The New British Constitution

As a Constitutional Law Lecturer, I have to explain to my students that while Britain doesn't have a single written document called "The Constitution" - it does have a 'constitution' in the sense that there are constitutional rules which govern the way Britain is ruled. These are found in Statutes; case law; conventions; internal rules governing the procedure and practice within Parliament; and in authoritative works, such as those by A V Dicey.

No one is in any doubt that recent years have seen major changes to that 'constitution'. The Human Rights Act alters fundamentally how rights are protected in the UK. Previously - everything was legal, except where it had been made illegal. Now rights, set out in the European Convention of Human Rights, are made part of English law - and are enforceable through the Courts. The House of Lords has been partially (but significantly) reformed; Devolution has given powers to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London. Referenda have become established and new voting systems are now in regular use.

Vernon Bogdanor describes and analyses these changes in his 2009 book "The New British Constitution". I have recently been re-reading this book. It is a useful tool both for students of British Constitutional Law - and for those seeking to improve the current political system. Details of the book are available here.

The Queen's Private Secretary

Most of the key players in the British constitutional system are well known. The leading members of the Executive are the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The current list can be found here. Details of senior civil servants can be found here. Members of the Legislature are listed at Parliament's website. The Supreme Court, which is the highest court of the judicial system has a very informative website which can be accessed here.

The British Constitution is not set out in a single document. Many key 'rules' are known as conventions. These have been described as non-legally binding (in other words they would not be enforced by the Courts) - but which the political actors regard themselves as bound by. For example it is now a convention that the Queen will sign any bill presented to her which has been passed by both Houses of Parliament. If she failed to do so, she could not be ordered to sign by a Court, but - if asked - the Queen would say that she has no alternative but to sign.

What happens if a constitutional crisis arises? Who would sort things out? The key to understanding the British constitution is that such crises would be resolved - not by a legal solution (for example in the USA the Supreme Court might be regarded as the final arbiter in a dispute over the Constitution) - but by a political solution.

When there was controversy over Edward VIII's proposed marriage to a divorcee (1936) - or when there was a constitutional crisis over the House of Lords blocking the Budget (1909-10) - the key political actors, between themselves, sorted out a solution.

One individual who has often played a key role is the Private Secretary to the Monarch. Vernon Bogdanor devotes a whole chapter of his 1995 book "The Monarchy and the Constitution" to this office holder. He claims that "the office...has become crucial to the working of constitutional monarchy in Britain." It is a chapter worth reading!

The official description of the post on the UK Monarchy's website can be accessed here. The photograph accompanying this post is that of Lord Knollys - Private Secretary to Edward VII and George V.