In the John Adams mini-series, Thomas Jefferson comments upon the U.S. Constitution, written in 1787 while he was in France. He asserts that it was arrogant and improper for the ‘Framers’ to bind the hands of future generations by making it a thing so difficult to change.
James Madison, the ‘Father of the Constitution,’ and his lot believed the Supreme Law of the Land ought not to be subject to willy-nilly alterations and in Article VII of said document, set a high bar amending the Constitution … requiring ratification by ¾ of the states.
No surprise, then, that since the Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10) in 1791, there have been but 17 additional amendments.
Rather than trying to change the Constitution, the Left, cleverly, over the years, have worked instead for a looser interpretation of Constitution.
Conservatives, historically, have called for a ‘strict constructionist’ interpretation of the Constitution.
Ironically, Jefferson’s intense desire for limited government has been better served by the strict-constructionist view of interpreting the Constitution.
Regarding limited government in Britain, my understanding is that on any given Wednesday, the Commons could, if it chose to, rescind the Constitution Act of 1867 and take back Canada.