Book description
Democracy is Britain's gift to the world. Most of the ideas and
ideals that have shaped the world's democracies can be traced back to
arguments and reforms that first erupted here.
Democracy tells the thousand-year story of the bitter battles
over those arguments and reforms, in the words of those who shaped our
democracy, fought for it and resisted it. It includes the major
documents of the past millennium, such as the Magna Carta and the Bill
of Rights, and the speeches of the big beasts of the democratic
jungle, such as Thomas More, Cromwell, Wilberforce, Gladstone and
Churchill, as well as the contributions made to the democracy struggle
by rebels, poets, satirists and novelists, from Shakespeare and Burns
to Dickens and Orwell.
Also featured are many important documents that have been rescued
from obscurity, such as a speech that a prominent twentieth century MP
was barred from delivering: he wanted to argue why he should not be
expelled from the House of Commons.
Democracy covers not just the constitution and the law, but
debates over free speech, slavery, empire, the death penalty and
Europe, and includes key events in England's relations with Scotland,
Wales and Ireland.
This remarkable chronicle is guaranteed to inform, educate and inspire.
Peter Kellner is President of YouGov and was formerly an
award-winning journalist and political commentator.
