Constitution

Question 1

Constitution definition?

Answer 1

A set of rules determining where sovereignty lies in a political system, and establishing the relationship between the government and the governed.

Question 2

Unentrenched definition?

Answer 2

A constitution with no special procedure for amendment.

Question 3

Uncodified definition?

Answer 3

A constitution not contained in a single written document.

Question 4

Unitary definition?

Answer 4

A political system where all legal sovereignty is contained in a single place.

Question 5

Parliamentary sovereignty definition?

Answer 5

The principle that Parliament can make, amend or unmake any law, and cannot bind its successors or be bound by its predecessors.

Question 6

‘Rule of Law’ definition?

Answer 6

The principle that all people and bodies, including government, must follow the law and can be held to account if they do not.

Question 7

Statute law definition?

Answer 7

Laws passed by Parliament.

Question 8

Common law definition?

Answer 8

Laws made by judges where the law does not cover the issue or is unclear.

Question 9

Conventions definition?

Answer 9

Traditions not contained in law but influential in the operation of a political system.

Question 10

Authoritative works definition?

Answer 10

Works written by experts describing how a political system is run, they are not legally binding but are taken as significant guides.

Question 11

Treaties definition?

Answer 11

Formal agreements with other countries, usually ratified by Parliament.

Question 12

Devolution definition?

Answer 12

The dispersal of power, but not sovereignty, within a political system.

Question 13

Key historical documents that have developed the constitution?

Answer 13

→ Magna Carta (1215)
→ Bill of Rights (1689)
→ Act of Settlement (1701)
→ Acts of Union (1707)
→ Parliament Acts (1911 and 1949)
→ The European Communities Act (1972)

Question 14

Key reforms under the New Labour government of 1997.

Answer 14

→ House of Lords Reform
→ Human Rights Act
→ Constitutional Reform Act
→ Freedom of Information Act
→ Devolution

Question 15

House of Lords reform under New Labour.

Answer 15

House of Lords Act 1999:
Step 1 - all but 92 hereditary peers removed.
Step 2 - agree how to appoint people to the chamber - this stage never happened.

Question 16

Human Rights Act.

Answer 16

Human Rights Act 1998:
Under the law UK citizens could take their concerns that otherwise would’ve been taken to the ECHR to UK courts to receive a response about their rights. The act ensured that access to rights was a part of our constitution.

Question 17

Constitutional Reform Act.

Answer 17

Constitutional Reform Act 2005:

The Act divided the role of Lord Chancellor into 3 separate jobs: Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief and Lord Speaker.
1. The role of the Lord Chancellor is to oversee appointments of courts, legal aid and prison services.
2. The role of Lord Chief is as president of the Courts of England and Wales.
3. The role of the Lord Speaker is to preside over the House of Lords.

The act also reformed appointments to the Supreme Court - judges were now appointed through an official process with the Supreme Court Commission.

Question 18

Freedom of Information Act.

Answer 18

Freedom of Information Act 2000:
- This Act established a right pf access to recorded information from over 100,000 public bodies in England, Wales and N. Ireland.
- The Act lists 24 exemptions to the ‘right of public access’ - 9 are exempted always but 15 are subject to whether the organisation believes it to be in the country’s best interest to release the information.

Question 19

Devolution under New Labour:

Answer 19

• Scotland Act (1998)
• Government of Wales Act (1998)
• Northern Ireland Act (1998)
• Greater London Authority Act (1999)

Question 20

Major constitutional reforms under the coalition government of 2010-2015?

Answer 20

→ Fixed Term Parliaments Act
→ Devolution to Wales
→ Wright Reforms

Question 21

Fixed Term Parliaments Act

Answer 21

Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011:
- It was established that all subsequent elections would be held every 5 years on the first Thursday in May.
- There was two ways in which a general election could be triggered to occur earlier:
1. If the a motion of ‘no confidence’ - the majority of MPs voted they had lost confidence in the government.
2. If 2/3 of MPs voted for an early election.

Question 22

Devolution in Wales.

