A study of six prominent postwar politicians in the United Kingdom.

Making the Weather is the story of six postwar politicians, all of whom exerted an outsized influence on the political life of the United Kingdom--an influence greater than that of most prime ministers. Vernon Bogdanor's cast includes three from the political Left--Aneurin Nye Bevan, Roy Jenkins, and Tony Benn--and three from the Right--Enoch Powell, Keith Joseph, and Nigel Farage. Each study is a fascinating analysis examining how these men achieved such prominence and influence and how, though very different figures in many ways, they came to dominate the political landscape, often for years.

Each of the six made fundamental contributions to the debate about Britain's future and to the vibrancy of British democracy. From immigration to Europe, from the National Health Service to devolution, the issues and causes that brought these men to prominence are still relevant.

The history of Britain's complex relationship with Europe, untangled

The best short introduction to both the political realignment that produced the 2016 Referendum result and the immense fallout since.--CapX, Books of the Year (2020)

A] cool-headed, fair, and judicious analysis of Britain and the EU at a decisive period in history-- Thomas Gallagher, Brexit-Watch.org

Is Britain a part of Europe? The British have been ambivalent on this question since the Second World War, when the Western European nations sought to prevent the return of fascism by creating strong international ties throughout the Continent. Britain reluctantly joined the Common Market, the European Community, and ultimately the European Union, but its decades of membership never quite led it to accept a European orientation. In the view of the distinguished political scientist Vernon Bogdanor, the question of Britain's relationship to Europe is rooted in the prime conflict of our time, the dispute between the competing faiths of liberalism and nationalism. This concise, expertly guided tour provides the essential background to the struggle over Brexit.

Brexit means exit, but what exactly will we be leaving behind?

Entry into the European Community in 1973 was a momentous event - one which had seismic effects on the politics and constitution of Britain. Brexit, while equally as momentous, has almost wholly been confined to discussions of economic consequence. But what will happen to the constitution?

Beyond Brexit looks for the first time at the constitutional impact of Brexit and the consequences of Britain's EU membership, raising the question of just how the United Kingdom is to be preserved. Vernon Bogdanor explores the ever-changing relationship between Britain and the European Union from the original concept of European unity to 21st century Euroscepticism, the fundamental problems confronting Britain on its exit from the European Union, and argues that Brexit is the start of new beginnings - heralding a peaceful constitutional moment. The new preface includes what questions need to be asked now that Britain has started the process of leaving the European Union.

The issue of devolution has often been one for polemic rather than reasoned analysis.This title places developments in the United Kingdom in their historical context, examining political and constitutional aspects of devolution in Britain from Gladstone's espousal of Home Rule in 1886 right up to the 1998 legislation governing the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.

Brexit means exit, but what exactly will we be leaving behind?
Entry into the European Community in 1973 was a momentous event - one which had seismic effects on the politics and constitution of Britain. Brexit, while equally as momentous, has almost wholly been confined to discussions of economic consequence. But what will happen to the constitution? Beyond Brexit looks for the first time at the impact of Brexit and the constitutional consequences of Britain's EU membership, raising the question of just how the United Kingdom is to be preserved.
In this book, Vernon Bogdanor explores the ever-changing relationship between Britain and the European Union from the original concept of European unity to 21st century Euroscepticism, the fundamental problems confronting Britain on its exit from the European Union, and argues that Brexit is the start of new beginnings - heralding a peaceful constitutional moment.

The last decade has seen radical changes in the way we are governed. Reforms such as the Human Rights Act and devolution have led to the replacement of one constitutional order by another. This book is the first to describe and analyse Britain's new constitution, asking why it was that the old system, seemingly hallowed by time, came under challenge, and why it is being replaced.

The Human Rights Act and the devolution legislation have the character of fundamental law. They in practice limit the rights of Westminster as a sovereign parliament, and establish a constitution which is quasi-federal in nature. The old constitution emphasised the sovereignty of Parliament. The new constitution, by contrast, emphasises the separation of powers, both territorially and at the centre of government.

The aim of constitutional reformers has been to improve the quality of government. But the main weakness of the new constitution is that it does little to secure more popular involvement in politics. We are in the process of becoming a constitutional state, but not a popular constitutional state. The next phase of constitutional reform, therefore, is likely to involve the creation of new forms of democratic engagement, so that our constitutional forms come to be more congruent with the social and political forces of the age. The end-point of this piecemeal process might well be a fully codified or written constitution which declares that power stems not from the Queen-in Parliament, but, instead, as in so many constitutions, from We, the People'.

