Reshaping the British Constitution: Essays in Political Interpretation

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 12
Introduction......Page 14
Part I The Underpinnings of a Customary Constitution......Page 20
The constitution as practice......Page 22
Customary and codified constitutions: is Britain so exceptional?......Page 24
The underpinnings of liberal constitutionalism......Page 28
Some implications of a customary constitution......Page 31
Notes......Page 33
Consent and rights......Page 34
The rise and fall of negative liberty......Page 38
Authority and sovereignty......Page 41
A parliamentary executive......Page 44
Weakening the foundations of the customary constitution......Page 47
Notes......Page 51
A heritage of diffused powers: local self-government......Page 53
England\'s partners within the United Kingdom......Page 57
Pluralism harnessed to public purposes......Page 59
No theory of the State, but more power for the central government......Page 61
Notes......Page 65
Part II Institutions and Practices under the Customary Constitution......Page 68
Constitutional monarchy......Page 70
Symbolic and representational roles......Page 74
The Crown as a legal construct......Page 75
Crown and Church......Page 80
The churches \'established by law\'......Page 83
The monarchy, the Church and the moral life of the nation......Page 87
A rationalisation of monarchy?......Page 88
Notes......Page 89
A parliamentary executive......Page 92
From cabinet government to prime-ministerial government......Page 94
Responsibility and accountability in constitutional theory......Page 98
Accountability at large: the impulse to blame......Page 103
The constitutional status of civil servants......Page 107
The discretion of ministers as a centralising dynamic......Page 110
Notes......Page 113
6 Parliament: the Foundation of Legitimacy......Page 115
The House of Commons and the function of control......Page 116
The function of legislating......Page 119
From administrative to political scrutiny......Page 124
Institutional differentiation within the House of Commons......Page 130
The House of Lords......Page 137
What survives of sovereignty and government in and through Parliament?......Page 142
Notes......Page 149
The independence of the judiciary......Page 153
The judiciary as interpreter of the common law......Page 157
Recognition of a domain of public law......Page 162
The judiciary in public life and popular involvement in administering justice......Page 166
Notes......Page 169
Part III Reshaping the Constitution......Page 172
The reform agenda......Page 174
The rhetoric of reform: democratisation and modernisation......Page 179
Discarding history and tradition......Page 181
Notes......Page 185
Devolution models: the scheme for Scotland......Page 186
Devolution model 2: devising a scheme for Northern Ireland......Page 195
Devolution model 3: a qualified scheme for Wales......Page 201
The models of devolution compared......Page 206
Further steps towards decentralisation in the reform programme......Page 212
Notes......Page 219
10 Reform at the Centre: the Primacy of Politics......Page 222
Reform in Parliament: the House of Lords......Page 223
Reforming the House of Commons......Page 229
The political executive: presidential pretensions......Page 236
Politicians and officials: the weakening of the civil service ethos......Page 241
Notes......Page 248
From \'liberties and privileges\' to a code of rights......Page 250
Incorporation of the European convention of rights into British law......Page 253
The initial impact of the Human Rights Act 1998......Page 258
Human rights decisions: some illustrative examples of judicial conclusions......Page 261
Innovation and continuity in interpreting rights......Page 264
Proposals for further institutional reforms affecting the judiciary......Page 268
Notes......Page 271
From the European Communities to a European Union......Page 274
The impact on discretion in policy and law-making......Page 277
British law and EU law: who interprets what?......Page 281
Enlargement of the EU and the prospect of a constitution for Europe......Page 285
Playing down the consequences of \'ever closer union\'......Page 291
Notes......Page 294
The nature of the process of constitutional reform......Page 297
From precedent and history to performance and the future......Page 299
How is the form of government to be designated?......Page 301
Pluralism, diffusion of powers, checks and balances......Page 309
The rule of law and the rights of citizens......Page 313
The erosion of self-government......Page 317
Reshaping the constitution to suit the needs of elective dictatorship......Page 321
Notes......Page 328
Political institutions and politics......Page 331
Church and State......Page 332
D......Page 334
L......Page 335
P......Page 336
W......Page 337