This book centres constitutional reform in discussions of England and Englishness, and centres England in debates on constitutional reform. It includes the text of a constitution that builds on the heritage and tradition of Westminster Model democracy, combining long-overdue reforms with the restoration of neglected constitutional norms and values.
What is England? What is England’s place in the United Kingdom – or indeed outside it? How should England be governed? What constitutional foundations are needed to secure English democracy?
In this ground-breaking book, Dr W. Elliot Bulmer makes the case for a written constitution for England. Informed by comparative constitutional scholarship and by practical experience of constitution-making around the world, the book ties together debates on English national identity with discussion on the constitutional future of England. It offers an English solution to the problem of the United Kingdom’s constitutional disrepair and a constitutional solution to the problem of England’s identity crisis.
Demonstrating that a written constitution both practical in the English context and compatible with the English constitutional tradition, the book includes an example draft constitution inspired by Westminster Model democracies in the Commonwealth.
Foreword by Alexandra Hall Hall
Introduction
Chapter
1. The Collapse of the Unwritten Constitution
Chapter
2. Unravelling of the United Kingdom
Chapter
3. Rediscovering England, Reclaiming Englishness
Chapter
4. Liberty According to English Ideas and on English Principles
Chapter
5. Restoration and Reform
Chapter
6. Constitution-Building and the Way Forward
Chapter
7. Good Government and Political Culture
Annex. Draft Constitution -- .
W. Elliot Bulmer is an independent scholar of constitutional democracy and a former Senior Advisor on Constitution Building for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. -- .
