Constitution in crisis
Subtitle: the new Putney debates
By: edited by Denis Galligan
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2017
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 178
ISBN-13: 9781350985827; 9781786732965
Subjects: Democracy; Constitution; Politics and government
Description: "The debates that began at St Mary's Church, Putney on 28 October 1647 pioneered the liberal, democratic settlement in England: a written constitution, universal suffrage, freedom of conscience and equality before the law. Four centuries later, the 2016 Brexit referendum raised fundamental questions concerning the constitution of the United Kingdom. Following the High Court ruling that the government, under a centuries-old Royal Prerogative, does not have the power to trigger Article 50 to leave the EU, MPs have claimed that we are entering a full-blown constitutional crisis. The parallels between 1647 and 2017 are striking. Government has been toppled, a new leadership has emerged, and the two main parties are in a state of internecine warfare. Parliamentarians do not understand how to reconcile their duty to act for the common good and the result of the referendum. The people are divided and the four nations comprising the United Kingdom are at odds. This volume brings together some of the greatest public intellectuals of their generation to debate the constitutional crisis at the heart of today's politics. Featuring contributions from a series of high-profile commentators including A.C. Grayling, Vernon Bogdanor, David Runciman and Timothy Garton Ash, this book provides important new perspectives on the most important political debate of the twenty-first century."--Bloomsbury Publishing.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.

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Table of contents: title: Acknowledgements; title: Introduction by Denis Galligan; title: Part I. Parliament and the People; title: Parliamentary Sovereignty v Popular Sovereignty by Sionaidh Douglas-Scott; title: The Great Unanswered Question at Putney by John Rees; title: Athens, 17th century England and the Contrast with 18th-19th century America by Richard Sorabji; title: Contemporary Populism and What it Signifies by Akeel Bilgrami; title: Popular Sovereignty by Vernon Bogdanor; title: Building a New Social Commons: People and Parliament Working Together by Anna Coote; title: Brexit and the case for a People's Constitution by Alexandra Runswick; title: Part II. Changing and Strengthening the Role of the People; title: 8. Is Representative Democracy Ripe for Review and Modification in Favour of More Direct Democracy? By Philip Kay; title: 9. 'The People is my Cæsar': Jeremy Bentham's Radical Democratic State by Philip Schofield; title: 10. We Need Fewer Referendums, with Higher Thresholds by Robert Hazell; title: 11. Referendums for EU Politics? By Anne Deighton; title: 12. Social Media and Democracy by Linda Risso; title: 13. Democracy Is about More Than Voting: Pre-Modern Petitioning and Its Implications for Today by Mark Knights; title: Part III. Parliament, the Executive, the Courts, and the Rule of Law; title: 14. Does the Separation of Powers Still Work? By Stephen Sedley; title: 15. Prerogative Powers: Are They Necessary in the Twenty-First Century? By Alison Young; title: 16. The Article 50 Legal Challenge: clarifying the UK's constitutional requirements to start Brexit by Rob Murray; title: 17. Enemies of democracy? Taking back control through the courts by Jonathan Lis; title: 18. The Role of Experts in Parliamentary Democracy by David Vines; title: 19. The UK's Institutional Balance of Power After Leaving the EU by Michael Dougan; title: Part IV. Parliament, the Executive, the Courts, and the Rule of Law; title: 20. Voice, Free Speech, and Democracy by Timothy Garton Ash; title: 21. Plurinational Democracy by Michael Keating; title: 22. Judeo-Christian Principles Underlying the Constitution by Ailsa Newby; title: 23. Why The UK Needs A Written Constitution by AC Grayling; title: 24. "Thoughts From Across The Pond: The US Constitution (1787, 2017) by Richard W Clary; title: 25. Conclusion by Denis Galligan; title: Index.