Reading Response #1

In British Politics, A Very Short Introduction, Tony Wright identifies key characteristics and ideas of the British tradition, and investigates what makes British politics distinctive. Three things that I found interesting while reading the book were: even though the British system is changing there is still an idea of it remaining constant, the lack of parameters that exist if a party has a majority in the commons, and the idea of devolution.

“The country’s distinctive contribution to civilization has been the development of stable institutions of representative government” (2). What makes the British political system unique is that their constitution is not a set of written laws that must be followed, it is a common law constitution that is continually being “shaped and reshaped by political circumstances and so forever on the move.” Wright argues that even when the reality changes and the British system has fluctuated the outward appearance of British politics looks relatively the same, providing the people with a sense of continuity.

In the British political system, all that is needed to give a party a free governing landscape is a parliamentary majority. “Once in secure possession of this, there was no constitutional rule-book to define the parameters of your power” (13). You could essentially do whatever you want. There is no system of checks and balances or separation of powers. This idea of free reign seems to be a problem due to the absence of a formal written constitution.

There is also this idea of the British political system as changing. This is seen in particular through devolution. For the British political system the devolution of power to Scotland and Wales represented “a fundamental break with a traditionally centralized and unitary state” (28). As of now, the people who argued that it was necessary to change the union in order to save it have been vindicated, but the fact that Scotland and Wales are already demanding more power only tells of future challenges to come…