Labour's reforms of the UK's constitutional arrangements promise an overhaul of the constitution. A conference was held Cambridge University to discuss the legal and practical implications of the reforms. Papers given are reproduced in this volume.
The years since New Labour came to power in 1997 have seen changes to the British institutions of political power on an unprecedented scale. The reforms have been widespread, ranging from devolution of power in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to the reform of the House of Lords and the changing role of the Monarchy. This book is the first to examine these changes collectively and in detail, placing each in its historical context, analysing problems, solutions and what the future holds for this ambitious period of reforms. The book is comprehensive in coverage, and accessibly written. As such it should be the ideal resource for undergraduate students of British Politics seeking to make sense of this complex subject.
The Labour Government's proposals for reform of the UK's internal constitutional arrangements promise the most wide-ranging and substantial overhaul of the constitution this century. Their plans, which include devolution for Scotland and Wales, incorporation of the ECHR, a Freedom of Information Bill and reform of both houses of Parliament are already far progressed, but critical choices have still to be made. Against this background, and in view of these historical events, the Directors of the Centre for Public Law at the University of Cambridge recently organised a major conference to discuss.
The purpose of the book is to raise awareness of the uniqueness of the United Kingdom’s unwritten constitution and to make it clear how the devolution of powers to the home nations, begun in 1998, coupled with the trials and tribulations associated with Brexit.
Any attempt at comparing contemporary change in the UK and France is a bold one, since it means discussing two very different countries with strong distinctive constitutional identities. This book places its emphasis on the shared historical, political and cultural background of the UK and France, before focusing on the sweeping transformation of their constitutional frameworks in the past quarter of a century at a national and regional level – with a particular emphasis on Wales and Scotland – which culminated in the June 2016 referendum on Britain’s EU membership. Instead of examining each country separately, however, as is traditional, this study breaks new ground by explaining the pattern of institutional development in Britain and France from a comparative Franco-British perspective. It explores the complexities of recent constitutional change in both countries in an original and comprehensive way, and gives both British and French readers a deeper understanding of the two countries that have some much in common even though Brexit could drive them apart.
The third edition of Constitutional Reform examines central government, Parliament, and the judiciary in Britain and proposes an agenda for reform. In addition to issues such as voting reform, reform of House of Lords and how citizens' rights might be better protected, the book considers thebest methods through which such changes should be achieved and provides material for the international comparison of constitutions. Whilst the book has been fully revised and updated to provide a retrospective analysis of the major constitutional reforms of Tony Blair's premiership, it is notlimited to that government's agenda and includes material on previous government's reforms and Gordon Brown's reform agenda.The third edition includes two new chapters, one on the structure and possible future of the United Kingdom and the other on whether the United Kingdom should adopt a codified constitution. It retains the clarity and lucid writing style of previous editions and features an expanded bibliographyenabling readers to follow up points of particular interest. The book provides detailed coverage of British constitutional reform in the early twenty-first century and whilst aimed primarily at students of constitutional law, politics and government, it will also be of interest to the generalreader.
This new account of constitutional reform in the UK offers a detailed discussion of all the significant changes that have developed following the elections of 1997 and 2001. Issues discussed include the recent devolution of power in Scotland and elections of Assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland; reform of the House of Lords and the system of hereditary peers; the influence of the Human Rights Act; changes to electoral systems and party funding; and the significance of the European dimension on the British Constitution. Written in a straightforward and accessible style, the text is well referenced to aid further research and offers an extensive bibliography and list of official publications. It is essential reading for all those studying constitutional law and reform as part of their law or politics degree programmes.
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Justice Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215540581
Category: Law
Page: 56
View: 101
The Committee recognises the appetite in many quarters for fundamental constitutional change and welcomes the Government's renewed focus on constitutional reform and renewal in response to this. It is surprised by the limited provisions in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, and fears that this may be a missed opportunity to make progress in some areas of reform. Any programme introducing fundamental change should be carefully constructed and aimed at a coherent outcome taking into account the widest possible range of views and allowing sufficient time for consideration and response. The Government's approach to constitutional reform has been ad hoc and piecemeal. Reform must underpinned by a set of constitutional principles based on a proper understanding of the position and role of Parliament in relation to the other institutions of state. The report covers the Parliamentary Standards Bill, House of Lords reform, a written constitution, stronger powers to local government, electoral reform, young people's engagement with politics, freedom of information. The Committee cautions that inappropriate handling of bills and proposals for reform specifically designed to restore public trust may further undermine that trust.
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'.
This book examines the current debate about constitutional reform. Included in this new edition is a chapter on the Labour Government's plans to reform the system of government.
