How Language Works in Politics - 9781529200201

How Language Works in PoliticsThe Impact of Vague Legislation on Policy\nAuthor(s): Matthew Williams\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Bristol University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Bristol University Press\nISBN-13: 9781529200201, 978-1529200201\nSynopsis\nThere were more colons used in legislation in 2015 than there were words enacted in 1900. Using analysis from machine readings of all legislation enacted between 1900 and 2015, this book discusses the social impact of increasingly elastic legislative language on the contemporary workings of the British constitution.\n\nThe hot-button debates of our time from immigration to European integration, to the creeping power of judges have, at their core, battles over what policy instructions are authoritative. \n\nThe book encourages readers to connect the dots of British statecraft, and to understand how, exactly, public demands are transferred into laws that are then implemented with greater and lesser degrees of success. Crucially, i.