| ID | 138268 |
| Title Proper | Back to the future? warnings from history for a future UK constitutional convention |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Evans, Adam |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Amid the fallout from the Scottish independence referendum, a UK constitutional convention has been proposed as a mechanism to take stock not only of the referendum, but also of the past fifteen years of devolution. However, despite longstanding conceptions of British constitutional development, a constitutional convention would not herald a brave new world for the UK's constitution. As the article highlights, in the past hundred years there have been two attempts to treat the territorial constitution in the round: the Speaker's Conference on Devolution, 1919–1920 and the Royal Commission on the Constitution, 1969–1973. This article examines both of these forums, arguing that they provide clear warnings for a future UK constitutional convention, in particular the threat of internal division that any such forum risks facing. A danger that this article highlights is heightened by the associated difficulty of reaching agreement across the UK's ‘state of unions’. |
| `In' analytical Note | Political Quarterly Vol. 86, No.1; Jan/Mar 2015: p.24-32 |
| Journal Source | Political Quarterly 2015-03 86, 1 |
| Key Words | Devolution ; British Politics ; Political History ; Constitutional Conventions |