With unrivalled political savvy and a keen sense of irony, distinguished political scientists Anthony King and Ivor Crewe open our eyes to the worst government horror stories and explain why the British political system is quite so prone to appalling mistakes.

As citizens, why do we care about the everyday life of ministers and civil servants? We care because the decisions of the great and the good affect all our lives, for good or ill. For all their personal, political, and policy failings and foibles, they make a difference. So, we want to know what ministers and bureaucrats do, why, and how. We are interested in their beliefs and practices. In his fascinating piece of political anthropology, Rod Rhodes uncovers exactly how the British political elite thinks and acts. Drawing on unprecedented access to ministers and senior civil servants in three government departments, he answers a simple question: 'what do they do?' On the basis of extensive fieldwork, supplemented by revealing interviews, he tries to capture the essence of their everyday life. He describes the ministers' and permanent secretaries' world through their own eyes, and explores how their beliefs and practices serve to create meaning in politics, policy making, and public-service delivery. He goes on to analyze how such beliefs and practices are embedded in traditions; in webs of protocols, rituals, and languages. The story he has to tell is dramatized through in-depth accounts of specific events to show ministers and civil servants 'in action'. He challenges the conventional constitutional, institutional, and managerial views of British governance. Instead, he describes a storytelling political-administrative elite, with beliefs and practices rooted in the Westminster model, which uses protocols and rituals to domesticate rude surprises and cope with recurrent dilemmas.

The basic rules and implications of every state's system of government provide an authoritative and objective basis to guide and judge the actions of the state's decision makers, including courts. Christopher Taucar provides a detailed history of the British system's development from state power being exercised by centralized royal courts to its present-day distinct legislative, judicial, and executive bodies with diverse powers. The British System of Government and Its Historical Development fills a large and important gap in contemporary understandings of British legal and political history by providing a broad overview of a system that influenced political systems across the world. The main constitutional settlements are examined, including the development of parliamentary sovereignty, courts, and the common law, emphasizing the supremacy of law and natural law. Thus, the findings question the assumptions held by many contemporary scholars and judges by reaffirming the centuries-old view of the supremacy of law as an objective and external standard. The British System of Government and Its Historical Development argues that knowing this system is vital not only to our understanding of systems of government in Britain and elsewhere, but also as the basis to hold governments accountable to their most basic rules and imperatives.

This marketing-leading textbook retains the engaging and scholarly approach of previous editions, while bringing the landscape of public law completely up-to-date. With text and materials integrated throughout and an accompanying author blogspot, this textbook is, quite simply, required reading for all students of public law.

Provides an account of British political institutions, the way in which they operate, and the society in which they developed. Contains sections on the social basis, the constitutional framework, political actors and their roles, the process of government, and the citizen and government. This tenth edition contains new material on the monarchy and the House of Lords, the 1997 general election, the transformation of the Labor Party, the European Union, and Northern Ireland. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Duncan Watts examines the institutions and practices of British government and politics and makes selective comparisons with the experience of other countries, mainly liberal democracies.

Places constitutional law in its legal, historical and political context using contemporary examples.