8.2a Constitutional Reform (1997-2010)

Question 1

Demand for Reform

Answer 1

Demand for reform came from a broad range of groups who wanted to modernise British institutions and a growing distrust in traditional institutions.

There were also growing demands for devolution to Scotland and to fix the problems in Northern Ireland.

When New Labour came to power in 1997 under the leadership of Tony Blair they promised wide ranging constitutional reforms.

There is still debate about whether these reforms went far enough.

Question 2

House of Lords Act 1999

Answer 2

The House of Lords Act 1999 removed all but 92 hereditary peers.

The Lords became a mainly appointed chamber, with peers appointed based on merit as opposed to by birth with the removal of most hereditary peers.

Question 3

House of Lords Reform: Did Enough I

Answer 3

No one party has a majority.

An unelected house means that experts can be appointed.
For example, Lord Norton, a politics professor and constitutional expert.

People who can represent underrepresented groups in society can be appointed.
Lord Bird (ex-homeless man and founder of the Big Issue) represents homeless people, a group who often go unrepresented.

Question 4

House of Lords Reform: Lfe Peerages

Answer 4

Life peerages mean that peers don’t have to worry about election or removal from office if they make decisions that are unpopular with their party or a small group of constituents.

Life peerages mean that Lords can, therefore, consider the long-term interests of the country.

Question 5

House of Lords Reform: More reform is needed

Answer 5

There are still 92 hereditary peers – an idea that is outdated in a meritocratic society.

There are 26 Bishops but no representation for other religions.

Party leaders still make political appointments to the House of Lords.

The House of Lords remains unelected despite having influence over lawmaking and being able to hold the government to account.

Question 6

House of Lords Reform: More reform is needed

Answer 6

It is very large and very costly – over 800 peers – making it the second largest legislative chamber in the world.

The 2017 Burns report called for a reduction in the size of the House of Lords and for term limits of members.

Question 7

Devolution:

Answer 7

In 1998 the Scotland Act, Northern Ireland Act and Government of Wales Act established the Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly and Welsh Assembly.

There had been a growing demand for Scottish independence and a need to unite the unionist and nationalist parties in Northern Ireland.

Question 8

Devolution: Did Enough

Answer 8

The Good Friday agreement and devolution to the Northern Ireland Assembly transformed the situation in Northern Ireland.

Until the collapse of the power-sharing agreement in January 2017 the two main parties had been working together.

Although there are calls for more devolution to England, when a referendum was held on the idea of an elected regional assembly for the north east of England the idea was rejected.

Question 9

Devolution: Wales

Answer 9

There have been multiple pieces of legislation devolving further powers to Wales since 1998, in 2006, 2014 and 2017.

One of the reasons for this increased demand is the imbalance in the powers given in 1998 when Wales gained fewer powers than Scotland.

The Welsh nationalist movement has been growing and demand for further devolution continues.

Question 10

Devolution: Scotland

Answer 10

Devolution did not stem the demand for Scottish independence.

In 2014 there was a Scottish independence referendum which was only narrowly won by the unionists. The Scottish National Party are now much more popular and electorally successful than in 1998.

There has also been further devolution to Scotland in 2016.

Question 11

Devolution: Northern Ireland

Answer 11

Since the 2016 EU referendum there have been ongoing discussions over how Brexit will work for Northern Ireland as it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland (an EU member).

The Northern Ireland Act 1998 will need to be amended as part of the Brexit process, causing possible conflict in Ireland.

Question 12

Devolution: More devolution needed

Answer 12

It is argued that more devolution of powers to England is needed.

The West Lothian question is the problem of Scottish MPs being able to vote in the House of Commons on matters that only affect England whilst English MPs have no say in devolved Scottish Matters.

The Barnett formula is used to determine the amount of funding per head given to each part of the UK and is out of date as it was devised in 1978.

The formula means that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland receive more money per head than England.

Question 13

Human Rights Act

Answer 13

The 1998 Human Rights Act (HRA) incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK law.