Answer 22

The Wales Act 2014:
Devolves more power to Wales, including control of some taxes and changing the name of the Assembly to a Parliament.

Question 23

Wright Reforms

Answer 23

• The backbench committee was created; helping backbenchers to get more of a voice in Parliament.
• E-petition campaign was launched under this reform which has been successful in engaging the public with government.

Question 24

Major constitutional reforms since 2015?

Answer 24

→ Further devolution to Scotland.
→ Elections Act
→ Brexit

Question 25

Further devolution to Scotland post 2015?

Answer 25

Scotland Act 2016:
- Devolved legislative powers including abortion law, speed limits and welfare to the Scottish Government.
- Devolved new income tax powers and removable taxes.
- Recognised the Scottish government as permanent feature of the UK constitution that cannot be abolished unless approved by a referendum.
- Parliament will not legislate on devolve matters without consent.

Question 26

Elections Act

Answer 26

Elections Act 2022:
1. Requires voters to bring photo ID to elections as a measure of anti-fraud.
2. Impowers ministers to issue strategies and priorities for the Electoral Commission.
3. Fixes the number of constituencies at 650 - the boundary reviews no long need Parliamentary approval.
4. Mean that mayoral and PCC elections now use first past the post.
5. It ends restrictions on overseas British citizen and reforms EU citizen voting rights.

Question 27

Brexit

Answer 27

→ European Union Withdrawal Act (2018):
- Under the Act all existing EU laws were retained on UK statute as a new category of UK law called retained EU law. This is a strength of the Act as it meant that 50 years’ worth of EU law was now established in the UK constitution.

→ European Union Withdrawal Agreement Act (2020):
- The act provided the UK with a (just under) one year transition period between the UK leaving the EU and them officially leaving trade with the EU. This was a strength of the agreement as it allowed for frictionless trade.

Question 28

Timeline of how has devolution evolved in Scotland.

Answer 28

→ 1988 Scotland Act - establishes a Scottish Parliament.
→ 2012 Scotland Act - extension of tax powers.
→ 2016 Scotland Act - extends more powers, including tax, abortion and speed limits. Recognises the Scottish Parliament as a permanent constitutional arrangement that cannot be abolished.

Question 29

Arguments that devolution in Scotland has been a success?

Answer 29

→Scotland could make up for its poor economy compared to England by lords of public policy reforms positively:
- Free personal care for the elderly
- Abolition of up-front tuition fees
- Ban on smoking in public places
→ Nicola sturgeon generated a revenue by increasing income tax from 2017 establishing control over Scotland.
→ After 2014, Sturgeon put more emphasis on gender equality and childcare:
- Baby boxes.
- Representation of women increased - Sturgeons 2014 cabinet had an equal number of men and women.
→ Lack of participation was less of an issue as pro-independence parties received a huge boost in membership in 2015.
→ The ‘yes’ campaign in 2014 showed that devolution had worked, but it just needed to be ‘completed’ by independence.
→ In 2014 Scotland voted to remain in the Union.

Question 30

Arguments that Devolution in Scotland has been a failure?

Answer 30

→ Education recruitment and standards - between 2007 and 2017, the number of teachers declined by 2,800.
→ NHS under strain - 2017 reports from Audit Scotland suggested that the NHS was under significant pressure.
→ Voter turnout has not been high - only 60% voted for or against devolution in 1997, highest for 5 following elections.
→ SNP decline has damaged trust (Sturgeon resignation and arrest related to party funding. Humza Yousaf resigned after coalition with Greens collapsed )
→ Brexit - In the EU referendum of 2016 people in Scotland overwhelmingly voted to remain, however when we voted to leave, Scotland considered becoming independent so that they could remain in the EU.

Question 31

Timeline of how devolution has evolved in Wales?

