Articles

The British Political Elite: social and historical context and background As class and social structure has a direct impact on political life, it seems appropriate to start the discussion by giving an outline of the social structure of Britain and of its modern history. To begin with we shall define the nature of the state and nation. In the political sphere, constitution remains unwritten and probably unwritable, and contains large elements that are the effect and residue of long established custom and convention, rather than legal or executive recognition, and is completely open to amendment in every particular, containing (and...

The Start of the Decolonisation Process of the British Empire: The Dominions, and the Commonwealth. With Britain facing the rising competition of the United States, Japan and Germany, and political challenge within the Empire from the four white Dominions already exercising self-government in colonial affairs, the question of the political future of the Empire loomed larger than ever. One solution appeared to be to close ranks, to draw together the various colonies under a more centralised control from London. This did not impress the colonies already exercising responsible government. The idea of a grand imperial federation, as propagated by the...

The British Conservative Government's Political Elite, and Post WWII Co-operation with Europe: Crisis of Confidence in British Politics, and the 2016 Referendum on Disrupting the Status quo! British Application to Join the European Economic Community Harold MacMillan, the Conservative Prime Minister like his predecessors Churchill and Eden, (all Conservative PMs) had the view that "we are with Europe, but not of it. We are linked, but not compromised. We are interested and associated, but not absorbed.... We belong to no single continent, but to all."1 Nevertheless, as was, in particular, Churchill, so was MacMillan in favour of the creation of...

What is the Commonwealth? The Modern Commonwealth is the free association of sovereign states that had been members of the British Empire. "A loose, but in some ways powerful, association united by similar legal and political institutions, but bound by no constitution or rules of membership. The United Kingdom monarch is widely recognised by the member states as head, though it is not clear what this means. The monarch cannot be head of the Commonwealth, since that is a position that bears no legal sovereignty. Nor can (s)he be head of each state, since that is legally impossible, and formally...

The Path to Independence of the British Colonies The Indians set the example for the political independence of the developing world. The achievement of recognition as a nation for the Indians came after a long and difficult struggle, whereas similar achievement for the white colonies came much more easily. The Indians had been frustrated in their claim to Dominion status throughout the early twentieth century. It was the Japanese eruption into south-east Asia which brought many more political changes than the British political elite had ever contemplated in the 1930s. "The sudden and striking victory of the yellow man imposed...