Brexit, Parliament and the Constitution: UK In A Changing Europe Senior Fellowship

该奖学金将支持梅格·罗素教授，伦敦大学学院宪法部门主任，英国议会和宪制政治的主要权威之一，就英国脱欧、议会和宪法进行研究和辩论。英国脱欧的决定给议会带来了特别紧张的气氛，随着辩论的深入，这种紧张气氛变得更加突出。2016年的公投虽然得到了议会的批准，但结果却与大多数议员的个人偏好相冲突。政府没有就“脱欧”意味着什么提出明确的愿景。自公投以来，议会越来越多地宣称自己在决定前进方向方面的作用。但这一直存在争议，人们对下议院议长、政府后座议员、反对派和上议院的作用提出了批评和质疑。在撰写本文时，下议院尚未就英国脱欧协议达成一致，结果也不确定。可能性包括“硬”脱欧或“无协议”脱欧，“软”脱欧，根本不脱欧，或者进行进一步的公投。研究金的中心研究重点将是议会的作用。申请人以前的研究主要集中在议会的权力和政策影响上。这一主题将在英国脱欧的背景下展开，详细分析议会在多大程度上、如何影响政策结果，以及由于谁的影响。这项工作将通过仔细的文献分析和对相关高级人物的采访来进行，可能会出版一本书和几篇论文。这些文件将记录议会影响选举过程的方式，以及至关重要的是，这对议会在英国宪法中未来的角色可能意味着什么——包括政府和议会之间的权力平衡。另一个详细的研究主题将是媒体和议员本身如何讨论议会在实施全民公决方面的适当作用。传统上，“议会主权”（最高决策权是议会）一直被视为不成文的英国宪法的核心。但全民公决强调“人民主权”（即人民的决定高于议会的决定）。通过研究议会和媒体的辩论，该项目将评估观点是否从支持一种原则转变为支持另一种原则。这项研究还将探讨议会内部的决策。英国脱欧辩论引发了各种问题，包括议长的权力和议员与政府决定议会议程的权利。申请人曾在议会内外处理过这些问题，他将审查这些问题，并就需要改变的地方（如果有的话）提交一份报告。该奖学金将促进公众和决策者在这些主题以及英国脱欧和宪法等更广泛问题上的高度传播和参与。每年将举行两次专题讨论会或圆桌会议，由学者、决策者、记者和广大公众参加。这些资金将用于研究，以及非学术出版物，包括博客文章、简短简报和社交媒体参与。其中一项公共活动将是为期一天的大型会议。除了上述主题外，可能的主题还包括议会需要如何适应英国脱欧后的政策环境，未来的公投应该如何进行（包括可能的进一步脱欧公投），以及英国脱欧对英国联盟的影响以及苏格兰，威尔士和北爱尔兰权力下放的动态。除了这些活动和研究成果之外，该奖学金还将为罗素教授腾出更多的时间，通过媒体、公众会议和其他渠道（如向议会委员会提供证据）为公众辩论做出贡献。

This Fellowship will support Professor Meg Russell, Director of the UCL Constitution Unit and one of the UK's leading authorities on parliament and constitutional politics, to produce research and contribute to debates on Brexit, parliament and the constitution.The decision to leave the EU has created particular tensions for parliament, which have become more prominent as debates have developed. The 2016 referendum, although itself approved by parliament, gave a result that conflicted with most parliamentarians' personal preferences. The government had offered no clear vision of what 'Leave' should mean. Since the referendum, parliament has increasingly asserted its role in deciding the way forward. But this has been controversial, with criticism and questions about the role of the House of Commons Speaker, government backbenchers, the opposition and the House of Lords. At time of writing the Commons had yet to agree a Brexit deal, and the outcome was uncertain. Possibilities included a 'hard' or 'no deal' Brexit, a 'soft' Brexit, no Brexit at all, or a further referendum.The central research focus of the Fellowship would be parliament's role. The applicant's previous research has focused substantially on parliament's power and policy impact. This theme would be developed in the Brexit context, with a detailed analysis of the extent to which, how, and thanks to whom, parliament has affected policy outcomes. Such work would be conducted through a combination of careful documentary analysis and interviews with senior figures involved, likely resulting in a book and several papers. These would document both the ways in which parliament has influenced the process, and crucially what this is likely to mean for the future of parliament's role in the British constitution - including the balance of power between government and parliament.Another detailed research theme would be how the media, and parliamentarians themselves, have discussed parliament's proper role vis-a-vis implementation of the referendum. Traditionally, 'parliamentary sovereignty' (whereby the highest decision-making authority is parliament) has been seen as central to the unwritten British constitution. But referendums emphasise 'popular sovereignty' (whereby the people's decisions trump those of parliament). By studying parliamentary and media debates the project would assess whether views are shifting from support for one principle to the other.The research would also explore decision-making inside parliament itself. The Brexit debates have raised various questions including about the power of the Speaker and rights of MPs versus the government to decide parliament's agenda. The applicant, who has worked on such issues before both inside and outside parliament, will review these questions and produce a report on what, if anything, needs to change.The Fellowship would facilitate a high degree of public and policymaker dissemination and engagement, on these topics and broader questions of Brexit and the constitution. Two seminars or roundtables will be held each year on topical issues, involving academics, policymakers, journalists and the wider public. These will feed the research, and also non-academic publications, including blog posts, short briefings, and social media engagement. One public event will be a larger one day conference. As well as the topics indicated above, possible themes include how parliament needs to adapt to a post-Brexit policy environment, how future referendums should be conducted (including a possible further referendum on Brexit), and the effects of Brexit on the UK Union and dynamics of devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.In addition to these events and research outputs, the Fellowship would free up greater time for Professor Russell to contribute to public debates through the media, public meetings and other outlets such as evidence to parliamentary committees.