Research Catalog
Constitution in crisis : the new Putney debates
- Title
- Constitution in crisis : the new Putney debates / edited by D.J. Galligan ; with Phil Dines.
- Publication
- London : I.B. Tauris, 2017.
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| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Use in library | KD3989.5 .C66 2017 | Off-site |
Details
- Additional Authors
- Description
- xxix, 178 pages; 20 cm
- Summary
- The debates that began at St Mary's Church, Putney on 28 October 1647 pioneered the liberal, democratic settlement in England: a written constitution, universal suffrage, freedom of conscience and equality before the law. Four centuries later, the 2016 Brexit referendum raised fundamental questions concerning the constitution of the United Kingdom. Following the High Court ruling that the government, under a centuries-old Royal Prerogative, does not have the power to trigger Article 50 to leave the EU, MPs have claimed that we are entering a full-blown constitutional crisis. The parallels between 1647 and 2017 are striking. Government has been toppled, a new leadership has emerged, and the two main parties are in a state of internecine warfare. Parliamentarians do not understand how to reconcile their duty to act for the common good and the result of the referendum. The people are divided and the four nations comprising the United Kingdom are at odds. This volume brings together some of the greatest public intellectuals of their generation to debate the constitutional crisis at the heart of today's politics. Featuring contributions from A.C. Grayling, Joshua Rozenberg, Onora O'Neill, Will Hutton, Timothy Garton Ash and Michael Mansfield, this book provides important new perspectives on the most important political debate of the twenty-first century.
- Subject
- Note
- Includes index.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Contents
- Introduction / D.J. Galligan -- Part I. Parliament and the people. Popular sovereignty vs parliamentary sovereignty / Sionaidh Douglas-Scott -- Electoral reform and the constitution / David Runciman -- The great unanswered question at Putney / John Rees -- The royal prerogative, referendums and the outcomes of Brexit / Richard Sorabji -- What is this 'populism'? / Akeel Bilgrami -- On 'popular sovereignty' / Vernon Bogdanor -- Building a new social commons: people and Parliament working together / Anna Coote -- Brexit and the case for a people's constitution / Alexandra Runswick -- Part II. Changing and strengthening the role of the people. Is representative democracy ripe for review and modification in favour of more direct democracy? / Philip Kay 'The people is my Caesar': Jeremy Bentham's radical democratic state / Philip Schofield -- We need fewer referendums, with higher thresholds / Robert Hazell -- Referendums for EU politics? / Anne Deighton -- Social media and democracy / Linda Risso -- Democracy is about more than voting: pre-modern petitioning and its implications for today / Mark Knights -- Part III. Parliament, the executive, the courts and the rule of law. Does the separation of powers still work? / Stephen Sedley -- Are prerogative powers necessary in the twenty-first century? / Alison Young -- The Article 50 legal challenge: clarifying the UK's constitutional requirements to start Brexit / Rob Murray -- Enemies of democracy? Taking back control through the courts / Jonathan Lis -- The role of experts in parliamentary democracy / David Vines -- The UK's institutional balance of power after leaving the EU / Michael Dougan -- Part IV. Preserving the liberal constitution. Voice and vote / Timothy Garton Ash -- Plurinational democracy / Michael Keating -- Judeo-Christian principles underlying the constitution / Ailsa Newby -- Why the UK needs a written constitution / A.C. Grayling -- Thoughts from across the pond: the US Constitution (1787, 2017) / Richard W. Clary -- The constitutional future of the UK: 'matters of high concernment' / D.J. Galligan.
- ISBN
- 1788310721
- 9781788310727
- LCCN
- 2019458391
- OCLC
- ocn987357531
- 987357531
- SCSB-8861567
- Owning Institutions
- Princeton University Library