The English Constitution

by Walter Bagehot

Overview

At a time when constitutional issues are assuming a greater importance in public life than they have held for perhaps 25 years, it seems a particularly apt moment to re-publish Walter Bagehot's classic analysis of the constitution. Major changes to the constitution are promised by the new Labour government, and the political controversy over these suggests that changes generated during the 1997 election campaign have thrust critical analysis of the constitution once more into the limelight.

The English Constitution provides the most lucid and readable account of what has been termed the 'Golden Age' of the nineteenth century constitution, before the advent of universal male suffrage and the rise of party as the overriding force in the British polity. Despite being strongly rooted in its time, Bagehot's work can still provide us with fascinating insights into the basic nature of the constitution and its organic connections with the society within which it functions. In sketching connections between class and political systems, in its use of ideology, in what we would now term its interdisciplinary approach, Bagehot's study provides insights and analysis of sometimes startling modernity.

In this new Introduction, Gavin Phillipson provides a fresh and distinctly contemporary appraisal of Bagehot's famous work. The Introduction clearly elucidates how the actual workings of the constitution have changed since Bagehot's time but powerfully illuminates the strong continuing value and contemporary relevance of his analysis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781602062559
Publisher:	Cosimo Classics
Publication date:	04/01/2007
Series:	Cosimo Classics
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Walter Bagehot was an English journalist, businessman, and essayist who lived from 1826 to 1877. He was a prolific writer who wrote extensively about government, economics, literature, and race. He is best known for co-founding the National Review in 1855, a political magazine that aimed to promote conservative values. Bagehot's most famous works include The English Constitution, published in 1867, and Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market, published in 1873. The English Constitution is considered one of the best accounts of the history and workings of the British political system ever written, while Lombard Street is a detailed analysis of the money market and the role of central banks in regulating it. Bagehot's writing style is characterized by its clarity, concision, and analytical rigor. He was a skilled observer of society and human behavior, and his insights into politics, economics, and culture continue to be relevant today. 

Table of Contents

Advertisement; 1. The cabinet; 2. The pre-requisites of cabinet government; 3. The monarchy; 4. The monarchy (cont.); 5. The House of Lords; 6. The House of Commons; 7. On changes of ministry; 8. Its supposed checks and balances; 9. Its history, and the effects of that history; Appendix.

Editorial Reviews

This timely new edition of Bagehot’s classic study is essential reading for today's constitutional reformers and students of Britain's elective dictatorship. Gavin Phillipson’s scholarly and shrewd introduction makes key links between past and present.”  —Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC

From the Publisher