The British Constitution: the last ten years and the next fifty
The British Constitution: the last ten years and the next fifty
Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow 223rd Annual Lecture Series
Date: Wednesday 27 November 2024
Time: 19:30 - 21:00
Venue: Sir Charles Wilson Building LT 201
Category: Public lectures
Speaker: Lord Sumption
Website: www.royalphil.org/
Lord Sumption a very highly regarded figure in in both legal and academic spheres. He has published several books, recently completing a five-volume history of the Hundred Years War. He delivered the BBC Reith Lectures in 2019 on the theme of Law and the Decline of Politics, which form the basis of his 2021 book Law In a Time of Crisis, the reading of which was described as ‘spending time in the company of a brilliant mind considering interesting things’.
This lecture examines a recent period of great turbulence and controversy in the UK, during which the decision to leave the EU provoked the biggest constitutional crisis of recent British history. The referendum that triggered this crisis was followed by a Parliamentary conflict between government and MPs. The courts, drawn into this conflict, upheld the authority of Parliament. Where does this leave us?