Constitution and Monarchy Flashcards
What is a constitution?
Sets out rights and responsibilities of citizens and of the state.
There is a shared set of values and norms:
we elect our representatives
we respect the law
if we break the law we expect a free and fair trial
What type of consitution does the UK have?
A non-codified constitution, which means it is not written like the US constitution.
May still have written parts
Flexible – can be amended or supplemented by Parliament
But can be ambiguous and open to debate by lawyers, politicians and historians
What are the four key principles of the BC?
Democracy
Rule of Law
Parliamentary Sovereignty
Separation of Powers
What are the five key sources of the consititution?
Treaties- International agreements between states
Treatises- Works of legal authority
Statute- individual Laws or Acts of Parliament
- Parliamentary Sovereignty
- Bill of Rights 1689
Common Law- Case law & precedent
Laws decided by judges, not by acts of Parliament
Before the emergence of parliamentary democracy, this is often how laws would be decided – on a case by case basis
Laws against murder and assault are examples of common law
Conventions- Traditions & customs
Notion of collective responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility
What is Parliamentary Sovereignty?
Most important principle of British constitution. Only Parliament can create or end any law. No Parliament can create a law a future Parliament cannot change.
What is Montesquieu’s separation of powers?
Executive- Government
Legislature- Parliament
Judiciary- Supreme Court
What are some constitutional issues?
- Brexit- perceived threat
Scottish independence
Boris Johnson found to have unlawfully prorogued Parliament by Supreme Court
Government found in contempt of Parliament after refusing to publish Attorney General’s legal advice on withdrawal bill
What type of monarchy does the UK have?
Constitutional monarchy where the monarchy delegates all power or shares power with the government, which is the opposite to an absolute monarchy.
This came to be by the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights.
What is the role of the monarchy?
Head of state
Actual powers,
- Head of state
- Head of the three branches of the constitution
- Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces
- Supreme governor of the Church of England
- Head of the Commonwealth (and head of state of 15 of its 53 members)
She carries out the follow, largely ceremonial, powers herself:
Dissolving and summoning Parliament (calling elections and forming new Parliaments)
Giving royal assent to Bills passed by Parliament
Appointing ministers and judges, diplomats, governors etc
Devising legislative agenda and writing Queen’s Speech
Declaring war and peace
Drawing up lists of nominations for peerages, knighthoods, and other honours to be confirmed by the monarch
Notional powers
Dissolving and summoning Parliament, calling elections and forming new parliaments after the results are in; giving the Royal Assent to Bills passed by Parliament; appointing ministers and other senior public officials, including judges, diplomats, governors, officers in the armed forces, police chief constables and CofE bishops and archbishops; devising the legislative agenda for each parliamentary year and writing the Queen’s Speech which makes these proposals public at the State Opening of Parliament; declaring war and peace; suspending of the activities of Parliament for holiday periods such as the summer recess and the Christmas and Easter breaks; drawing up a list of nominations – in consultation with the leaders of the opposition parties – for peerages, knighthoods and other honours.
What is the Royal Prerogative?
The Royal Prerogative are powers held by the Monarch or by Government ministers that may be used without the consent of the Commons or Lords
How is the monarch funded?
Sovereign Grants
The Sovereign Grant is a lump sum paid each year by the Treasury to the Queen for official expenses as head of state – based on a percentage of Crown Estate profits.
It is funded by the taxpayer
Surplus from a given year is paid in to a reserve fund – which can then be drawn upon in years when more money is needed
Privy Purse
Income generated by the Duchy of Lancaster, the only Crown estate still ‘owned’ by the monarch.
Used to cover any expenses for The Queen and the Royal Family that the Sovereign Grant cannot cover.
Duchy of Cornwall- Pays for Prince Charles
Personal Wealth- is the money that belongs to the Monarch. She has an extensive portfolio of assets including shareholdings, horses, property (Balmoral and Sandringham both belong privately to the Queen).
Who to interview for issues around the monarchy and constitution?
Political activists (such as Republic) – it’s a topic that always inspires strong opinions and debate
Vox pops with members of the public
MPs – especially vocally pro or anti-monarchy MPs
Historians/experts on monarchy
English Heritage – to discuss monarchy history
People/politicians/experts from other countries that still have the British monarchy
Experts & historians who specialist in the constitution/monarchy
Constitutional lawyers
