ABSTRACT
The British political system is the product of an extraordinary evolution, from Anglo-Saxon times to the twentieth century, when our present structure essentially emerged. From absolute monarchy to representative democracy in a millennium and a half would not be too bad an approximation of the transition involved. The history and ancient nature of this process tell us the British are a conservative people, slow to change and keen to hang on, even with a degree of nostalgia, to outdated symbols of our monarchical past, like the annual opening of Parliament and the ceremony attending the Queen’s Speech.
