Plans for ministers who aren't in parliament raise concerns for UK democracy – constitutional expert

By Stephen Clear, Lecturer in Constitutional and Administrative Law, and Public Procurement, Bangor University

The UK prime minister currently chooses his or her ministers from membership of the Houses of Parliament. But a new commission has suggested that the PM should be able to appoint ministers who don’t take seats in the Commons or the Lords.

The recommendations come from a report by the Commission for Smart Government. Set up as a cross-party initiative in 2020, the independent body has been tasked with examining ways in which the machinery of government can be more effective.

The commission argues that giving prime…

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