Codified and uncodified constitutions each carry real advantages and disadvantages. The implementation problem begins with deciding who could be trusted to draft a new British settlement. Party mistrust and the need for public approval could make a referendum highly divisive. Any text would also have to settle the place of devolved government in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland alongside England's different arrangements. Electing a constitutional convention would not remove the problem because electoral popularity and concise slogans do not necessarily select people suited to long-range institutional design.
Notable Point · 1:07:35-1:10:46
Who writes a codified UK constitution is the central political problem
The theoretical case for codification immediately raises divisive questions about drafters, approval, devolution, and whether an elected convention would reward the right skills.