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14 - In Search of the Constitution

from Part II - Institutional Pressures and Contested Legitimacy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2021

By
Martin Loughlin
Edited by
Oran Doyle ,
Aileen McHarg  and
Jo Murkens
Oran Doyle
Affiliation:
Trinity College Dublin
Aileen McHarg
Affiliation:
University of Durham
Jo Murkens
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
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Summary

Over the last 150 years, the standing that the British constitution once held in the minds of the people has suffered a remarkable decline. Uncertainty about its supposedly fixed characteristics has been such that it is now extremely difficult to present an account of its nature and meaning in an impartial manner. Against this background, this chapter presents a simplified history in which, over six successive phases and in response to prevailing political concerns of the period, the meaning of ‘constitution’ changes in subtle ways. Reflections on this development helps us set contemporary constitutional controversies in an appropriate context. It also enables to see more clearly the significance of a basic question which modern constitutional development had hitherto managed to suppress: the constitution of what?

Keywords

British ConstitutionDemocracyModernisationEuropean integrationBrexitthe British state
Type
Chapter
Information
The Brexit Challenge for Ireland and the United Kingdom
Constitutions Under Pressure
 , pp. 313 - 335
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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