History in the modern world -- 1. The historian as judge -- 2. On apologising for history -- 3. Magna Carta then and now -- 4. Arcana imperii : state secrets through the ages -- 5. The disunited kingdom: England, Ireland and Scotland -- Law: conceptions and misconceptions -- 6. Home truths about judicial diversity -- 7. Abolishing personal injuries law: a project -- 8. A question of taste: the Supreme Court and the interpretation of contracts -- The constitution: towards an uncertain future: -- 9. Brexit: a primer for foreigners -- 10. Brexit and the British constitution -- 11. Britain in the twenties: the future of the constitution -- 12. Government by decree: Covid-19 and the British constitution.

"Pandemics, Brexit, the possible break-up of the UK, this is a country in crisis. Can democracy survive? In crises the law sets the boundaries of what the government can and should do. But in a country without a written constitution such as the UK, the precise limits between legal obligation and convention can be hazy. Former supreme court judge Jonathan Sumption wrestles with past, current and potential crises that this increasingly divided country faces; from the role of the Supreme Court to the uses of referenda; from the rise of nationalisms within the United Kingdom to the diversity of judges. With razor-sharp intelligence and far-reaching analysis, Sumption exposes the subtleties of British public life and the uses and abuses of political power."-- Taken from book-cover.