The old British constitution was analysed by Bagehot and Dicey. In this book Vernon Bogdanor charts the significance of what is coming to replace it.

The expenses scandal shows up grave defects in the British constitution. Vernon Bogdanor shows how the constitution can be reformed and the political system opened up in The New British Constitution'.

A stellar collection of contributors consider each British post-war Prime Minister and examine how they have dealt with Britain's changing role, domestic and overseas, since the end of WWII. Even at the start of the 21st century, Britain remains in a state of transition, between a world which is dead and one still struggling to be born.

England', Benjamin Disraeli famously said, does not love coalitions'. But 2010 saw the first peace-time coalition in Britain since the 1930s. The coalition, moreover, may well not be an aberration. For there are signs that, with the rise in strength of third parties, hung parliaments are more likely to recur than in the past. Perhaps, therefore, the era of single-party majority government, to which we have become accustomed since 1945, is coming to an end. But is the British constitution equipped to deal with coalition? Are alterations in the procedures of parliament or government needed to cope with it?

The inter-party agreement between the coalition partners proposes a wide ranging series of constitutional reforms, the most important of which are fixed-term parliaments and a referendum on the alternative vote electoral system, to be held in May 2011. The coalition is also proposing measures to reduce the size of the House of Commons, to directly elect the House of Lords and to strengthen localism. These reforms, if implemented, could permanently alter the way we are governed.

This book analyses the significance of coalition government for Britain and of the momentous constitutional reforms which the coalition is proposing. In doing so it seeks to penetrate the cloud of polemic and partisanship to provide an objective analysis for the informed citizen.

This book was first published in 1983. Since 1945, British politics has been dominated by a two-party system. Yet this has been challenged with the electoral performance of the two major parties declining since years ago when, between them, they secured over ninety-five per cent of the popular vote. The purpose of Multi-part Politics and the Constitution is twofold: first to examine the reasons for the growth of multi-party politics in Britain, secondly to consider its constitutional consequences. In the first part of the book, Vernon Bogdanor considers the challenges to the two-party system and analyses the role of the Liberal-SDP Alliance as part of that challenge. The second part evaluates the consequences for British politics of hung parliaments where no one party can claim an overall majority. Such situations are likely to occur with increasing frequency if multi-party politics persists. The role of the monarch and the working of coalition and minority governments are discussed and the argument is illustrated by examples from British history and from continental, especially Scandinavian, experience.

This book offers a comprehensive critique of the historical debate on the referendum and electoral reform in British politics from the nineteenth century to 1981. The book falls into two parts. First, the role of the referendum in political debate since the beginning of the century is discussed and a detailed analysis of the referendums of the 1970s is presented. Vernon Bogdanor then clarifies both the benefits and the difficulties involved in the wider use of the referendum. In the second part of the book, he examines proposals for electoral reform since 1830 and considers the attitudes of the parties towards it today. The different forms of proportional representation are discussed and the consequences of adopting them in Britain assessed. The People and the Party System is written in clear, non-technical language and is intended for the general reader. It makes an important contribution to a vital debate and will be of interest to all those concerned with British politics.

The last decade has seen radical changes in the way we are governed. Reforms such as the Human Rights Act and devolution have led to the replacement of one constitutional order by another. This book is the first to describe and analyse Britain's new constitution, asking why it was that the old system, seemingly hallowed by time, came under challenge, and why it is being replaced.

The Human Rights Act and the devolution legislation have the character of fundamental law. They in practice limit the rights of Westminster as a sovereign parliament, and establish a constitution which is quasi-federal in nature. The old constitution emphasised the sovereignty of Parliament. The new constitution, by contrast, emphasises the separation of powers, both territorially and at the centre of government.

The aim of constitutional reformers has been to improve the quality of government. But the main weakness of the new constitution is that it does little to secure more popular involvement in politics. We are in the process of becoming a constitutional state, but not a popular constitutional state. The next phase of constitutional reform, therefore, is likely to involve the creation of new forms of democratic engagement, so that our constitutional forms come to be more congruent with the social and political forces of the age. The end-point of this piecemeal process might well be a fully codified or written constitution which declares that power stems not from the Queen-in Parliament, but, instead, as in so many constitutions, from We, the People'.

The old British constitution was analysed by Bagehot and Dicey. In this book Vernon Bogdanor charts the significance of what is coming to replace it.

The expenses scandal shows up grave defects in the British constitution. Vernon Bogdanor shows how the constitution can be reformed and the political system opened up in The New British Constitution'.