This letter from the chairman of the England & Welsh Bar calls for a written English constitution.
I can’t begin to describe precisely how wrong the suggestion is. I will nevertheless have a bash at it:
Legislative Supremacy of Crown in Parliament.
A written constitution would require - amongst other things. The removal of every function of the Queen of England and with it fundamentally the throne including the reconstitution of every single existing criminal sentence under a different authority, the re-gifting of every honour received, the total dissolution of Parliament, the construction of a new parliamentary legislature, capable of binding itself, the creation of a body of judges who at once wield the power of constitutional interpretation whilst somehow dealing with the massive farce that is a party-political supreme judiciary (as in the US) and a hundred other matters.
This is utterly ludicrous.
Does an Englishman want to know his rights? His constitution?
His rights are preserved both in the Human Rights act of 1998 and by the pre-existing common law principles upheld by the courts.
He is a subject of the queen and can vote for his members of parliament and in practice his government in elections held every 5 years.
Offenders are prosecuted in Her Majesty’s name, she is the commander of the Armed Forces and the font of all honours.
That’s all he needs to know, that’s all he honestly cares to know - why in god’s name would you want to pull apart an edifice to the glorious identity of the United Kingdom (our unique constitution), which was forged by hundreds of years of what can only be described as Utter Britishness and which is completely devoid of the issues plaguing modern documentary constitutions?
No, that’s enough now - stop this ridiculous trend of constitutional reform for constitutional reform’s sake. The abolition of the Lord Chancellor’s post was an unnecessary display of posturing, go no further than that.
Later
John
Posted by John Swaine at February 8, 2006 02:29 AM