Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34430 in Books
• Published on: 1997-12-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Synopsis
Covering the monarchy and the City, the army and the Church, Europe and sovereignty, the author demonstrates how constitutional issues influence our daily lives. He encourages the new Labour government to take a radical course and shows how constitutional reform can improve the society we live in.

Customer Reviews

An analysis of Barnett's arguments for the reform of Britain
This Time serves as a timely reminder that although desirable and very longer overdue, reform of the British Constitution must have a final destination, an overall purpose. Barnett argues that this purpose or destination must be the cessation of what he terms 'British exceptionalism', the chronic symptom of malaise that has plagued Britain's political system, making it immune from reform and change in the name of tradition and comprimise. However, as Barnett observes, change is on the way and has in some respects already taken place.

These observations are centred upon a number of events, namely Labour's historic victory in the 1997 General Election, the rejection of Toryism altogether by voters in Scotland and Wales and the introduction of devolved legislatures in those nations. These events, he argues, have substancial relavence towards our concepts and perceptions of national identity and represent fundamental shifts in the evolution of Britain's uniquely unwritten constitution. However, another salient observation and analysis is that of the 'Diana effect', ie. the role of Diana Spencer's death in terms of the changing public perceptions of the purpose of the monarchy and how it creates possible avenues towards the possibilty of far-reaching reform of the monarchy.

Barnett has a good insight into constitutional analysis, he was the Director of Charter 88, the country's leading campaign for the modernization and renewal of our democratic institutions. A good insight into the book's main approach is provided thus:

"... British exceptionalism is the idea that one can run a modern society on gentlemen's agreements, discriminating in favour of a national Church, giving people funny titles and expecting this to be taken seriously." (p82)