Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has indicated he backs the creation of a written constitution for the United Kingdom, which unlike most nations lacks a single authoritative document.
Burnham, who took office two weeks ago after serving as mayor of Greater Manchester, has made devolving power to regional authorities a central theme of his administration. “In the end, I think it does start to point towards a new constitutional settlement,” he said over the weekend, linking his devolution agenda to broader constitutional reform.
Calling for “a new clear set of principles about how this country should be run,” Burnham argued that the absence of a codified constitution leaves citizens and regions disempowered.
“It’s wrong that people are left arguing for things that are just fundamental… and the lack of a constitution disempowers places in that situation,” he said.
Britain is governed by a patchwork of statutes, common law rulings and treaties rather than a single codified charter.
The idea of a written constitution has gained traction only in recent decades, with Labour’s Gordon Brown — prime minister from 2007 to 2010 — among its early advocates. Burnham served as a minister in Brown’s government.
A parliamentary committee later reviewed options for codification in a five‑year study, concluding in 2015 that there was no consensus.
Any serious attempt by Burnham to draft a constitution would be a lengthy process, likely requiring a major public inquiry and extensive consultations.
On Friday, he announced plans to allow regional mayors in England to retain a share of taxes collected locally, part of his drive to shift power away from London.
The UK comprising England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland underwent major constitutional reforms in the late 1990s, creating devolved parliaments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
But England itself remains one of Europe’s most centralised states, despite the introduction of regional mayors and other bodies in recent years, experts note.
