Reforming the Constitution

Abstract

This collection takes as its subject how and why the British constitution developed during the course of the 20th century. In chapters that analyse in detail the evolution of various aspects of the constitution, this work explores debates about how the constitution ought to operate and the political goods it ought to secure among politicians, jurists and academics. In addition, it looks at the influence of political parties, nationalism, social and economic change, European integration, and the contests in over particular reforms in Parliament, courts, media and on the hustings. This book examines the way and extent to which constitutional practice elsewhere has shaped the debates in Britain - whether the challenges posed by the emission of a colonial empire, developments in the USA and the Commonwealth, or the influence of European practice of devices, such as the European Convention on Human Rights. In the process it provides a comprehensive account of the continual evolution of the British constitution from secrecy to citizenship, and of the way in which this constitution mediated the relationship between the British state and people in the 20th century.