PART I THE BACKGROUND TO CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM --
1 The Project: Modernizing the UK Constitution --
Does the UK have a Constitution? What does it consist of? --
The Westminster model --
A liberal interpretation of the Westminster model --
Alternative narratives about the operation of the system: networks and governance --
Pressure for reform of the Westminster model --
The juridification of politics --
Judicializing politics --
Comity, trust, and juridification --
The politico-legal debate --
Towards constitutionalism? --

2 Themes: Democracy and Citizenship --
Democracy --
Representative democracy and parliamentary sovereignty --
Participatory and deliberative democracy --
Criteria for evaluating democracy: can it be audited? --
Citizenship --
Citizenship and rights --
The citizen as consumer? --
Citizenship and responsibilities --
Civil society and citizenship --
Summary --

3 Themes: Good Governance --
Accountability --
Political accountability --
Public accountability --
Legal accountability Judicialization --
Audit, inspection, and administrative accountability --
Webs of accountability --
In search of intelligent accountability --
Maintaining an uncorrupt system --
The Committee on Standards in Public Life --
Formalizing the public service ethos? --
Summary --

4 The United Kingdom in the European Union --
Background-the European Community and the European Union --
Primacy and direct effect or European Community law --
European institutions: Who and what do they represent? Are they represent? Are they democratic? --
Law and law-making in the EU --
Democracy in the EU? --
Subsidiarity --
Good governance in Europe --
A 'Europe of the regions'? --
European citizenship and fundamental rights --
Human Rights and the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights --
The Charter rights --
The legal status of the Charter --
Comments on the Charter --
Towards a Constitution for the EU? --
The United Kingdom's membership of the Community --
Sovereignty and the primacy and direct effect of European law in the United Kingdom --
The UK Parliament's role in relation to the EU matters --
Devolution and Europe --
Summary and conclusions --

5 The Constitutional Role of the Courts --
Judicial review --
The grounds for judicial review --
The scope of judicial review --
Is there a democratic justification for judicial review? --
Towards constitutionalism? --
Human rights, fundamental rights, and constitutional rights --
Constitutional statutes --
Justifications for the judicial development of principles of constitutionalism --
The courts and theories of democracy, citizenship, and good governance --
Summary and conclusions --
PART II CITIZEN-CENTRED REFORMS --

6 Human Rights in the United Kingdom --
The European Convention on Human Rights --
The Human Rights Act 1998: a sketch --
Duty of compatible interpretation --
Declarations of incompatibility and remedial orders --
Vertical and horizontal effect --
Remedies --
Parliamentary safeguards for human rights --
Derogation --
Democracy, citizenship, and good governance under the Human Rights Act Majoritarianism v. human rights --
Law, politics, and the Human Rights Act --
Towards rights-based citizenship --
The Human Rights Act and good governance --
Beyond the Human Rights Act --
Towards constitutional protection of social and economic rights? conclusions --

7 Elections, Parties, and Referendums --
Elections-general issues --
Legitimacy of elected bodies --
Votes for representatives, delegates, or policies? --
Turnout and the effective vote --
Candidates for election: how representative should they be? --
Electoral systems --
First past the post --
Proportional representation systems: party lists and AMS --
Preferential voting: the single transferable vote and the alternative vote --
Electoral systems and one-party or coalition government --
General conclusions about electoral systems --
The funding of political parties and election campaigns --
The Electoral Commission --
Election campaigns-candidates' and third-party expenditure --
Election campaigns-the national parties --
Public funding for parliamentary activity and research --
Additional public funding for the parties? -
Referendums --
Test The future reform agenda-unfinished business --
Electoral Commission projects --
Fixed-term Parliaments? --
Conclusions --

8 Freedom of Information --
Why is open government a good thing? --
Access to information in the UK-until 2005 --
The Code of Practice on Access to Government Information --
Openness in local government --
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 --
The prima facie right to access --
Absolute exemptions from the duty to disclose information --
Qualified or public interest exemptions --
Appeals and the ministerial veto --
General comments and assessment --
PART III INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS --

9 Parliament: The House of Commons --
What is Parliament? --
The modernization of the House of Commons --
Reforming the legislative process --
The select committees --
A positive view of progress in Commons reform? --
Standards of conduct in the House of Commons --
Procedural problems --
Summary and conclusions on the 'modernization' of the House of Commons --

