Runnymede

As a lecturer in Constitutional Law, with a keen interest in British and US politics, the Magna Carta has a special place in my heart - and the meadows at Runnymede, on the banks of the Thames close to Windsor, are the place where the historic agreement was agreed.

Why are the events of June 1215 so important? and why should we regard what was achieved there as central to modern democratic states.

Magna Carta did not initiate 'democracy'. The idea is much older - and its achievement comes, if indeed it has fully arrived yet, only in the last century. Universal suffrage in the U.K., - with the same minimum age came only in 1929.

The significance of Magna Carta, is that an over-mighty Executive believed that there were no constraints upon his actions. The Magna Carta established the principle that the exercise of executive power was subject to the law. The Rule of Law is supreme. It also constrained the power of the State to require that it's citizens pay for the activities of the State. Later this was developed into the principle that the House of Commons must approve any taxation.

These principles remain important today. Many fear that there is a growing arrogance among the Executives of democratic states - the ones that have traditionally celebrated the achievements in Runnymede - evidenced by the attitudes and actions of Donald Trump - and in the UK over Brexit. Despite the Supreme Court asserting the sovereignty of Parliament - the Government, with the passive support of its supporters in both Hoses of Parliament - demanded and got a blank cheque over the triggering of Article 50 and the process of Brexit. Rights of citizens and other taxpayers (yes we have people who live in this country, and who contribute to our society both by their work and their taxes, who were denied a vote in the referendum) - are being sacrificed for a hard-Brexit that only a tiny minority voted for.

It is time to remind ourselves of our great heritage - and to ensure it continues.