The Cabinet Manual: Why Britain's constitutional "highway code" needs updating

Podcast: Parliament Matters · Hansard Society

Opublikowano: 2026-06-04

The Cabinet Manual has been described as the “highway code” of the UK constitution, a guide that brings together the laws, conventions, precedents and procedures under which the Government operates. First published in 2011, it has not been updated since, despite a decade and a half of constitutional change. So why is the Government revising it now? What needs updating? Should Parliament have a role in approving it? And how important is the Manual as a guide to the UK’s unwritten constitution? The Government has described its response to the Mandelson Humble Address as an “unprecede...