Philip Norton

"This group of studies first appeared in a special issue of The journal of legislative studies ... Vol. 4, No. 4 (Winter 1998)"--Title page verso.

"A Century of Constitutional Reform is a detailed study of major constitutional legislation in the United Kingdom enacted over the last century since the passage of the Parliament Act 1911. The book encompasses Acts that have served to reshape the constitutional landscape of the nation. It also takes a comprehensive look at the major constitutional landmarks that have shaped the relationship between the following: the two Houses of Parliament (the Parliament Act 1911, the House of Lords Act 1999); the different regions of the United Kingdom (the Scotland Act 1998); the UK and the rest of Europe (the European Communities Act 1972); Parliament and the people (the Representation of the People Act 1918), and the state and the individual (the Human Rights Act 1998). It focuses especially on the measures passed in the period since 1970 which have served to challenge the basic structure of the Westminster model of government, and which some commentators believe has heralded a new constitution for the United Kingdom"--

Who governs Britain? Is Parliament sovereign? Who chooses the Prime Minister? And who enforces the rules?0The United Kingdom is in the throes of political and constitutional conflict. Tensions between different Westminster and Holyrood, and between the UK and the European Union, are part of a wider picture of constitutional flux. The United Kingdom is one of only three nations that does not have the principal provisions of the organs of state, and how they relate to one another and to the citizen, embodied in a single document. Devolution and Brexit have given rise to calls for a codified constitution. 0But the debate has taken against a background of confusion and uncertainty as to existing constitutional arrangements. We must first understand what already exists and how our constitution works now. 0This deeply informed and elegantly written book addresses the problems that have arisen in the context of the greatest political crisis our country has faced in decades.