UK Politics

This is the first survey of the British constitution in the twentieth century. Indeed, it fills a very real gap in the history of Britain during the last 100 years. The book is a product of interdisciplinary collaboration by constitutional lawyers, historians, and political scientists, and draws where possible on primary sources. It is an evaluation of the recent constitutional reforms.

The distinctive strength of political science in Britain is revealed in this guide to modern British scholarship in the field. As well as charting the development of the discipline, the essays examine the innovative contributions to the study of nationalism, totalitarianism, and authoritarianism, and the influential British approach to international relations.

These chapters offer penetrating insights into the events and controversies that have dominated the news agenda for the last two years. Never has the path to a British war been mapped so fully and swiftly as the road to Baghdad in 2002–3. Between them, the Hutton and Butler reports lifted the lid on the most intimate workings of government and those who strive to convert information into a weapon — whether they be a Prime Minister in Downing Street, an MI6 agent in the field, an intelligence analyst in Whitehall, or a journalist attempting to fuse fragments into hard copy. Within days of Lord Butler reporting on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, on British intelligence assessments of their quantity and lethality and on the ingredients of the Blair Cabinet's decision to go to war, the British Academy brought together a distinguished group of scholars and practitioners to probe the deeper themes at play in the rush of events and inquests. The chapters examine: the legal issues raised by the manner and content of Lord Hutton's inquiry; the light both Hutton and Butler shed on the Blair style of government; and the matter of trust between government, the governed and the news media.

Drawing together work presented at a conference held at the British Academy, this book provides a broad overview of one of the most significant aspects of modern government. Joined-up government is a key theme of modern government. The Labour government, first elected in 1997, decided that intractable problems such as social exclusion, drug addiction and crime could not be resolved by any single department of government. Instead, such problems had to be made the object of a concerted attack using all the arms of government — central and local government and public agencies, as well as the private and voluntary sectors. This book seeks to analyse ‘joined-up government’, to consider its history, and to evaluate its consequences for British institutions such as the Cabinet, the civil service and local authorities. Is joined-up government a new idea, or merely a new label for a very old idea? What lessons can be learnt from previous attempts at joined-up government? How does it affect our traditional constitutional conceptions relating to Cabinet government, a politically neutral and non-partisan civil service, and an independent system of local government? Will it lead to the concentration of power in 10 Downing Street or is it compatible with a political system based on checks and balances?