The freedoms contained in the ECHR include the freedoms to life, to a fair trial, of expression and from discrimination among many others.

The ECHR requires states to hold free and fair elections, abolish the death penalty, preserve family life and give foreigners the same rights as all citizens in a state.

Question 14

HRA: Supreme Court

Answer 14

The Human Rights Act (HRA) means that any public body cannot act in a way that would break with the convention and that the judiciary must make rulings that are compatible with it.

The Supreme Court can strike down secondary legislation that is incompatible with the HRA, but for primary legislation they can only issue a ‘Doctrine of Incompatibility’ urging parliament to change the statute, this is due to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty.

Question 15

HRA: Did Enough

Answer 15

The fundamental rights of all British Citizens are very clearly laid out in one easily accessible piece of legislation.

There was an 8-fold increase in the number of human rights cases and claims brought to the high court after the Human Rights Act was passed.

Question 16

HRA: More reform is needed

Answer 16

Some Conservatives resent the link to the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg and want to replace the HRA with a British Bill of Rights that defines certain rights more narrowly.

Despite the HRA, it is possible for the government to restrict the human rights of individuals.

In 2005 the government introduced control orders, allowing the authorities to restrict the movements of suspected terrorists.

In order to do this, they simply had to declare an exemption from Article 5 of the HRA for those who fall under suspicion.

Question 17

2005 Constitutional Reform Act

Answer 17

The Act separated the government and the judiciary.

The Act formed a Supreme Court which separated parliament from the judiciary.

The Act reformed the appointment process for senior judicial appointments.

Question 18

Lord Chancellor

Answer 18

The Act split the powers of the Lord Chancellor into 3 different roles as previously the holder of this position had been a member of the government, speaker of the House of Lords and head of the judiciary with the power to appoint judges.

Now the Lord Chancellor is simply a government role with the Lord Speaker presiding over the House of Lords and the Lord Chief Justice as head of the judiciary.

These reforms made the judiciary more independent.

Question 19

Supreme Court

Answer 19

The Supreme Court was formed to replace the ‘Law Lords’ as the UK’s highest court of appeal.

This reform separated parliament from the judiciary.

Question 20

Supreme Court: Appointments

Answer 20

Prior to the reforms, senior judicial appointments were made by the prime minister and Lord Chancellor, who are political figures.

The Act established a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to appoint candidate’s based solely on their legal qualifications and ability.

The government makes the final decision on appointments but they must be approved by the JAC.

Question 21

Supreme Court: Reforms did enough

Answer 21

There is now a clear separation of the 3 branches of government which prevents abuse of power.

The judiciary is physically and constitutionally separate from the executive and legislature allowing for greater judicial independence, strengthening rule of law.

Question 22

Supreme Court: More reform is needed

Answer 22

The Supreme Court is much weaker than its counterparts in most other liberal democracies (with codified constitutions). It cannot strike down legislation as that would weaken (or perhaps destroy) parliamentary sovereignty.

The composition of the supreme court is not very diverse, however, neither is the group of well qualified, experienced judges from which they have to choose their ranks and is a problem in the judiciary as a whole.

Question 23

Electoral Reform:

Answer 23

Electoral reform has remained an important issue in UK politics for many years including around voting age and the electoral system.

Question 24

Electoral Reform: Electoral system

Answer 24

New Labour introduced various forms of proportional representation for elections to the European Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies.

The additional member system (AMS) was introduced for the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament elections.
The single transferable vote (STV) was used for the Northern Irish Assembly elections.

Question 25

Electoral Reform: AV

Answer 25

In 2011 a referendum was held on introducing the alternative vote (AV) system for general elections to parliament at Westminster.

The referendum rejected the proposed electoral reform and a first past the post system (FPTP) remains the system used.

Question 26

Electoral Reform: Voting age

Answer 26

The voting age for UK citizens is 18 for UK general elections.

In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the voting age was lowered to 16 for the first time.

There remains calls for the voting age to be lowered from 18 for all UK elections.