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Vernon Bogdanor once told the Guardian that he made 'a living of something that doesn't exist'. He also quipped that the British Constitution can be summed up in eight words: 'Whatever the Queen in Parliament decides is law.' That may still be the case, yet in many ways the once elusive British Constitution has now become much more grounded, much more tangible and much more based on written sources than was previously the case. It now exists in a way in which it previously did not.
However, though the changes may seem revolutionary, much of the underlying structure remains unchanged - there are limits to the changes. Even the much-debated Human Rights Act 1998 is subject to repeal. Where does all this leave the Constitution? Here constitutional experts, political scientists and legal practitioners present up-to-date and in-depth commentaries on their respective areas of expertise. While also a Festschrift in honour of Vernon Bogdanor, this book is above all a comprehensive compendium on the present state of the British Constitution.
- Author Biographies
- Introduction: The British Constitution - Continuity and Change Matt Qvortrup
- 1.
The Changing Constitution in Context David Butler - 2.
Constitutional Reform Since 1997: The Historians' Perspective Mike Finn and Anthony Seldon - 3.
The Constitution and the Public - How Voters Forgot the Constitution Peter Riddell - 4.
'Let Me Take You to a Foreign Land': The Political and the Legal Constitution Matt Qvortrup - 5.
The Politics-Free Dimension to the UK Constitution Dawn Oliver - 6.
Constitutional Conventions David Feldman- 7.
Continuity and Change in Constitutional Conventions Joseph Jaconelli - 8.
'The Three Hundred and Seven Year Itch': Scotland and the 2014 Independence Referendum Stephen Tierney - 9.
Constitutional Change and Parliamentary Sovereignty - the Impossible Dialectic Richard Gordon QC- 10.
Queen Elizabeth II and the Evolution of the Monarchy Robert Blackburn - 11.
Constitutional Justice and Constitutional Politics in France Denis Baranger Epilogue
Matt Qvortrup teaches in Comparative Politics and Constitutional Law at Cranfield University. Qvortrup earned his doctorate at Brasenose College, Oxford. He has worked as a consultant for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and was a special envoy for the US State Department in the Sudan in 2009. The winner of the PSA Prize for best paper in British Journal of Politics and International Relations in 2012, and the Oxford University Press Law Prize 2012, he is a regular contributor to current affairs programmes on the BBC.
'The new constitutional politics has spawned a new constitutional scholarship. This stimulating collection, skilfully put together by Matt Qvortrup, works both as a welcome snapshot of where we are now and as an expert audit, from specialists in law, history and political science, of the deeper issues and of the complex dynamics of continuity and change in the ongoing refashioning of Britain's constitutional architecture.'
Kevin Theakston, Professor of British Government, University of Leeds
'The highly distinguished team of scholars assembled by Matt Qvortrup has produced a deeply thought-provoking collection on the profound constitutional changes that have occurred in the UK over the last twenty years. A book worthy of reaching a very wide readership.'
Roger Scully, Professor of Political Science, Cardiff University
'Vernon Bogdanor understands like few others the connections between history, politics and institutions - and that is what makes him such an authority on the British system of government.'
The Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Prime Minister
