The tone of British politics has shifted from the ideology-driven years of Conservatives Margaret Thatcher and John Major to the relatively ideology-free years of their Labour successors. The fabric of British politics has also shifted—from the institutional reforms of the 1980s and 1990s to the constitutional reforms of the late 1990s through the early years of the twenty-first century. In this highly readable text, American scholar Bruce Norton, who has lived in Britain since 1987, examines these shifts in British politics and offers a stimulating, balanced perspective on the changing nature of political leadership; electoral reforms and major trends in voting behavior; the evolving relations between central government and local governments and the newly devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland; the increasing impact of the European Union on British government and politics; and the emergence of the judiciary as a significant force in shaping public policy in twenty-first century Britain.