chapter 1- Historical context Flashcards
What were the key provisions of the Magna Carta?
- Guaranteed freedom of the church from royal interference
- King could not raise taxes without the consent of the people
- The right to due process in law was guaranteed
- The right to trial by jury was guaranteed
- Justice had to be free and fair
- The nobles could select a committee of 25 to scrutinise the actions of the king
Why was the bill of rights a major milestone in the development of the UK’s constitution?
- It removed royal interference in elections
- It placed limits on the use of royal prerogative
- It established the legal position of the army
- It established the key freedoms or rights of the government
- It formally established parliamentary sovereignty
Give three provisions in the Bill of Rights 1689?
- Suspension of execution of laws without parliamentary consent was made illegal
- Subjects were given the right to petition the king
- Members of parliament must be elected in free elections
What were the problems with the bill of rights 1689?
- Rights were vague and could be easily reinterpreted
- The precise definition of ‘free elections’ was unclear
- As a statute law it held no higher legal authority and so could be easily repealed or replaced by a future parliament
- There was no formal procedure for the removal of the monarchy
- The monarch still held enormous powers over war, the peaceful running of the kingdom and foreign policy
The act of settlement 1701 established several principles that had been suggested during the debates over the Bill of Rights ?
- Judges could not be removed without the consent of parliament
- Royal pardons were to be irrelevant in cases of impeachment
- The monarch could not take England into a war to defend their home country without the consent of parliament
- In governing Britain the monarch could not make decisions alone and had to consult the full privy council
What did the 1911 Parliament act do ?
- Give the Commons exclusive powers over money bills
- allowed the Lords to delay a bill for two years only
- reduce the duration of parliament from 7 to 5 years
- removed Lords’ ability to veto legislation
what was the cause of the 1911 parliament act ?
rise of democracy in the UK meant the status of the House of Lords as the upper chamber was being increasingly challenged
- Lords Salisbury stepped down as PM in 1902 becoming the last Lord to serve as PM
- Lords lost power to new county councils and took over running of the shires
- Opposition grew over the fact that the Lords had an inbuilt conservative majority
- Lords defeated ‘Peoples’ budget’ because it would directly affect them land and inheritances taxes being increased
- Liberals appealed to the country and won a decisive general election to pass the ‘People’s Budget
was to prevent the lords from ever again rejecting a proposal that had popular support.
What did the 1949 Parliament act do?
-Further reduced the Lord’s delaying powers to one year
What was the cause of the 1949 Parliament act ?
Resulted from a conflict between the Labour government of Clement Attlee and the Conservative-dominated House of Lords. to prevent the Lords from blocking the Iron and Steel act attempted to pass a new parliament act.
