- “If Aristotle, Livy, and Harrington knew what a republic was, the British constitution is much more like a republic than an empire. They define a republic to be a government of laws, and not of men. If this definition is just, the British constitution is nothing more or less than a republic, in which the king is first magistrate. This office being hereditary, and being possessed of such ample and splendid prerogatives, is no objection to the government’s being a republic, as long as it is bound by fixed laws, which the people have a voice in making, and a right to defend.” John Adams.
- “…taxation and representation should be co-extensive. Do not women pay taxes? As you might guess this quote comes from a time when women were seeking the vote.” Bertrand Russell
- “…she owes her success in practice to her inconsistencies in principle.” Thomas Hardy
- “[The British constitution] presumes more boldly than any other the good sense and the good faith of those who work it. ” I think this is Gladstone but I’ve put my notes in a safe place!
- “Necessity hath no law.” Oliver Cromwell
- “I have already joined myself in marriage to a husband, namely the kingdom of England.” Queen Elizabeth I
- “A store of traditions and presidents.” Winston Churchill
- “I am not a reluctant peer but a persistent commoner” – Tony Benn.
- “To no man will we sell, or deny, or delay right or justice” – The Magna Carta.
- “We are not interested in the possibility of defeat; they do not exist.” Queen Victoria