Leaders | The next to blow

Britain’s constitutional time-bomb

Brexit is already a political crisis. Sooner or later it will become a constitutional crisis, too

BRITONS PRIDE themselves on their “unwritten” constitution. America, France and Germany need rules to be set down in black and white. In the Mother of Parliaments democracy has blossomed for over 300 years without coups, revolution or civil war, Irish independence aside. Its politics are governed by an evolving set of traditions, conventions and laws under a sovereign Parliament. Thanks to its stability, Britain convinced the world that its style of government was built on solid foundations laid down over centuries of commonsense adaptation.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The next to blow”

Next to blow: Britain’s constitution

From the June 1st 2019 edition

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