Ebook: Beyond Magna Carta: A Constitution for the United Kingdom

In this work Dr Blick argues that the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, which falls in 2015, should be the occasion for a reassessment of the past, present and future of the UK constitution. He considers a series of historical documents from Anglo-Saxon times onwards, amongst which Magna Carta is the most prominent, which sought to set out arrangements for the governance of England and later the UK as a whole. Dr Blick argues that they comprise a powerful tradition of written constitutional documents; and stresses the importance of the European dimension to their introduction and content. He then considers the present nature of the UK constitution, describing the period of immense flux through which it has passed in recent decades, and the implications of this phase of change. Dr Blick identifies a need for a full written constitution for the UK as the next appropriate step. Finally he discusses the democratic processes suitable to devising such a text, and what its contents might be.