Constitution

Jim McConalogue, March 2020

The Human Rights Act 1998 is claimed by its advocates to contain fundamental rights that everyone in the UK is entitled to, by incorporating the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic British law. But as Jim McConalogue writes, its 22-year history now testifies to a lawyer’s charter which disregards the fundamental rights of many people in society… [Full Details]

David G. Green, September 2019

Identity politics has been creeping into public discourse for many years. When the first edition of this book was published in 2006, it was already obvious that the politics of victimhood had taken hold. This second, updated edition takes stock of how it has developed since then, particularly in the  preoccupation with ‘hate crime’ in recent years. Hate crimes were initially created under the 1998… [Full Details]

Emma Webb (ed.), August 2019

In November 2018, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims published a report proposing a working definition of Islamophobia which described it as ‘a type of racism’. Despite having received barely any public scrutiny or debate, the definition has already been adopted by local councils and political parties. This volume brings together critiques from a wide range of distinguished voices anxious about the implications… [Full Details]

Anthony Browne, November 2016

For centuries Britain has been a beacon of liberty of thought, belief and speech in the world, but now its intellectual and political life is in chains. Members of the public, academics, journalists and politicians are afraid of thinking certain thoughts. People are vilified if they publicly diverge from accepted beliefs, sacked or even investigated by police for crimes against received wisdom. Whole areas of… [Full Details]

David G. Green, March 2016

How should our laws be made and where does final power lie? This question has grown increasingly salient in recent years as the judiciary has pitted itself against Parliament in a series of harmful and absurd rulings. Many of these confrontations have revolved around the Human Rights Act, but far more is at stake. Under our constitution, the legal sovereignty of Parliament ensures that the… [Full Details]

Alasdair Palmer, November 2015

The special adviser – or 'spad' – has become firmly established in Westminster folklore over the past two decades, coming to symbolise much that is questionable about modern politics. The likes of Jo Moore, who urged colleagues to use 9/11 to bury bad news, and Damian McBride, who schemed on behalf of Gordon Brown against members of his own cabinet, have lent the Whitehall caricatures of… [Full Details]

By Michael Arnheim, March 2015

Human rights law has been hijacked in the UK by special interest groups seeking to advance their own rights above those of the rest of the population. The European convention has been repeatedly used in a way that weakens the government's ability to defend the country from terrorism or to deal with illegal immigrants. But, while there has been a growing clamour for this… [Full Details]

David G. Green, April 2014

"The great merit of this brilliant and learned book is that it locates the case for withdrawal in the magnificent British tradition of democracy, liberty and tolerance” - Peter Oborne As the UK fast approaches a crossroads in its relationship with the European Union, Civitas director David G Green contrasts the ideals that have evolved in the British political system over many centuries - best described as… [Full Details]

David G. Green, April 2013

Since joining the European Economic Community in 1973, we have steadily lost the power to govern ourselves. In this necessary and insightful book, David Green describes the essential qualities of the free, open and democratic British system which evolved over 1,000 years. Under our constitution, the fact that the government can be removed immediately by either the Commons or the Crown changes its behaviour… [Full Details]

Philip Johnston, March 2013

Free speech must include the right to say things that most people don't like or find offensive, otherwise it is no freedom at all. However, Britain is steadily sacrificing its centuries-old commitment to freedom of speech simply to protect people from hearing views they do not like. In this exciting examination of the history of free expression since the 17th century, Philip Johnston… [Full Details]

Dominic Raab, April 2011

The ruling that convicted prisoners have the right to vote has put the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg at loggerheads with the UK Parliament and, hence, the will of the British people. This was reinforced in 2011 when backbenchers of all parties rejected enfranchising prisoners in a free vote. In this forensic examination, Dominic Raab, MP for Esher and Walton, explains how the… [Full Details]

Nick Cowen, December 2008

Members of Parliament have traditionally enjoyed total legislative supremacy in the United Kingdom, able to pass or rescind any law of the land. Most citizens of Britain probably think that this is still the case. However, in this worrying examination of the dilution of the sovereignty of parliament by its own members, Nick Cowen shows how they have slowly ceded their powers to ministers, government… [Full Details]

Roger Scruton, February 2004

"The greatest political decisions now confronting us concern the nation and its future. These decisions must be discussed with the utmost honesty if we are to do what is best for our country and for the world." In this classic Civitas pamphlet from 2004, the philosopher Roger Scruton argues that the nation state is the bedrock of democratic progress and that we abandon the concept… [Full Details]