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.

... 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.

• Glossary of Essential TermsPart 1: Setting the Scene1. Outline of the Book2. Why We Need a Written Constitution3. Power to the People4. Power-sustaining Devices5. Parliamentary Sovereignty6. No-one Ever Voted for Parliamentary Sovereignty7. Why Parliamentary Sovereignty Doesn’t Work8. The Need for a Public Debate9. The Virtues of Representative Democracy10. Drafting a Written Constitution: The Practicalities11. Contents of a Written Constitution12. Repairing British Politics: The Proposals13. Towards the FutureKey PointsPart 2: A Draft Constitution for the United KingdomPreamble1. 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) Act1. Referendum on a Written Constitution2. Second Referendum on the Content of a Written Constitution3. Implementation of the Second Referendum4. Supplementary5. Schedules