The Socialist Case for Constitutional Conservatism in Britain

Organisation : AGORA (CY Cergy Paris Université), BABEL (Université de Toulon), CREW (Sorbonne Nouvelle), ICD (Université de Tours) et TIL (Université Bourgogne Europe)
Programme :
On its face the British constitution has may elements which would appear offensive to socialists, such as a hereditary head of state and an unelected upper chamber. Recent Labour governments have taken an axe to certain aspects of the old British constitution — including the hereditary peers and the law lords — and introduced new institutions — such as devolution and a range of quangos and committees — to decentralise and limit government power. Yet, arguably the most radical Labour governments – those of the 1940s-70s — kept most of the old constitution in place. This talk explores the tradition of constitutional conservatism on the British Left, and makes the case that a conservative vision of the British constitution is not only compatible but perhaps useful to achieving a socialist economic programme.
Dr Richard Johnson is Senior Lecturer in Politics at Queen Mary, University of London. Educated at Cambridge and Oxford, he is the author of several books on politics, including Keeping the Red Flag Flying: The Labour Party in Opposition since 1922 (with Gavin Hyman and Mark Garnett). He is also the editor of two collections of essays on the British constitution: Sceptical Perspectives on the Changing Constitution of the United Kingdom (with Yuan Yi Zhu) and Strengthening the Political Constitution. He has written for Tribune, The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Spectator, and The Critic.