“The generals are always prepared to fight the last war” as the saying goes, and the same applies to the head of state debate.
Privy Council v the Supreme Court: a forgotten debate
It has been 5 years since the last New Zealand appeal to the Privy Council was decided, and 20 since the third attempt to abolish appears to the Privy Council was kicked off by then Attorney-General Margaret Wilson. I was reminded last week of how quickly we’d forgotten this debate and the tumult over how it would all work. It is, in a way, a sign of how the head of state debate will go, and probably be remembered…
The strange obsession with Magna Carta
Monarchy is always, always always better?
Brexit: Monarch is not a constitutional check
For years, supporters of the monarchy have claimed that the Queen represents a significant constitutional check on our politicians and is politically neutral. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request to the Queen to prorogue (essentially suspend) parliament for a period, whatever your thoughts are on Brexit, highlighted this contradictory claim. If there's anyone who should not be surprised at the anger being directed at the Queen for her decision to follow hundreds of years of constitutional conventions, it should be those supporters.
