Abstract
The British system of government is in the midst of radical change, which could lead eventually to the most extensive transformation of the way in which Britain is governed for 300 years. The changes not only affect specific institutions and processes, but have implications for long-entrenched constitutional principles. Textbooks on British government (including this one) must be rewritten extensively. All this needs saying at the outset, because it is insufficiently appreciated. This is partly because constitutional reform does not seem to excite the public, nor win elections. However it also partly reflects the Labour government’s rather low-key and fragmented approach to its own reform programme. A series of radical initiatives have been pursued almost in isolation from each other, and, critics suggest, uninformed by any overall vision. Thus the full significance of the reforms and their potential implications for the British Constitution have not generally been grasped.
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Further reading
Britain’s Constitution and constitutional reform has become a difficult and fast-changing topic. A useful overall account of the British Constitution before the Blair government’s reform programme is provided by Madgwick and Woodhouse (1995). Thoughtful reflections on the principles and practice of the traditional British Constitution have been provided by Johnson (1977) and Mount (1992). A more comprehensive account is provided by de Smith and Brazier (1994), and the more recent Hood-Phillips, Jackson and Leopold (2001). Chapter 12 on constitutions in Hague and Harrop (2001) provides some useful comparative background against which the very unusual British Constitution can be assessed.
On constitutional reform see the publications of the pressure group Charter 88 and its website www.charter88.org.uk. Holme and Eliot (1988) provides the background to its formation and programme. For academic commentary on the reforms, see works by Robert Hazel and the Constitution Unit, especially Constitutional Futures (1999), reviewing prospects for reform after the election of the Labour government, and The State and the Nations (2000) on the early record on devolution. There is a useful review by Vernon Bogdanor in Seldon (2001) of constitutional reform in Labour’s first term, and much relevant material in various chapters, especially those by Gamble and Bogdanor, in Dunleavy et al. (2003). Articles in journals such as Politics Review and Talking Politics provide useful updating on recent developments, but government, party and newspaper websites are the best sources for keeping abreast of current issues.
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© 2003 Bill Coxall, Lynton Robins and Robert Leach
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Coxall, B., Robins, L., Leach, R. (2003). The evolving British Constitution. In: Contemporary British Politics. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14821-9_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14821-9_11
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