THE ECONOMICS OF UK CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE: INTRODUCTION

The tectonic plates of UK economic and political power are shifting. The Glorious Revolution in 1688 brought institutional reforms, including the Bill of Rights, that aligned political and taxation power in Westminster. In their famous study, North and Weingast (1989) interpreted this alignment as a necessary condition for the industrial revolution to take place in England. Local government functioned through parishes, boroughs and counties which survived most of the next century before consolidating into regional authorities. Over the next two centuries, UK government became increasingly centralised in line with political enfranchisement.