The Unwritten Constitution of the United Kingdom

Abstract

There has been much talk of constitutional reform in recent years, but the changes that have actually been taking place have often differed markedly from those that the Government has professed to espouse and have shaken the foundations of the previous system without following any coherent overall plan. Written constitutions are not without shortcomings; the conventions that held the old British constitution in place are in any case difficult to codify or enforce. But a pressing problem with an unwritten constitution is that there is no special mechanism for constitutional change. Recent reforms have therefore become associated with short-term political expediency and spin. The cure is not simple.1As a tribute to Professor Sir John Baker QC, who has served as a member of the Editorial Board since the Ecclesiastical Law Journal's foundation and energetically continues to do so,2 I am pleased to reproduce the lightly edited text of his British Academy Maccabbaean Lecture.3 Delivered in 2009, though still topical today, it provides a cautionary critique of the direction of travel in the evolution of the United Kingdom's unwritten constitution which I hope will serve as a prelude to an occasional series of articles and comment in the pages of this Journal considering the role of the spiritual within the constitution and the established nature of the Church of England in the twenty-first century. Matters that have been ignored or marginalised in the recent constitutional revolution include the role of the Prime Minister in the appointment of bishops and archbishops and the ecclesiastical patronage exercised by the Lord Chancellor. [Editor]