Constitutional ‘Restorationism’ on the Contemporary British Right: Redeeming the Constitution of Liberty?

The nature, legitimacy and efficacy of the British constitution have become subjects of renewed political contestation. This article identifies and conceptualises an emerging political narrative—‘constitutional restoration’—on the British right. This narrative connects long‐standing conservative concerns, particularly over post‐1997 constitutional reforms, with recent controversies surrounding Brexit, pandemic governance, irregular immigration and asylum, confidence in the judiciary and policing and economic stagnation. It presents Britain's various contemporary challenges as the common product of constitutional transformation, centred on the expansion of rights‐based legal constitutionalism, judicial authority, agencies and statutory constraints on Parliament, which supposedly disrupt Britain's political constitutional tradition and equilibrium, democratic responsiveness and national identity. So‐called constitutional restoration, rather than piecemeal policy reform, is thus prescribed and argued to be historically precedented, with Brexit conceptualised as representing a first step. The article traces the emergence of this narrative, demonstrates and explains its growing political resonance and considers its constitutional insights and limitations.