Although most countries in the world have a formal written constitution, there are several notable exceptions including Israel, New Zealand and my nearest neighbour the United Kingdom. Which is surprising when you consider that most people believe that the notion of a constitution was actually born in the UK with the creation of the Magna Carta in 1215 - one of the first written documents to limit the power of a monarch and lay the ground work for civil liberties.

So where on Earth is the British Constitution? The British Constitution has in fact evolved over many centuries and is part history, part tradition. It is made up of common law, statute law and custom, oh and a few bits taken from important documents, like the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights (1689) and the more modern European Convention on Human Rights.

This means that the British Constitution is flexible and can change subject to the will of Parliament. Some believe that this is a good thing helping the country stay up to date with current political trends and thinking, others believe that it does little to preserve civil liberties giving the government of the day too much power over the people it governs. All a bit confusing really. Particularly, if like me, you are not a constitutional expert.

So yes, Britain does have a constitution but don’t bother asking to see a copy at your local library because, unlike our new country no-one has ever bothered to write it down in a nice neat document.