The United Kingdom does not have a single document that sets forth the structure and governance of the body politic.  The term “constitution’ instead refers to a collection of laws and principles drawn from statutes, common law,parliamentary convention and works of authority that define the relationship between the individual and the state and the functioning of the legislature,the executive and the judicial branches of government. The English Constitution by Walter Bagehot is considered by many to be the most accessible work on the subject.  The focus is on the functioning of Parliament and the Monarchy, defining the rights of the monarch, and dividing the principles into two groups, the dignified and the efficient. Bagehot gives considerable attention to the contrasts between the British and American systems, finding considerable flaws and absurdities in the American methods, particularly the lack of flexibility and accountability and the fact that Congress cannot effect a change of government. His remarks on the selection of the president are especially relevant today: "Under a presidential constitution the preliminary caucuses that choose the president need not care as to the ultimate fitness of the person they choose. They are solely concerned with his attractiveness as a candidate; they need not regard his efficiency as a ruler."  The book was an inspiration for Woodrow Wilson’s Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics and is a standard guidebook for British monarchs past, present and future.

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