Governing Britain: Parliament, ministers and our ambiguous constitution

Who governs Britain? Is Parliament sovereign? Who chooses the Prime Minister? And who enforces the rules?

The United Kingdom is in the throes of political and constitutional conflict. Tensions between Westminster and Holyrood, as well as between the UK and the European Union, highlight a broader picture of constitutional flux. Remarkably, the United Kingdom is one of only three nations that does not have the principal provisions of the organs of state—or how they relate to one another and to the citizen—embodied in a single document.

Key factors shaping the debate:

• Devolution and Brexit have intensified calls for a codified constitution.
• The debate unfolds amidst confusion and uncertainty regarding existing constitutional arrangements.

Before moving forward, it is essential to understand what already exists and how the constitution functions in the present day.

This deeply informed and elegantly written book addresses the challenges arising from what is arguably the greatest political crisis the United Kingdom has faced in decades.