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The Kingdom to Come

The Kingdom to Come: Episode 1: Robin Butler

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Robin Butler

Episode 1

Episode 1: Robin Butler

BBC Radio 4 - The Kingdom to Come, Robin Butler

Peter Hennessy asks Robin Butler how further devolution will change the UK's constitution.

Peter Hennessy asks Robin Butler, former cabinet secretary, how the United Kingdom's constitution will be changed by further devolution.

In the first of a series of one-to-one conversations with senior figures in public life, Peter Hennessy, the historian, asks Robin Butler (Lord Butler of Brockwell), the former Cabinet Secretary, how the United Kingdom's constitution will change as a result of further devolution.

The hurried promises of further devolution made by political leaders during and immediately after the Scottish Referendum will fundamentally change how the United Kingdom is governed, with little opportunity for people to consider what this radical reform might mean or to discuss the constitutional implications.

This series explores the possible impact of further devolution on the United Kingdom's constitution. In each programme, Peter Hennessy invites his guests to draw on their different expertise in government, politics, the law and public ethics in considering questions of accountability, coherence and practicality. For example, would further devolution improve trust in politics? Is devolution practical unless it is accompanied by tax-raising powers? Is there a risk that varying degrees of devolution across the country could create an incoherent system? Would all citizens of the United Kingdom continue to enjoy equal rights? Would a federal constitution be viable? Are we heading towards the end of the United Kingdom?

Peter Hennessy's other guests in the series are William Hague MP, First Secretary of State and Leader of the House of Commons; Alistair Darling MP, former Chancellor of the Exchequer; Onora O'Neill (Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve), philosopher, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and former BBC Reith lecturer; and David Hope (Lord Hope of Craighead), former Deputy President of the United Kingdom's Supreme Court.

Producer: Rob Shepherd.

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Peter Hennessy asks public figures how further devolution might change the UK constitution

In a series of one-to-one conversations, Peter Hennessy asks senior public figures how the United Kingdom's constitution will be changed by further devolution.

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Episode 1: Robin Butler

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