There is very little for the general reader that describes what has happened to the constitution since New Labour came to power. 'Reinventing Britain' – an edited collection of essays by leading academics and practitioners – aims to fill that gap.

Since the election in May 1997, the British state has undergone radical change. For the previous seventy years, constitutional reform had been on the margins of British politics, pursued only fitfully – or coincidentally (as with the country's accession to the European Community). But in the last ten years, we have seen the institutional architecture of the state remodelled and the relationship between citizen and state has been refashioned. New legislatures have been established; Britons have been given new rights; and the country will soon have a new Supreme Court, free of any link to Parliament.

The book is in two parts. The first tells a coherent story – of what has happened, how it has happened and why it has happened. The essays in the second half stand back from the narrative and ask – from contrasting standpoints – what this all adds up to.

'Reinventing Britain' is an essential read for anyone who cares about our constitution.