Answer 31

→ 1998 Government of Wales Act - established a Welsh Parliament and Executive.
→ 2006 Government of Wales Act - grants the Welsh Parliament primary legislative powers. It also separates the executive from legislature.
→ 2014 Wales Act - devolved more power to Wales including control of some taxes and changing the name of Assembly to Parliament.
→ 2017 Wales Act - gives the Assembly new income tax varying powers and more legislative powers. It also recognises Welsh Parliament as a permanent constitutional change.

Question 32

Arguments devolution in Wales has been a success?

Answer 32

→ Household income is higher than GVA and higher thank in some English regions.
→ Welsh employment has risen by 6% since 1999, more than twice as fast as the UK as a whole
→ Largest improvement has been in more deprives areas, but inactivity rates have fallen, more women getting paid to work at a faster rate.
→ Adopted a scheme for high-speed broadband. Speeds of 24Mbps available in 9/10 Welsh homes.

Question 33

Arguments devolution in Wales has been a failure?

Answer 33

→ Welsh growth declined slightly from 1998-2018, from a gross value added figure of 1.8 to 1.6.
→ Standards of education have been falling in Wales - the publication of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2007 showed that in literacy, maths, and science, Welsh students achieved lower standards than other UK countries, below average.
→ The education policy was only reviewed in 2010, the PISA review shows that standards had fallen.
→ Welsh Universities received lower income per student than English Universities.
→ Lots of large scale infrastructure projects have been put off - M4 corridor by Newport has been discussed for 20 years but was scrapped by First Minister Mark Drakeford in 2019.
→ High speed broadband lower than in England and Scotland; Download speeds were only 64% of those in England and only 47% of those in Scotland.

Question 34

What was the Northern Ireland devolution package?

Answer 34

The Good Friday Agreement was the devolution package for Northern Ireland. Unlike other forms of devolution, the NI devolution was also a peace treaty.

Question 35

What were some of the key features of the Northern Irish devolution?

Answer 35

Northern Ireland has a triple division of powers:
→ Westminster keeps control of “excepted matters” e.g. national security.
→ The Assembly has power on “transferred matters” e.g. education.
→ There are also “reserved matters” e.g. broadcasting, which are powers Westminster retains but could be devolved in certain circumstances.

Question 36

How was the Northern Irish Assembly been designed to prevent a majority in the devolution package?

Answer 36

→ Designation: Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) must designate themselves either Unionist or Nationalist or Other. The 2017 designations were; 40 Unionist, 39 Nationalist, 11 Other.
→ Cross Community Voting:
- Parallel consent: where a motion needs the support of half the MLAs in total and half the Unionist and Nationalist MLAs also.
- Weighted majority: support from 60% of total MLAs and at least 40% of Unionists and Nationalists.
→ Petition of Concern if motions worry MLAs: the signatures of 30 of the 90 MLAs can trigger a cross-community vote.
→ Shared Executive:
- First Minister and Deputy First Minister must be the leaders of the largest party within each designated bl. If one resigns the other ceases to hold office.
- The 8 Ministerial positions are divided in proportion to party strength in the Assembly.

Question 37

How many times has the Northern Irish Assembley been suspended since 1998?

Answer 37

6

Question 38

Arguments that devolution in Northern Ireland has been a success?

Answer 38

• Legislation:
  → The Assembly averages 14 pieces of primary legislation a year, nearly as many as the Scottish Parliament at 15.
  → The Assembly has a good record on Private Members Bills with 34% becoming law compared to Westminster’s 5%.
  → Consociationalism (power-sharing) means neither Unionist or Nationalists feel they’re subject to a tyranny of the majority/minority.
  → The St. Andrews agreement means that “all sections of the community” are protected and prevent ministers going on solo policy runs
• Conflict:
  → The settlement ended the Northern Ireland Conflict or troubles which went form 1969-1998 and killed 3,600 people with an estimated 200,000 bereaved.
  → Since the devolution only 158 people have died in conflict related deaths, whereas in the 30 years that preceded the good Friday agreement there were 3500 conflict related deaths.
• Other Successes:
  → Reduced unemployment and an increase in foreign investment.
  → A 2018 survey showed a 41% preference for devolution, while direct rule from Westminster polled 21%, and re-unification of Ireland 19%.

