Andrew Blick - Böcker

The European Union referendum of 23 June 2016 proved to be the trigger for the most prolonged period of political turbulence in the peacetime history of the UK; leading to major policy changes and realignments in the party-political system.This book considers from an historical perspective the democratic device that provided the focus for this upheaval. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, it discusses how the idea of using referendums to resolve major political disputes first came onto the agenda, and why. It considers who advocated it, and in what circumstances. The book describes how referendums eventually came into use from the 1970s onwards, and the different patterns in their deployment in the decades that have followed. Major political figures, from Herbert Henry Asquith and Winston Churchill to Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher; to Tony Blair, David Cameron, and Boris Johnson form part of the story. Governments have come to power and fallen in the context of demands for referendums or the results they produced.The authors provide detailed accounts of each of the 13 major referendums that have taken place. Referendums took place at UK and sub-UK level. They were held on the position of Northern Ireland (1973) and Scotland (2014) within the UK; on devolution to Wales (1979; 1997; 2011) and Scotland (1979; 1979); on the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (1998); on devolution to London (1998) and North East England (2004); on the parliamentary voting system (2011); and on UK participation in European integration (1975; 1975). The book provides a constitutional and international perspective, and ask how far the original ideas lying behind the referendum were fulfilled in practice.

This four-volume collection presents a range of documents related to aspects of the constitutional history of the United Kingdom (UK), covering the ‘long’ nineteenth century. It examines material dating from the period of the American and French revolutions through to the advent of an equal franchise for men and women. During the long nineteenth century, the country passed through immense socio-economic changes. It underwent internal strains involving its multinational composition. It became the dominant global power, then saw that position become subject to various challenges. These tendencies helped generate sustained and wide-ranging controversy about how the country should govern itself. They also helped produce a series of important changes in the nature of the constitution. At the outset of the long nineteenth century, only a tiny proportion of the population were allowed to vote; and an hereditary monarch remained an active political figure. By the end, democratic ideas and practices had achieved ascendancy. Yet in other ways, the constitution retained some long-established characteristics.The purpose of these volumes is to support research into and understanding of these tendencies. They will enable readers to approach concepts such as democracy and constitutional change from a critical standpoint, evaluating existing interpretations and encouraging the consideration of possible different conclusions. The collection will encourage consideration of matters such as paths that were not taken, what resistance there was to change, how particular outcomes came about, and the compromises involved. It will also facilitate comparison between constitutional ideals and realities.

This volume explores constitutional reform, and in particular expansions in the franchise. It presents evidence covering the origins of these transitions and the subsequent development of demands for reform. It also deals with other changes such as the secret ballot. The volume examines accounts of the debates that took place about the merits of reform and the form it should take if enacted. It includes evidence of the party-political considerations and tactical motivations leading to reforms; and the way in which various individuals and groups received them once enacted. The volume also presents evidence of the limits of change and the persistence of certain traditional aspects of the constitution.

This volume covers the interaction of society – the people, groups and organisations that made it up – with the constitution. It includes documents generated by working class and middle-class reform campaigners; advocates of votes for women; and people of diverse outlooks on matters of religious faith. The volume presents accounts of efforts by the authorities to subdue or resist dissent. It contains documents produced by senior politicians depicting their engagement with the constitution. It also includes evidence pertaining to the rise of mass political parties and other organisations with a role in the operation of the constitution.

This volume covers the nature and operation of different organs of the constitution. It includes documents dealing with Parliament; the monarchy; the legal system; the Church; the Prime Minister and the Cabinet; the Civil Service; and local government. It presents accounts from insiders who were directly involved in working these institutions; and of the perceptions of outside observers. It identifies documents pertaining to key moments of change in the history of these entities, including alterations in the relations between them. It deals with matters including their legal basis, their internal structures, and the importance of precedent to the way in which they functioned in relation to one-another.

This volume considers the UK as a state that was both internally differentiated and placed a premium on its external relations and world power. It contains documents dealing with the implications of the multinational status of the UK. They relate to matters including discussions over the status of Ireland; and the constitutional position of the other nations of the UK. The volume also contains documents connected to the constitutional implications of the Empire, including the way in which it was managed, and how should be structured. It contains material relevant to the constitutional impact of the UK on the outside world.

The story of how the UK Parliament came to use the Internet from the 1960s onwards has never been told. Electrified Democracy places the impact of technology on parliamentary workings in its longer term historical context. The author identifies repeating patterns of perception and analysis, and cultural tendencies in the perception of inventions dating back over centuries that have reasserted themselves in connection with the parliamentary response to networked computers. He uncovers evidence and makes new connections, while situating all this within the wider global debates on connections between communication and democracy in the age of the Internet, constitutional law and history, and 'law and technology'. This book will be of interest to a wide readership including policy makers, researchers, and all those interested in contemporary controversies about the role of the Internet in modern societies.

This book is the most comprehensive single volume reference work available for British political facts. It is useful to a wide range of potential readers, including students, educators, journalists, policy professionals, and anyone with an interest in politics and political history.

