The British Constitution

This book offers an introduction to the British Constitution, providing a simple and reliable account of its growth and functioning.

Ivor Jennings (Author)

9780521091367, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 1 January 1967

240 pages
20.3 x 12.7 x 1.4 cm, 0.27 kg

The British Constitution is accepted, in England at least, as the symbol for soundness and reliability: and yet its unwritten mysteries and its practical resilience are the despair of theorists. It is as unexpected as a person, and seems to be defined only by the fact that it lives and works. This 1966 book, then, might be described as a biography by one who has a first-hand knowledge of his subject. It offers ordinary British citizens a reasonable and detached introduction to the system in which they play so large a part; at the same time it provides, for friends and critics overseas, a simple and reliable account of its growth and functioning.

Preface
Part I. Government by the People: 1. We, the people
2. The people's choice
Part II. Government by Party: 1. The polity of parties
2. A short history of the parties
3. The character of the parties
4. The party machines
5. The two-party system
Part III. The House of Commons: 1. Political ambition and its rewards
2. The House and the government
3. The opposition
part IV. The House of Lords: 1. A Conservative bulwark
2. The need for a second chamber
Part V: The Monarchy
Part VI. Administration: 1. Administrative bodies
2. The process of administration
3. Bureaucracy
Part VII. Cabinet Government: 1. Ministerial responsibility
2. The Cabinet
3. The Prime Minister
4. Co-ordination
5. Instruments of co-ordination
Part VIII. British Democracy: 1. Government and opinion
2. Democracy and liberty
3. Is it a democracy?
Index.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]