Question 39

Arguments that devolution in Northern Ireland has been a failure?

Answer 39

• Issues with Government:
  → There were several failed attempts at reconciliation including: “A Shared Future”, “Hillsborough Castle Agreement”, “Cohesion, Sharing and Integration strategy”
  → The only period of extended devolved government was 2007-17.
  → The suspension of power means NI lags behind the rest of the UK on issues like abortion and LGBT rights.
  → Political polarisation: A rise of the DUP and Sinn Fein.
  → Northern Ireland held the world record for longest period without a government in 2019.
  → There remain concerns of Westminster oversight and corruption - the RHI scandal.
• Brexit:
  → The question of Brexit is still difficult with 75% of DUP supporters voting to leave and 84% of Sinn Fein supporters voting to remain.
  → A September 2019 poll suggested that 51% favour of reunification.
• The Petition of Concern:
  → It has become a political tool and all major parties have an expressed a desire to change it. For example, it was used by the DUP:
• In 2012 to block Sinn Fein amendments to welfare reforms.
• In 2015 to block a proposal on same-sex marriage despite a majority of MLAs voting in favour.

Question 40

How has devolution in England occurred?

Answer 40

Greater London Authority Act devolved power in London. The concept of metro mayors has been so successful there that it has been copied across England.

Question 41

Argument that devolution in London has been a success?

Answer 41

→ The Mayor has had higher approval ratings that national politicians - in 2006 a report showed that Ken Livingstone got a 47% positive opinion, much higher than politicians.
→ Transport in London has progressed more than other cities in the last 2 decades.
→ Overall crime rates in London have fallen.
→ The Government have seen the GLA as successful when it decided to give the new Mayor of Greater Manchester powers in 2017.
→ Data suggests that deaths from fires have been slowly decreasing from 2000 to 2017.
→ From 2000 to 2017 the Gross Value Added per head in London was 81.1%.
→ Specific policies made:
- Congestion charging
- Delivery of public bike scheme
- ULEZ
- Oyster card system
- London Overground
→ 85% of Londoners would be happy with even more devolution to the Mayor.

Question 42

Arguments that devolution in London has been a failure?

Answer 42

→ London scores relatively badly on wellbeing and happiness measure compared with the rest of England - however, there is no data to prove this has any correlation with the creation of the GLA.

Question 43

Arguments that devolution across England has been a success?

Answer 43

→ Working with the council leaders or directly elected mayor of each local authority in the region, no matter their political allegiance, means we have a more democratic society.
→ Mayors are more effective the MPs in making policies for local areas.
→ May 2021 mayoral elections had 10 million people going to vote.
→ In Manchester the ‘A Bed Every Night’ has supported more than 3000 people and there has been a reduction in rough sleeping of 67% over 4 years.

Question 44

Arguments that devolution across the rest of England has been a failure?

Answer 44

→ People don’t know anything about their metro mayor - 74% of polled city residents were aware that they had a metro mayor, only 33% of residents could correctly name the incumbent metro mayor.
→ The government needs to give mayors more powers and mayors need to use the powers they already have to take tough choices locally.
→ Some metro mayors have more powers than others, creating a feeling of injustice.

Question 45

Suggested future reforms to participation in the UK constitution?

Answer 45

• Votes for 16
• Online voting
• Votes for prisoners
• Votes for non-UK citizens
• Mandatory voting

Question 46

Suggested future reforms to representation in the UK constitution?

Answer 46

• More direct democracy
• More proportional representation

Question 47

Suggested future reforms to governance in the UK constitution?

Answer 47

• Lords Reform
• Supreme Court Reform

Question 48

Arguments that we should codify our constitution?

Answer 48

→ Clearer rules
→ Limited government
→ Neutral judicial interpretation
→ Better rights protection
→ Educational value

Question 49

Arguments that we shouldn’t codify our constitution?

Answer 49

→ Rigidity
→ Unnecessary
→ Judicial tyranny
→ Too legalistic
→ Political bias