. Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said introducing a written constitution would be a “huge departure” for the UK. Historically, most countries did it “in the wake of a revolution or a war that has removed or delegitimised the former regime”. It is unclear how the UK government would go about such significant constitutional change at the same time as pursuing Burnham’s agenda on issues such as devolution, social care and public control of utilities. While it would bring the UK into line with other democracies such as the US, Bale said it could “represent a major constraint on the executive … because it would presumably put the rules of the game beyond the power of parliament to change with a simple majority”. He added: “One of the upsides is that it might better define the competencies of the various levels of government – local, regional and national. But there is no way he will be able to limit it to that.” In his 2024 book Head North, written with the Liverpool city region mayor, Steve Rotheram, Burnham said deep inequality had become entrenched in Britain partly because it had not evolved from a “feudal state” in which power is largely concentrated in Westminster. “Our failure fully to set out the rules for how the country should be run is one of the principal reasons why Britain is one of the most unequal major countries in the world,” he wrote. “Our unwritten and murky constitutional arrangements have had the effect of hoarding power in a small number of hands – in Whitehall and Westminster and, by extension, in the powerful networks of institutions and vested interests that surround them.” Burnham has cited as inspiration Germany’s postwar basic law, or Grundgesetz, which stipulates there must be equivalent living standards in all the country’s states, with the wealthier regions redistributing their funds across the nation. Under devolution plans announced last week, by early 2028 regional mayors across England will be able to keep a share of income tax generated in their area. Under proposals to be published in late October, it is expected that economic powerhouses, such as London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, will hand some of their share to less prosperous regions, such as Hull and East Yorkshire. Dr Hannah White, the chief executive of the Institute for Government, said: “Adopting a written constitution – of the kind almost every other country already has – would represent a very significant constitutional shift for the UK and be a major exercise. A fully codified constitution would need to go far beyond devolution to encompass all the rules which structure the UK state.”