Special Issues
62-4 October 2009
Charter 88 and the Constitutional Reform Movement: Twenty Years On
Special Issue Editor: David Erdos
This special issue of Parliamentary Affairs looks back at twenty years of effort by Charter 88 and other similar pressure groups to bring about a new democratic constitutionalism in the United Kingdom. The papers address a range of historical, philosophical, analytical, and legal issues from the perspective both of academics who were engaged in the reform activities and those writing from a more dispassionate angle. Specific questions considered include: the intellectual origins of the constitutional reform movement, its ambiguous attitude towards the continuing Europeanization of the UK and its impact on constitutional outcomes both generally and more specifically in relation to the critical issue of electoral reform. These questions are clearly of continuing and indeed heightened relevance given the rejuvenation of constitutional debate following the Brown Government’s Governance White Paper in 2007 and the Conservative Party’s flirtation with reforms such as a British Bill of Rights. This special issue therefore constitutes essential reading for researchers and students of both constitutionalism and British politics. Political activists, MPs, and pressure groups will also find this special issue to be of interest.
Table of Contents
Article abstracts will be available soon. Articles in this special issue include:
Introduction - Charter 88 and the Constitutional Reform Movement: A Retrospective David Erdos
Some Intellectual Origins of Charter 88 Stephen Howe
Revisiting Charter 88 Michael Rustin
Charter 88, Democratic Constitutionalism and Europeanisation: Ambiguous Relationships? David Erdos
Putting the Ombudsman into Constitutional Context Richard Kirkham, Brian Thompson, and Trevor Buck
Assessing How Far Charter 88 and the Constitutional Reform Coalition Influenced Voting System Reform in Britian Patrick Dunleavy
Charter 88, New Labour and Constitutional Anomie Matthew Flinders
Ordering Information
This special issue is available for purchase as a single issue for just £18/$36/€27. Click here to order issue 62/4 online.
Special Issue Launch
This special issue will be launched at a free event to be held at Portcullis House, Westminster on 9 December 2009 from 6pm. All are welcome to join special issue editor Dr. David Erdos (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford), Unlock Democracy, and Oxford Journals for an evening of lively discussion and debate on the past, present, and future of UK constitutional reform. The event will be chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC and confirmed speakers include Peter Facey, Director of Unlock Democracy, and Dr. Tony Wright MP, Chairman of the Public Administration Select Committee. (Further speakers to be announced shortly.) The panel will address three overarching questions which are of as much interest now as twenty years ago when Charter 88 was first launched:
- What have been the central strengths and achievements of the constitutional reform movement?
- Where might it have taken a wrong turning, strategically and/or in terms of philosophy?
- Where do we go from here in order to achieve democratic and constitutional renewal?
Those seeking further information are welcome to email David Erdos directly at david.erdos@csls.ox.ac.uk.