1688–1988: Time for a New Constitution

A collection of essays, many given at the annual Scarman seminars run by the Constitutional Reform Centre in 1987-88, and now published on the tercentenary of the Glorious Revolution and the Bill of Rights, which discuss whether Britain's constitution has changed and improved since those events 300 years ago. The contributors who include Vernon Bogdanor, Ralph Dahrendorf, Michael Elliot and Lord Scarman take this opportunity to re-examine the principles and practice of the British constitution in 1988 and find them deficient for the needs of contemporary society. They examine topics such as the enabling State, the dispersion of power, the redefinition of citizenship, the revitalization of democracy and the reform of government. In the process, they define an agenda for constitutional reform including devolution and decentralization, a Bill of Rights, electoral and parliamentary reform and freedom of information. Richard Holme is co-editor of "Partners in One Nation" and author of "The People's Kingdom" and Michael Elliot is author of "The Role of Law in Central-Local Relations" and "Heartbeat London: The Anatomy of a Supercity".