Reinventing Britain: Constitutional Change Under New Labour

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Reinventing Britain: Constitutional Change Under New Labour Reinventing Britain: Constitutional Change under New Labour Edited by Andrew McDonald Published in association with University of California Press Description: National Political Correspondent Contrary to popular myth, Britain does have a constitution, one that is uncodified and commanded little political interest for most of the twentieth century. In the late 1990s, Tony Blair's New Labour Government launched a program of reform that was striking in its ambition. Reinventing Britain tells the story of Britain's constitutional reform and weighs its long-term significance, with essays both by officials who worked on the reforms and by other leading commentators and academics from Britain and North America. Editor: Andrew McDonald is a UK civil servant. From 2003 to 2005 he ran the government's constitutional reform program. In 2005-6 he was a Fulbright Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. Contributors: Mark Bevir, Jack Citrin, Joseph Fletcher, Robert Hazell, Ailsa Henderson, Kate Malleson, Craig Parsons, Kenneth MacKenzie, Peter Riddell Reviews: “For an observer of Europe from abroad, this book is pure gold. It is a thorough and highly accessible account of both the way New Labour came to adopt its agenda of constitutional change, and the three big pieces of the puzzle: devolution, judicial reform, and Europe. The authority of the contributors and their grasp of the historical flow of events make it easy to recommend to anyone interested in the ongoing saga of political change in Britain.” —Nelson W. Polsby, co-author of British Government and Its Discontents “The constitutional initiatives undertaken during Tony Blair's tenure as prime minister are as little understood as they are significant. That is especially the case in the United States. Those initiatives represent profound change at the heart of Britain's governing structure. Blair's legacy will be shaped in large part by the Iraq war, but the authors of this important book remind us that there was much more to his government that should not be overlooked.” —Dan Balz, Washington Post IAStitleandcopyrightpages7-07 7/26/07 10:27 AM Page iii Reinventing Britain Constitutional Change under New Labour edited by andrew mcdonald Global,Area, and International Archive University of California Press berkeley los angeles london IAStitleandcopyrightpages7-07 7/26/07 10:27 AM Page iv The Global,Area, and International Archive (GAIA) is an initiative of International and Area Studies, University of California, Berkeley,in partnership with the University of California Press, the California Digital Library,and international research programs across the UC system. GAIA volumes, which are published in both print and open- access digital editions, represent the best traditions of regional studies, reconfigured through fresh global, transnational, and thematic perspectives. University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England First published in Great Britain in 2007 by Politico’s Publishing, an imprint of Methuen Publishing Ltd. © 2007 by Andrew McDonald Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Reinventing Britain : constitutional change under New Labour / edited by Andrew McDonald.. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-520-09862-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Constitutional law—Great Britain. 2. Law reform—Great Britain. 3. Labour Party (Great Britain). 4. Great Britain—Politics and government—– I. McDonald,Andrew, – KD.R .Ј—dc Manufactured in the United States of America 16151413121110090807 10987654321 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso .‒ (r ) (Permanence of Paper). Reinventing Britain pages 11/5/07 09:32 Page iii Contents Foreword v Lord Falconer of Thoroton Preface vii Andrew McDonald Part I: The story 1 What happened next: constitutional change under New Labour 3 Andrew McDonald & Robert Hazell Part II: Origins 2 Labour’s conversion to constitutional reform 31 Peter Riddell 3 Socialism and democracy 55 Mark Bevir 4 Rights culture and constitutional reform 76 Joseph F. Fletcher Part III: Process 5 How the reforms came about 103 Kenneth MacKenzie Reinventing Britain pages 11/5/07 09:32 Page iv Part IV: Meaning 6 Judicial reform: the emergence of the third branch of government 133 Kate Malleson 7 A porous and pragmatic settlement: asymmetrical devolution and democratic constraint in Scotland and Wales 151 Ailsa Henderson 8 Britain and Europe: a tale of two constitutions 170 Craig Parsons 9 Constitutional reform and British political identity 193 Jack Citrin About the contributors 219 Notes 221 Appendices 242 Index 257 Reinventing Britain pages 11/5/07 09:32 Page v Foreword Rt Hon. the Lord Falconer of Thoroton QC Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice The government came to power in May 1997 committed to a programme of radical social change – to a renewal of our country. We wanted to break free from the class-based politics which had shaped much of British political life in the twentieth century. Our ambition was to leave behind the politics of division and to nurture an egalitarian society. A society of equal citizens, each of us with rights and responsibilities; each of us with the freedom to pursue our ambitions and to fulfil our potential. A society no longer dominated by elites. This egalitarian spirit has animated our approach to the economy, to welfare policy, to education and to culture. And so it should be of no surprise that it is egalitarianism that has shaped our approach to constitutional reform. Britain is no longer a society in which it is acceptable that hereditary peers should dominate the House of Lords. Whitehall does not always know best. The public wants to be able to scrutinise government decisions and to take a view for itself on what is in the best interest of our nation. We understood that by 1997 the country had changed – and that it wanted its democracy and its government to change in ways that reflected a modern, meritocratic society. The constitutional reforms of the last nine years have been radical and far- reaching. Each has been an expression of our egalitarian ambitions, and each has been an expression of our progressive values. We have sought to reshape our public institutions so that they are credible in the twenty-first century; to give citizens greater access to decision-making; to make government more accountable to the people; and to clarify the relationships between the three arms of the state. Ours is a consistent agenda – one shaped by principles which resonate with the country. After almost a decade of determined reform there is still much to do. Some parts of our original programme remain to be completed – most obviously, reform of the House of Lords. And some new problems have arisen, not least Reinventing Britain pages 11/5/07 09:32 Page vi vi reinventing britain the need to balance human rights with the risks posed by international terrorism. We are determined to address these challenges and, in many ways, we are better placed to do so today than we were in 1997. Consider, for example, the difficulties of shaping counter-terrorism policy in a society which was not guided by a human rights law. We are making a transition – a rapid transition – to a society in which the citizen’s rights have explicit protection. The transition is not without its difficulties, but it is a profound transformation of our society and one of which we should be proud. As our reforms develop and mature, I am conscious of two obligations which demand greater priority. The first is the need to focus on making a success of our new institutions: to nurture them and to foster the new relationships between arms of the state and between state and citizen. New statutes and new organisations are all well and good – but the toughest challenge comes in effecting a change to our civic culture and to the culture of government. The second obligation is to promote greater understanding of our new constitution. It is in that context that I welcome this excellent collection of essays. Collectively, they represent a stimulating analysis of what we have done, why we sought to do it and how we have carried it through. There is a range of perspectives and interpretations here, a diversity of views which is sure to provoke debate. I welcome that diversity, even if I do not necessarily agree with all of the opinions expressed here. But what shines through is the quality of the analysis and the clarity of the argument. This is a collection which will, I feel sure, contribute significantly to understanding of these reforms – in the UK and overseas. Having read this book a reader might be tempted to ask where and when the reform programme will come to an end. My reply is simple: I do not have a fixed endpoint in mind. We want a constitution that gives expression to the values and aspirations of the country. That is not a finite task: as society changes, so must we modernise the constitution. There will, of course, be times when the changes needed will be more modest, when the pace of reform will slacken. But it is far better that we embrace constitutional change than neglect it, allowing our democracy to ossify and to become irrelevant to, or discordant with, contemporary society. It is through change that we are able to foster those constitutional values which we as a country hold so dear – democracy and the rule of law.
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