Repairing British Politics
A Blueprint for Constitutional Change
2nd Edition
Published on 23. January 2025
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-1-5099-7911-0 (ISBN)
Description
The 1st edition of this seminal text was written as a response to the constitutional crisis of 2009, sparked by the 'expenses scandal', which led a general distrust of the UK's entire political order.
A decade on, it is no exaggeration to say that the situation has dramatically deteriorated. The UK's constitutional order faces an existential crisis, with Brexit placing unbearable pressure on the political and legal architecture. All this makes the need for a written Constitution more pronounced. Retaining the easily accessible style of the first edition, this book addresses how this might be put in place.
Part 1 sets out a number of arguments in favour of a written Constitution, as well as the most common objections. Part 2 presents a working draft in the form of one possible model for a Constitution. Observations and explanatory notes are attached to each section of this draft Constitution. This model Constitution is intended as the first stage in a public debate, designed to provoke further discussion about the content and method of legislating into law a written Constitution. Part 3 contains the draft of the Act of Parliament that would be needed to introduce any form of constitutional change.
Rarely has a book been more timely or essential.
A decade on, it is no exaggeration to say that the situation has dramatically deteriorated. The UK's constitutional order faces an existential crisis, with Brexit placing unbearable pressure on the political and legal architecture. All this makes the need for a written Constitution more pronounced. Retaining the easily accessible style of the first edition, this book addresses how this might be put in place.
Part 1 sets out a number of arguments in favour of a written Constitution, as well as the most common objections. Part 2 presents a working draft in the form of one possible model for a Constitution. Observations and explanatory notes are attached to each section of this draft Constitution. This model Constitution is intended as the first stage in a public debate, designed to provoke further discussion about the content and method of legislating into law a written Constitution. Part 3 contains the draft of the Act of Parliament that would be needed to introduce any form of constitutional change.
Rarely has a book been more timely or essential.
Reviews / Votes
... a must-read for anyone who wants to get a modern grip of our constitutional angst ... should be mandatory reading for those who want to think about this issue properly. -- Ian Caplin * Times Online * ... an outstanding piece of constitutional scholarship... it will be impossible for anyone to seriously engage with the debate about moving to a written constitution without having digested and considered Richard Gordon's work. -- C.J.S. Knight * Public Law, Issue 3 * [an] interesting and thought-provoking book...Creative and imaginative thinking -- John Jackson * Open Democracy * His observations and explanatory remarks contain some valuable insights. Practitioners and students of law and politics will find much of interest in this book. -- Jean McFadden * SCOLAG Legal Journal, Issue 409 * ... a coherent and well constructed argument in favour of a written constitution. It is a succinct yet masterful combination of politics, philosophy, constitutional theory, law and history, accessible to lawyers and non-lawyers alike. It is a must read for anyone interested in the future of the UK constitution. -- Qudsi Rasheed * JUSTICE Journal, Volume 7, Number 1 * In this work Gordon combines his expertise as a QC - specialising in administrative and public law and human rights - with an historical approach, to produce an argument about the need for change in the UK constitution, and a set of proposals about what it should become...it is informative and enjoyable to read, and fulfils its purpose well, in that it makes an effective case for a written constitution and could form a useful basis for discussions of what such an entity should comprise. -- Andrew Blick * Open Democracy * This book will enable even those unfamiliar with the complexities of the current system to discuss, and formulate views about, the issues. -- Dawn Oliver * International Journal of Law in Context, Volume 6, Issue 4 * [An] excellent example of the craft of the legal scholar and the political scientist [which] deserves close reading. -- Arthur Aughey * Parliamentary Affairs *More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 164 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
740 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5099-7911-0 (9781509979110)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Richard Gordon KC, a member of Brick Court Chambers, London, is recognised as one of the UK's leading silks in administrative and public law and human rights. He is a Visiting Professor at University College London and at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has acted in many of the most important public law and human rights cases in recent years, and appears regularly before the House of Lords and Court of Appeal and in foreign jurisdictions as well as before the ECJ and European Court of Human Rights.
Content
Glossary of Essential Terms
Part 1: Setting the Scene
1. Outline of the Book
2. Why We Need a Written Constitution
3. Power to the People
4. Power-sustaining Devices
5. Parliamentary Sovereignty
6. No-one Ever Voted for Parliamentary Sovereignty
7. Why Parliamentary Sovereignty Doesn't Work
8. The Need for a Public Debate
9. The Virtues of Representative Democracy
10. Drafting a Written Constitution: The Practicalities
11. Contents of a Written Constitution
12. Repairing British Politics: The Proposals
13. Towards the Future
Key Points
Part 2: A Draft Constitution for the United Kingdom
Preamble
1. The State and the Constitution (Arts 1-9)
2. Lawmaking (Arts 10-31)
3. The House of Representatives (Arts 32-56)
4. The Senate (Arts 57-97)
5. Executive Government (Arts 88-118)
6. Emergency Powers (Arts 119-127)
7. Political Parties (Arts 128-135)
8. The Judiciary (Arts 136-173)
9. Fundamental Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities (Arts 174-224)
10. The Citizens' Branch (Arts 225-229)
11. Other Aspects of Government (Arts 230-242)
12. Constitutional Conventions (Arts 243-245)
13. Constitutional Changes and Referendums (Arts 246-252)
14. Interpretation and Final Matters (Arts 253-255)
Part 3: The Constitution of Britain (Referendums) Act
1. Referendum on a Written Constitution
2. Second Referendum on the Content of a Written Constitution
3. Implementation of the Second Referendum
4. Supplementary
5. Schedules
Part 1: Setting the Scene
1. Outline of the Book
2. Why We Need a Written Constitution
3. Power to the People
4. Power-sustaining Devices
5. Parliamentary Sovereignty
6. No-one Ever Voted for Parliamentary Sovereignty
7. Why Parliamentary Sovereignty Doesn't Work
8. The Need for a Public Debate
9. The Virtues of Representative Democracy
10. Drafting a Written Constitution: The Practicalities
11. Contents of a Written Constitution
12. Repairing British Politics: The Proposals
13. Towards the Future
Key Points
Part 2: A Draft Constitution for the United Kingdom
Preamble
1. The State and the Constitution (Arts 1-9)
2. Lawmaking (Arts 10-31)
3. The House of Representatives (Arts 32-56)
4. The Senate (Arts 57-97)
5. Executive Government (Arts 88-118)
6. Emergency Powers (Arts 119-127)
7. Political Parties (Arts 128-135)
8. The Judiciary (Arts 136-173)
9. Fundamental Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities (Arts 174-224)
10. The Citizens' Branch (Arts 225-229)
11. Other Aspects of Government (Arts 230-242)
12. Constitutional Conventions (Arts 243-245)
13. Constitutional Changes and Referendums (Arts 246-252)
14. Interpretation and Final Matters (Arts 253-255)
Part 3: The Constitution of Britain (Referendums) Act
1. Referendum on a Written Constitution
2. Second Referendum on the Content of a Written Constitution
3. Implementation of the Second Referendum
4. Supplementary
5. Schedules