This book describes an astounding feat of constitutional writing and publication. For a number of decades, officials working across different branches of the United Kingdom (UK) constitution have been engaged in a series of separate projects. Taken in their totality, they amount to a vast enterprise. Yet, until now, no-one has fully recognised or critically analysed what has taken place. There has been a proliferation in the UK of publicly available codes, normally lacking a basis in statute, providing official accounts of a variety of different features of UK constitutional rules and principles. They cover institutions ranging from the Cabinet to the Civil Service to the judiciary, and relationships between entities such as central government and the devolved executives; and between the UK executive and the Westminster Parliament. Among them are prominent texts such as the Ministerial Code, the Cabinet Manual, the Guide to Judicial Conduct and the devolution Memorandum of Understanding – as well as more obscure documents that nonetheless contain important stipulations regarding the operation of the system. Similar developments have taken place in countries including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The author explores the history of this phenomenon in the UK, how it functions today here and elsewhere in the Commonwealth, and its implications for the UK constitution.

How far did the European Union (EU) referendum result of 23 June 2016 really justify and necessitate the policies executed in response to it? What are the implications of that vote and its prolonged aftermath for the United Kingdom (UK) constitution? What other challenges does our political system face? This book seeks to answer these questions. It considers from a constitutional perspective the way in which the decision to leave the EU was taken and then implemented, discussing in particular the role of Parliament. It includes a close analysis of the referendum legislation, and relevant Commons debates. Adapting methods from applied history, the author considers the wider implications of Brexit by assessing a series of proposals for constitutional reform produced in the UK since 1900. He addresses features of the UK system including referendums, representative democracy, Parliament, devolution, and the executive, from both an historic and contemporary point of view. The book assesses other issues that do not arise directly from Brexit but that have constitutional implications and a global aspect to them. They include political applications of the Internet and climate change. Finally, the author makes a series of proposals for reforms that will help the democratic system of the UK to adapt to its changing environment.

The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta falls in June 2015. In this work Dr Blick argues that this event should be the occasion for a reassessment of the past, present and future of the UK constitution. He draws on his experience as research fellow to the first ever parliamentary inquiry into the possibility of a written constitution for the UK. Dr Blick considers a series of English and UK historical texts 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. He argues that they comprise a powerful tradition of written constitutional documents, and stresses the importance of the European dimension to their introduction and content. The author 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. Dr Blick identifies a need for a full written constitution for the UK as the next appropriate step. Finally, he discusses the democratic processes suitable to devising such a text, and what its contents might be.‘With this book Andrew Blick has made a major contribution to our understanding of how our system of government has worked in the past, how it is working – or not working – now, and what it could be in the future. Combing the centuries, he challenges many misconceptions and makes a powerful case for a written constitution. 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.

This book describes an astounding feat of constitutional writing and publication. For a number of decades, officials working across different branches of the United Kingdom (UK) constitution have been engaged in a series of separate projects. Taken in their totality, they amount to a vast enterprise. Yet, until now, no-one has fully recognised or critically analysed what has taken place. There has been a proliferation in the UK of publicly available codes, normally lacking a basis in statute, providing official accounts of a variety of different features of UK constitutional rules and principles. They cover institutions ranging from the Cabinet to the Civil Service to the judiciary, and relationships between entities such as central government and the devolved executives; and between the UK executive and the Westminster Parliament. Among them are prominent texts such as the Ministerial Code, the Cabinet Manual, the Guide to Judicial Conduct and the devolution Memorandum of Understanding – as well as more obscure documents that nonetheless contain important stipulations regarding the operation of the system. Similar developments have taken place in countries including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The author explores the history of this phenomenon in the UK, how it functions today here and elsewhere in the Commonwealth, and its implications for the UK constitution.

Does the UK’s constitution sufficiently protect our democracy from a rogue prime minister?In light of the resurgence of the far Right across Europe and some of the rhetoric of the 2024 General Election, which carried whiffs of political authoritarianism, Could It Happen Here? explores the possible consequences of a British prime minister refusing to leave office. Mapping out the processes which might occur after such an eventuality, the responsibilities of key players in the UK’s democratic system, and the integrity of that system after years of stress, Hennessy and Blick analyse the UK’s ‘unwritten’ constitution and provide a crucial recommendation for protecting and strengthening the resilience of our parliamentary democracy.

Numerous analysts have lately expressed concern about tendencies including democratic backsliding and populism occurring in many countries worldwide. This book considers such theories in the context of the United Kingdom (UK) in the period since 2016, examining Brexit and numerous other subjects. The author applies the techniques of the historian, drawing on a variety of primary and secondary materials. Offering both evidence-based assessment and polemic, the work presents its analysis in a variety of different forms, intended to convey the complexity and extensive sweep of the issues. The book concludes that, while they have precedents, UK democracy faces real and broad challenges. The author makes recommendations for addressing these problems.