Vernon Bogdanor

The New British Constitution (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

The last decade has seen radical changes in the way we are governed. Reforms such as the Human Rights Act and devolution have led to the replacement of one constitutional order by another. This book is the first to describe and analyse Britain's new constitution, asking why it was that the old system, seemingly hallowed by time, came under challenge, and why it is being replaced.

The Human Rights Act and the devolution legislation have the character of fundamental law. They in practice limit the rights of Westminster as a sovereign parliament, and establish a constitution which is quasi-federal in nature. The old constitution emphasised the sovereignty of Parliament. The new constitution, by contrast, emphasises the separation of powers, both territorially and at the centre of government.

The aim of constitutional reformers has been to improve the quality of government. But the main weakness of the new constitution is that it does little to secure more popular involvement in politics. We are in the process of becoming a constitutional state, but not a popular constitutional state. The next phase of constitutional reform, therefore, is likely to involve the creation of new forms of democratic engagement, so that our constitutional forms come to be more congruent with the social and political forces of the age. The end-point of this piecemeal process might well be a fully codified or written constitution which declares that power stems not from the Queen-in Parliament, but, instead, as in so many constitutions, from `We, the People'.

The old British constitution was analysed by Bagehot and Dicey. In this book Vernon Bogdanor charts the significance of what is coming to replace it.

The expenses scandal shows up grave defects in the British constitution. Vernon Bogdanor shows how the constitution can be reformed and the political system opened up in`The New British Constitution'.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK eBooks
• Seitenzahl: 334
• Erscheinungstermin: 3. Juni 2009
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781847317148
• Artikelnr.: 41510680

Autorenporträt

Vernon Bogdanor was, until 2010, Professor of Government at Oxford University. He is now a Research Professor at King's College, London, Gresham Professor of Law, a Fellow of the British Academy and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.

Inhaltsangabe

PART I: THE OLD CONSTITUTION1 A Peculiar Constitution2 The Old Constitution Under StrainPART II: THE NEW CONSTITUTION3 The Human Rights Act: Cornerstone of the New Constitution4 Devolution5 Hung Parliaments: Governing without a Majority6 A Reformed House of Lords7 The Referendum8 The New Government of London9 Towards a Written Constitution?PART III: BEYOND THE NEW CONSTITUTION10 A New Localism?11 The Constitutional State12 Towards a Popular Constitutional State: Democracy and Participation

Rezensionen

In explaining how this new British constitution has emerged in the space of a political generation, Bogdanor is not only an insightful but also a congenial companion. His mastery of the subject is conveyed in a conversational style which makes the book a pleasure to read and for this reason The New British Constitution will appeal to the widest possible readership. I am reluctant to end a review of such a valuable book with a cliché but in this case it is warranted. It is a 'must read' for anyone interested in British politics. Arthur Aughey The Journal of Legislative Studies, Volume 15, No. 4