1.2 how the constitution has changed since 1997

Question 1

Why was there pressure to reform in the 1990s?

Answer 1

• demand for modernisation
• the experience of Conservative rule, 1978-97

Question 2

Why was there pressure for change after conservative rule?

Answer 2

• conservative governments had refused to undertake constitutional reforms
• accusations of corruptions or ‘sleaze’ against many parliamentarians in the 1990s

Question 3

What were the five major areas of reform Labour governments focused on?

Answer 3

• House of Lords reform
• electoral reform
• devolution
• the human rights act
• the creation of the supreme court

Question 4

How did Labour reform the House of Lords?

Answer 4

• government ended the right of all but 92 hereditary peers to sit in the Lords
• gave the Lords a more ‘modern’ appearance
• majority of members were now life peers
• no political party had a dominant position

Question 5

How did Labour reform the electoral reforms?

Answer 5

• forms of proportional representation were introduced for elections to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Parliament, NI Assembly
• Labour had no interest in changing arrangements for Westminster

Question 6

How did Labour reform Devolution?

Answer 6

• devolved bodies were created for Scotland, Wales and NI following referendums in these places
• government had no answer for the West Lothian question = Scottish MPs at Westminster were able to vote on purely english matters, but english MPs had no influence over issues in the Scottish Parliament

Question 7

How did Labour reform the Human Rights Act?

Answer 7

• the act incorporated the ECHR into UK statute law
• all future legislation had to be compatible with the ECHR

Question 8

How did Labour reform the creation of the Supreme Court?

Answer 8

• 2005 Constitutional Reform Act led to the establishment of a supreme court four years later
• the highest court of appeal in the UK for civil cases and for criminal cases

Question 9

What were the main areas of disagreement under the coalition?

Answer 9

• house of lords reform and house of commons boundary reform
• electoral reform
• rights

Question 10

Why was there disagreements under the coalition on house of lords reform and house of commons boundary reform?

Answer 10

• plans for a mainly elected HoL were dropped after a rebellion by 91 backbench conservative MPs
• the Lib Dems retaliated by blocking the implementation of legislation designed to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600

Question 11

Why was there disagreements under the coalition on electoral reform?

Answer 11

• a referendum was held in May 2011, with the conservatives campaigning to retain FPTP and Lib Dems arguing for the adoption of AV
• the proposal of AV was rejected by 68% of those who voted
• the result seemed to be more a vote against the Lib Dems themselves than against the electoral system they were promoting

Question 12

Why was there disagreements under the coalition on rights?

Answer 12

• conservatives wanted to replace the HRA with a British Bill of Rights
• Lib Dems wanted to retain the act
• a commission tasked with investigating the issue failed to find a way forward

Question 13

What were the most significant change under the coaliton?

Answer 13

• devolution
• The Fixed Term Parliaments Act (2011)
• Reform of the House of Commons
• The Recall of MPs Act (2015)

Question 14

Why was there significant changes to devolution in Wales under the coalition?

Answer 14

• a referendum was held in Wales in March 2011 on proposals to grant further powers to the Welsh Parliament
• resulted in the parliament receiving direct law-making power in all of the 20 policy areas that had been devolved to it

Question 15

Why was there significant changes to devolution in Scotland under the coalition?

Answer 15

• Scottish Parliament received more powers under the 2012 Scotland Act
• in September 2014 a referendum was held in Scotland on proposals for independence, resulted in a 55% vote to stay in the UK

Question 16

Why was there significant changes to devolution in England under the coalition?

Answer 16

• English votes for English laws (EVEL), if a measure that concerns only England comes before the HoC, it can pass only with the approval of a ‘grand committee’ consisting solely of English MPs

Question 17

Why was The Fixed Term Parliaments Act (2011) a significant change under the coalition?

Answer 17

• ended the prime ministers historic power to choose the date of a general election by establishing that a new parliament must be elected on a fixed date, at five-year intervals
• earlier contests can only be held if two-thirds of MPs vote for one, or if a prime minister loses a vote of no confidence and fails to form a government within a 14 day period

Question 18

Why was Reform of the House of Commons a significant change under the coalition?

Answer 18

• the coalition implemented reforms recommended by a committee chaired by Labour MP
• chairs of select committees were to be chosen by MPs
• a backbench business committee was created, which chooses topics for debate

Question 19

Why was The Recall of MPs Act (2015) a significant change under the coalition?

Answer 19

• voters had no legal means of removing scandalous MPs who refused to resign their seats
• if an MP is sentenced to a custodial sentence or is suspended from the commons for more than 21 days, a by-election is triggered if at least 10% of constituents sign a recall petition