8.1a Development of the UK Constitution Flashcards
Key themes in development
Power used to be centralised in the hands of the monarch.
The main themes of constitutional development have been the transferral of power from the monarch to parliament and the increase in the rights of citizens.
Beginnings of the Consitution
The constitution is generally thought to have begun with the Magna Carta in 1215.
The Magna Carta was an agreement between King John and his barons to prevent the abuse of royal power.
The Magna Carta sets out the principle that no one (including the king) is above the law and sets out the right to a fair trial for all free men.
The Bill of Rights
The next development of constitutional significance was the Bill of Rights which was put into law when William III and Mary II took the throne in 1689.
The Bill of Rights established the idea that the Monarch’s power is reliant on the consent of parliament and set up frequent parliaments, freedom of speech within parliament (parliamentary privilege) and free elections.
Act of Settlement (1701)
The Act of Settlement (1701) stated that only a Protestant could become monarch and gave control over the line of succession to the throne to parliament.
This was shortly followed by the first of the Acts of Union - Acts that established the union of Scotland (1707) and Ireland (1801) with England to form Great Britain.
This was the basis of the UK until the devolution reforms in 1997.
1911 and 1949 Parliament Acts
A budget crisis was created in 1909 when the Lords rejected Lloyd-George’s ‘People’s Budget’ which had a substantial tax increase.
In response the 1911 Parliament Act prevented the Lords from delaying money bills and prevented them delaying other bills for more than 2 years.
The 1949 Parliament Act reduced the period for which the House of Lords could delay a bill to 1 year.
1972 European Communities Act
European Communities Act (1972) was the piece of legislation that entered Britain into the European Economic Community which would later become the EU.
This gave EEC/EU law precedence over UK law in the case of a conflict.
The Brexit process involves repealing this act.
