Good Introductory Book on UK Parliamentary Law

September 3, 2019 2:08 PM

After living in the UK for 17 years, I've absorbed some basic understanding of the UK constitution (and Parliament in particular), but I am constantly realizing how little I know. What book would you recommend to help me go beyond the simple, Wikipedia-level understanding that I currently have?

Ideally, it would be entertainingly written and offer historical perspective on where current rules and traditions come from-- but most importantly, I'm looking for something clear and informative.

My first choice would be a book but if you know a podcast, documentary, or some other media that is just too helpful to pass up, please do feel free to mention it.

posted by yankeefog to Law & Government (3 answers total)

Best answer: When I was a law student a million years ago, our Public Law lecturer recommended we all read How To Be A Minister by Gerard Kaufman. Although it was written nearly 40 years ago, it explains very well how Parliament and Government work, from a first-person perspective and in a very entertaining and interesting way. I see that it has now been updated. :-)
posted by essexjan at 2:19 PM on September 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The Talking Politics podcast is great in putting the current happenings in constitutional terms, plus they have some recent episodes specifically on what the UK constitution is.
posted by squishles at 7:57 AM on September 4, 2019

Best answer: The Guardian just published Books to help make sense of parliament which could be worth a look. Of those I've only read The Blunders of Our Governments, which is good but more about political errors than the Parliamentary process. How Parliament Works looks like a good recommendation.

Seconding How to Be a Minister - we recommended this as advice to new Ministers in New Zealand. I do wonder if it might be a bit outdated, though...
posted by Pink Frost at 12:18 AM on September 5, 2019 [1 favorite]