In defence of the UK’s unwritten constitution - Brian Christopher Jones

In defence of the UK’s unwritten constitution Brian Christopher Jones IfG–Bennett foreword In February 2022, the Institute for Government and the Bennett Institute for Public Policy launched a Review of the UK Constitution, to offer an evidence-based and non-partisan analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the constitution, and where necessary make recommendations for change. [...] These trends are disturbing, and some people have connected them to the rise of populism and authoritarianism around the world.** Part of the problem in relation to the lack of faith in politics and the political realm may stem from changes to the relationship between law and politics that came about in the mid-20th-century post-World War Two climate. [...] 4 REVIEW OF THE UK CONSTITUTION: GUEST PAPER of law (often in the form of new constitutions and bills of rights, and the enforcement of these by constitutional courts), and the use of parliamentary sovereignty around the world declined.19 Constitutional supremacy, and the idea that countries should not just ‘tie policy to law’ but ‘subordinate it to law’, came in its place.20 For many jurisdiction. [...] In fact, the problem is much wider, and potentially goes to the heart of liberal democracy and the widespread challenges that it faces today.** That is not to say that the findings in relation to the UK are acceptable or should be downplayed, but the wider picture regarding the current state of liberal democracy also needs to be taken into consideration, and helps provide context for the current c. [...] Parliamentary supremacy does not ignore or obfuscate the role of the people; it puts the people at the heart of the constitution Another common criticism of the unwritten political constitution is that ‘the people’ are nowhere to be found: unlike in many written constitutions that begin with “We the people”, the UK constitution supposedly fails to incorporate this essential aspect.53 Popular sover.