4 ms·

> The UK still has an absolute monarchy Hey, could you do us all a favour and update Wikipedia[0] to reflect your research on this matter? Sadly it still lists

> The UK still has an absolute monarchy Hey, could you do us all a favour and update Wikipedia[0] to reflect your research on this matter? Sadly it still lists the government as a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom

astrange 4y ago
British people will also tell you they have good food, a working healthcare system, and that people care about their monarchy, but you don't have to listen to them about any of it. We're just humoring them. To have a constitutional government, you should first have a constitution.
- qwytw 4y ago
  > you should first have a constitution Sure they do. The constitution doesen't have to be a single document. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. The American constitution has basically become immutable at this point while meaningful reform is still possible in Britain.
  - astrange 4y ago
    I'd say Canada has a better system; there's at least a parliamentary act passed saying what's in the constitution, and the people who wrote it are still around to explain themselves. (Australia loses points because they forgot to have a bill of rights.) The US changes its constitution by just having the Supreme Court make things up. As you can see from the Lochner era, this has rarely worked well.
    - goosedragons 4y ago
      There are uncodefied parts of the Canadian constitution too. The codefied parts begin with a sentence that's essentially "copy/paste the UK constitution here". The Supreme Court of Canada has also said they can add unwritten parts of the constitution and the written parts aren't exhaustive.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
- 123pie123 4y ago
  I always been told they do, it's just not written down
  - astrange 4y ago
    As I said, some of it is "officially" written down in an unsigned newspaper letter to the editor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascelles_Principles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascelles_Principles Notably the article doesn't even know if the letter is still the law or not. > Following passage of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, which repealed the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, these principles are thought to have been revived.
- petesergeant 4y ago
  > To have a constitutional government, you should first have a constitution. Here’s another page that could probably use the fruits of your research: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kingdom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_K...
  - astrange 4y ago
    Do you believe this one too? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_People's_R... Not to claim it's the same situation, but there's a difference between things that are officially true and things you should actually respect. You shouldn't respect most of the US judicial system either.
    - petesergeant 4y ago
      > but there's a difference between things that are officially true and things you should actually respect Could you relate that back to your initial claim that "the UK still has an absolute monarchy", which appears to be both officially untrue and untrue in practice?
      - astrange 4y ago
        Well, I'd respect it more if the monarch had a few less of these powers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_prerogative_in_the_United_Kingdom#Prerogative_powers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_prerogative_in_the_Unite... Especially https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2013/01/26/tom-adams-royal-consent-and-hidden-power/ https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2013/01/26/tom-adams-royal-c... + https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/08/royals-vetted-more-than-1000-laws-via-queens-consent https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/08/royals-vette... They don't even make the monarch get a driver's licence or pay taxes because laws don't apply to them. (Instead they voluntarily pay taxes and don't speed.) Maybe they could try writing some of that down in a constitution.
- jamiegreen 4y ago
  Britain does have a constitution
- arrowsmith 4y ago
  Good thing that Britain has a constitution then.
  - youngtaff 4y ago
    One that was made up as those in power went along and has never really been codified
- jjgreen 4y ago
  Britain has great food, just look for a Pakistani place ...
- BjoernKW 4y ago
  > British people will also tell you they have good food If you've ever eaten Indian curry (of the tikka masala variety in particular), chances are, its recipe was British in origin. While traditional British food might not appear particularly appealing to the discerning palate, Great Britain is home to many a culinary innovation.

astrange 4y ago

British people will also tell you they have good food, a working healthcare system, and that people care about their monarchy, but you don't have to listen to them about any of it. We're just humoring them. To have a constitutional government, you should first have a constitution.

qwytw 4y ago
> you should first have a constitution Sure they do. The constitution doesen't have to be a single document. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. The American constitution has basically become immutable at this point while meaningful reform is still possible in Britain.
- astrange 4y ago
  I'd say Canada has a better system; there's at least a parliamentary act passed saying what's in the constitution, and the people who wrote it are still around to explain themselves. (Australia loses points because they forgot to have a bill of rights.) The US changes its constitution by just having the Supreme Court make things up. As you can see from the Lochner era, this has rarely worked well.
  - goosedragons 4y ago
    There are uncodefied parts of the Canadian constitution too. The codefied parts begin with a sentence that's essentially "copy/paste the UK constitution here". The Supreme Court of Canada has also said they can add unwritten parts of the constitution and the written parts aren't exhaustive.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
123pie123 4y ago
I always been told they do, it's just not written down
- astrange 4y ago
  As I said, some of it is "officially" written down in an unsigned newspaper letter to the editor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascelles_Principles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascelles_Principles Notably the article doesn't even know if the letter is still the law or not. > Following passage of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, which repealed the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, these principles are thought to have been revived.
petesergeant 4y ago
> To have a constitutional government, you should first have a constitution. Here’s another page that could probably use the fruits of your research: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kingdom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_K...
- astrange 4y ago
  Do you believe this one too? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_People's_R... Not to claim it's the same situation, but there's a difference between things that are officially true and things you should actually respect. You shouldn't respect most of the US judicial system either.
  - petesergeant 4y ago
    > but there's a difference between things that are officially true and things you should actually respect Could you relate that back to your initial claim that "the UK still has an absolute monarchy", which appears to be both officially untrue and untrue in practice?
    - astrange 4y ago
      Well, I'd respect it more if the monarch had a few less of these powers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_prerogative_in_the_United_Kingdom#Prerogative_powers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_prerogative_in_the_Unite... Especially https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2013/01/26/tom-adams-royal-consent-and-hidden-power/ https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2013/01/26/tom-adams-royal-c... + https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/08/royals-vetted-more-than-1000-laws-via-queens-consent https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/08/royals-vette... They don't even make the monarch get a driver's licence or pay taxes because laws don't apply to them. (Instead they voluntarily pay taxes and don't speed.) Maybe they could try writing some of that down in a constitution.
jamiegreen 4y ago
Britain does have a constitution
arrowsmith 4y ago
Good thing that Britain has a constitution then.
- youngtaff 4y ago
  One that was made up as those in power went along and has never really been codified
jjgreen 4y ago
Britain has great food, just look for a Pakistani place ...
BjoernKW 4y ago
> British people will also tell you they have good food If you've ever eaten Indian curry (of the tikka masala variety in particular), chances are, its recipe was British in origin. While traditional British food might not appear particularly appealing to the discerning palate, Great Britain is home to many a culinary innovation.