Tag Archives: Privy Council

How an arcane piece of parliamentary procedure may force the government to release its Brexit impact assessment studies

Posted on November 21, 2017 by Andrew Defty

An opposition day debate last Wednesday saw the Labour Party deploy an obscure piece of parliamentary procedure which may force the government into releasing its Brexit impact studies. By means of a little-known procedure called a motion for a return, … Continue reading →

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Propping up the dignified elements of the constitution: the peculiarities of the Court Circular

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Andrew Defty

Tucked away at the back of The Times newspaper, somewhere between the obituaries and the weather, is the Court Circular. The Court Circular is a record of the previous day’s royal engagements. It is a peculiar report consisting of a … Continue reading →

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Should Jeremy Corbyn join the Privy Council?

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Andrew Defty

Jeremy Corbyn’s apparent failure to be sworn in as a member of the Privy Council when it met last week has generated a level of interest which this archaic and obscure institution has not enjoyed for some time. I have written previously … Continue reading →

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Last preserve of the ‘establishment’? Who are the Privy Council?

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Andrew Defty

This week the Privy Council will make a decision about the form of press regulation to be introduced following the Leveson Inquiry, but what exactly is this mystical body which is being invoked to solves the nation’s problems? The Privy … Continue reading →

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