May I make the following two points in response to the generous comments by Joshua Rozenberg concerning the paper Towards a codified constitution, produced by a working group chaired by Professor Vernon Bogdanor and myself, and published by Justice.

First, many may think that the very fact that, as Mr Rozenberg states, there are a number of unanswered questions relating to the provisions of our constitution itself shows the value of the exercise upon which we have embarked. Can it be acceptable in a democratic society for the fundamental arrangements under which the community is governed to be in many respects uncertain and difficult to ascertain?

Second, this point is even stronger when one considers the issue of change. Supporters of the status quo (seemingly including Mr Rozenberg) point to the flexibility of an unwritten constitution. But what this really means is that major changes to our constitutional arrangements can be made without any democratic mandate whatsoever.

Nonetheless, we greatly welcome the debate and congratulate you on providing space for it to continue.

Stephen Hockman QC, London