6. Testing, testing…
Whether there is a constitution or not can be easily tested without expert knowledge; without reading academic journals; and without attending PPE lectures. All we have to do is answer two questions:
1 Does the British constitution correspond to the definition of the word “constitution”?
2 Does it meet the requirements of democracy (sovereignty of the people; equality of individual citizens etc)
To illuminate the issue further we can ask two further questions
3 what do the experts say on the subject, if we read them critically? Are they as certain as they say they are or do they equivocate at all?
4 What relationship does the average citizen have to the constitution? Does he or she understand it? Is he or she able to participate fully in the political system? In other words: does the constitution work?
The Cavalier Constitution 