British Constitutional Miasma The Brexit mess reveals something that I have long suspected: that the UK government has no appreciation of constitutional principle. British public lawyers have always been rather proud of the fact that, instead of a written constitution, they have a set of conventions stretching back into hallowed antiquity. Written constitutions are for new-fangled states, like the US – a bit like trainer wheels on a bike. We have the mother of parliaments, thank you very much. Over 40 years, the EU has become part of the UK constitution in profound ways – it affects the sovereignty of parliament and the structure of the legal system; it is written into the devolution of powers; it underpins the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland. Countries that bother to write their constitutions down include special procedures for changing them. In the US, amendments must be proposed by a two-thirds majority in Congress and ratified by three-quarters of the states. In Canada, a change must be passed by the parliament, the Senate and at least 7 provinces, representing at least 50% of the population. In Australia, changes must be approved by a double majority: a majority of the population, and a majority of the population in a majority of states. I’m simplifying slightly, but you get the idea. There is a good reason why constitutions are made hard to change. At the constitutional level, you need to take change very seriously. You want the process to take time, so the proposed change is examined on its merits from every possible angle. You want to make sure that there is a broad consensus underlying the change. You want to elevate constitutional matters above the cut and thrust of daily politics. Above all else, you want to avoid casually damaging the constitutional fabric of the state. What now seems so astonishing about the Brexit referendum is just how casual it was. A hugely complicated issue with profound constitutional implications was reduced to a simple yes/no question, put to the people by simple majority after a brief campaign. Marcus Cox 28 June 2016 A hugely complicated issue with profound constitutional implications was reduced to a simple yes/no question