My answer to Who develop the Constitutional theory-a piece of paper able to limit the power of govt?Where did USA g…
Answer by Abbey Laurel-Smith:
The British (England) before the Union of the Realm developed a set of Charters, Acts and Articles for proper governance. All got embed in the British laws and states today, but none is as rigid, and none was ever described with the big C.
A good starting point for most people has always been Magna Carta. But then, that turned out to be something a few Lords, Barons and Land owners started using as a tool for gaining favor through negotiated rights.
Based on this experience, those rights kept evolving until Henry VIII nailed it shut. He hated the magna Carta and the power it gave to hereditary peers and the cleric so much he never referred to it during his reign. That is why he went back to the old “referenda” – an English yobbish tradition of the 9th century, as a way to give more power to the people, and brought back the Great Charter of Freedom. That is what we have today. And Brexit is an example of its expression in our time.
With Referenda and Great Charter of Freedom comes a relaunch of:
- non-hereditary peers, new new cleric, gentry and yeoman (based solely on skill)
- sovereignty that is independent of Rome and European influenced laws.
- and a new set of laws (Articles covering faith, Bills of Rights or judgement by peers, State and Worship)
All these being part of the British law and statue now, means, what could have been the British Constitution is organic in nature. It is not edged out in stone and has evolved with time.
That is why the British don’t have a Constitution. And that is why is frowned upon to refer to the British Isles as a country or a nation. Because, when it comes down to it, things applies differently to all in the Union of the Realm.
SmithieForMayor NYC 2021 