10 Parliament: The Second Chamber --
Composition of the second chamber --
The role and functions of the second chamber --
The recommendations of the Royal Commission on Reform of the House of Lords --
Responses to the Royal Commission's recommendations --
Reform of the working practices of the House --
Issues for democracy, citizenship, and good governance in the reform of the second chamber --
Conclusions on the reform of Parliament --

11 Government: Ministers --
The Crown and the state --
The legal status of the Crown and the royal prerogative --
The Carltona principle --
The Ram doctrine --
The Crown and the courts: the CCSU case --
Regulation inside government --
The Treasury and Public Service Agreements --
Ministers and Parliament: individual ministerial responsibility --
The Prime Minister's accountability to the House of Commons --
The public service ethos and standards of conduct in government --
Conclusions --

12 Government: The Civil Service --
New Public Management in the Civil Service --
From NPM to Next Steps agencies --
Accountability for agencies --
Steps since Next Steps --
The Citizen's Charter and Service First --
Civil Servants and Ministers --
Special Advisers --
Spin and the press --
Is reform possible? --
A Civil Service Act for the UK? --
Conclusions --

13 Devolution: General Principles --
Arguments for devolution --
Subsidiarity --
Options for reform --
The background and common features of the devolution arrangements --
Maintaining the sovereignty of the UK Parliament --
Limited competence of the devolved bodies --
Inter-institutional relations --
Finance --
The Secretaries of State --
Regulation of conduct and procedure --

14 Devolution: Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales --
Scotland --
Scotland's Parliament --
The Scottish executive --
A Civic Forum --
Northern Ireland --
The Belfast Agreement --
The Northern Ireland Assembly --
The Northern Ireland executive --
A Civic Forum --
Towards a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland? --
Observations --
Wales --
The National Assembly for Wales --
The Welsh executive committee --
Partnership arrangements --\
The future --

15 Devolution: England and the United Kingdom --
London --
The Mayor --
The Assembly --
Regional Devolution in England --
"Top-down' decentralization to the regions --
Towards 'bottom-up' devolution --
The government's proposals --
The United Kingdom --
The West Lothian question --
The English (and Welsh) question --
A role in devolution for the second chamber? --
Reflections on devolution --

16 Local Government --
Rationales for local government --
Reforming local government --
The well-being power --
Consultation and participation --
Service delivery: partnerships, 'Best Value', Public Service --
Agreements-and take-overs --
New executive arrangements in local government --
The Leader and Cabinet system --
Mayor and Executive model --
Mayor and Council Manager model --
The role of the Department for Transport, Local Government, and the Regions --
Good governance in local government: The Hull experience --
Standards of conduct in local government --
From politics to juridification in local government --
Summary and conclusions --

17 Quangos --
Classifying quangos --
Rationales for quangos --
Accountability --
Quangos and ombudsmen --
Propriety and the public service ethos --
Appointments --
Connecting quangos with the public --
Local and English regional quangos --
A Democratic Audit of quango arrangements --
Lessons from overseas --
Conclusions --

18 The Judiciary --
Relationships between the judiciary, Parliament, and the Executive --
Independence and impartiality: what do they mean? --
The Lord Chancellor --
Modernizing the office of Lord Chancellor? --
The appointment of judges --
Criteria for appointment --
Parliamentary confirmation hearings? --
A Judicial Appointments Commission? --
A new Supreme Court? --
Summary and conclusions --
PART IV CONCLUSIONS --

19 Modernization reviewed: Towards Democracy, Citizenship, and Good Governance? --
Developing democracy --
Sovereignty --
Representation and representative democracy --
Participatory democracy --
Citizenship in the UK --
Towards European citizenship? --
The future of citizenship --
Good governance --
Accountability --
Juridification and trust --
Chart 1: Constitutional reform and good governance. --
Chart 2: The juridification of political decision-making-a summary --

20 The Political Constitution in Transition? --
Cultural aspects of the political constitution --
Towards constitutionalization? --
The courts and constitutionalism --
What kind of constitutionalism-liberal or...? --
Future prospects for the political constitution --
A written Constitution for the UK? --
Conclusions --
And finally... two futures --
Appendix Articles from the European Convention on Human Rights that have --
been incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act (taken from Schedule 1 --
to the Act). --
List of Official Publications --
References --
Index.