Beyond Magna Carta: A Constitution for the United Kingdom

ISBN-13: 9781849463096 / Angielski / Twarda / 2015 / 314 str.

Andrew Blick

Opis

This work argues that the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta (in 2015) should be the occasion for a reassessment of the past, present, and future of the UK constitution. It considers a series of historical documents from Anglo-Saxon times onwards - among which Magna Carta is the most prominent - which sought to set out arrangements for the governance of England and later the UK as a whole. The book argues that they comprise a powerful tradition of written constitutional documents, and it stresses the importance of the European dimension to their introduction and content. It then considers the present nature of the UK constitution, describing the period of immense flux through which it has passed in recent decades, and the implications of this phase of change. The book identifies a need for a full written constitution for the UK as the next appropriate step, and it discusses the democratic processes suitable to devising such a text, as well as what its contents might be. This volume is absolutely essential to anyone who wants to appreciate the real meaning of Magna Carta and why we should celebrate it.- - Graham Allen MP, Chair, House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee *** -Beyond Magna Carta brings together the utility of a road map with the fascination of a changing cartography of political thought - all part of the constitutional development of these islands from the Great Charter of 1215 to the confusing aftermath of the Scottish Referendum of 2014. It is a superb work of explanation capped by intriguing suggestions of future possibilities.- - Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield, FBA, Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History, Queen Mary, University of London Subject: Legal History, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law]