Constitution-Making and the Labour Party

Since coming to power in 1997 the Labour government 's programme of constitutional reform represents an historic challenge to both British constitutional doctrine and Labour Party orthodoxy. Mark Evans examines the nature and extent of this challenge and argues that the New Constitutionalism is a key element of a policy agenda that in its most crucial aspects reflects the continuing transformation of the British industrial-welfare state into a competition state. Constitution-Making and the Labour Party analyzes key areas of reform under the Blair government from the perspective of Labour Party history and contemporary policy analysis.

List of Boxes, Figures and Tables List of Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction - From Elite to Third Way Democracy? PART I: UNDERSTANDING CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE Constitutional Doctrine and Revisionism in the Labour Party The Rise of the Competition State The New Constitutionalism PART II: CASE STUDIES IN CONSTITUTIONAL CONTINUITY AND CHANGE Electoral Reform and the Clammy Hands of Centralism Parliamentary Reform - Reforming the House of Lords Bringing Rights Home Freedom of Information and Open Government Devolution to Scotland and Wales - Is Power Devolved, Power Retained? A Different Union, A Different Ireland? Constitutional Futures - The New Constitutionalism and the Impact of Spill-Over Conclusion - Elite Democracy is Third Way Democracy in Disguise Notes Bibliography Internet Sources Index

MARK EVANS is Head of Politics and Provost of Halifax College at the University of York. He is the author of Charter 88: A Successful Challenge to the British Political Tradition? and Policy Transfer in Global Perspective. He has published a broad range of articles and book chapters on aspects of constitutional reform, the study of policy development and post-war reconstruction and development.