Constitution essay plans

Question 1

What effect has ECA had on uk

Answer 1

o Edward Heath passed this in 1972 to take Britain into the EEC. Has had vast influence, including the potential challenge to parliamentary sovereignty by establishing primacy of EU law (a la Factortame), contributing to growth in economy in globalised era, protection of rights under ECHR/ECJ/HRA, freedom of movement/trade, growth of populism and Euroscepticism increasing polarisation and partisanship in UK, Brexit referendum etc

Question 2

What would an entrenched/codified constitution do for rights

Answer 2

o A codified institution would protect against ‘elective dictatorship’, a term popularised in the 1970s by Lord Hailsham as a warning to the dangers of what he perceived to be an excessively authoritarian Labour government. Furthermore, after 9/11 Labour’s range of anti-terror laws were introduced, including usage of ID cards, DNA databases and the expansion of CCTV. More clearly set out rights may have prevented this infringement of civil liberties.

Question 3

Example of exec hiding n fooling from judiciary
(- Enable judiciary to judge acts of parliament as unconstitutional (as with US) as a check on a currently ‘elective dictatorship’)

Answer 3

o A good illustration of this is the Belmarsh case of 2004, which contested the original 2001 Anti-Terrorism Act that allowed for indefinite detention of foreign prisoners in Belmarsh. The judiciary couldn’t do anything in the 3 years since the original Act as the case was not brought, until the pressure group Liberty brought it on behalf of the detainees. in 2005, the government passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act in response to the Belmarsh case. This act allowed the use of control orders which got around the judicial ruling banning detention without trial. Parliamentary sovereignty was used to bypass the judiciary. Unlike in America where ‘judicial review’ can rule US executive/legislature policy as against rights, e.g. Brown v Board of Education 1954

Question 4

Example of how flexibility of uk constitution has been good for modernisation

Answer 4

o Gay marriage legalised with a simple act of parliament in comparison to the US legal struggle culminating in Obergefell v Hodges. Other modernisations like FTPA 2011, CRA 2005, devolution 1998

Question 5

How does a codified constitution threaten seperation of powers

Answer 5

• Creating overly powerful unelected judiciary undesirable
  o Judges unelected (chosen by JAC), don’t undermine principle of parliamentary sovereignty; it’s arguable that America has an ‘imperial judiciary’, ‘discovering’ the right to abortion in Roe v Wade 1973 despite this arguably being more just a desire for modernisation than reflection of constitutional provisions

Question 6

What shows the need for British bill of rights (limitation of HRA)

Answer 6

• HRA ineffectiveness in allowing ‘bad’ judgements (Qatada staying, or ruling that found the UK’s blanket ban on prisoners voting was unlawful.)

Question 7

Huge limitation of British bill of rights (Think structure of UK)

Answer 7

• Difficulty in assessing how it would apply to devolved areas

Question 8

• Difficulty in assessing how it would apply to devolved areas

Answer 8

o HoL EU justice committee in 2016 warned that introducing a bill of rights would take UK ‘into uncharted constitutional territory’ and that ‘The evidence demonstrates that the Scottish parliament and Northern Ireland assembly are unlikely to give consent to a bill of rights which repealed the Human Rights Act.’

Question 9

What shows the power westminister has over devolution

Answer 9

Devolution Act can be repealed, arguably maintaining the status quo, ‘statutorily anyway’ (says Nicholas Allalta). NI Assembly suspended by the UK Govt. in London following a breakdown of trust between the unionist and republican groups, once for 5 years 2002-7

Question 10

What shows Westministers power over EU

Answer 10

o Lord Bridge (Law Lord) explained the Factortame case, saying that any limitations upon its sovereignty implied by EU membership had been accepted ‘voluntarily’ by Parliament when it enacted the European Communities Act 1972. The implication was that Parliament is at liberty to permit EU law to prevail over its own enactments. The flip side of that coin must be that if Parliament chooses not to permit EU law to have that effect — either by repealing the 1972 Act or asserting the priority of only certain pieces of domestic legislation over conflicting EU law — then it is free to do so.

Question 11

Example how Westminister has derogated from HRA

Answer 11

o Derogated from HRA e.g. during Troubles and can use acts of parliament to bypass judiciary. In 2005, the government passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act in response to the Belmarsh case. This act allowed the use of control orders which got around the judicial ruling banning detention without trial. Parliamentary sovereignty was used to bypass the judiciary also when Labour’s range of anti-terror laws were introduced, including usage of ID cards, DNA databases and the expansion of CCTV. Judges could do nothing about these laws, as the sovereignty of Parliament

Question 12

What shows the entrenched nature of devolution

Answer 12

o Devolution occurred in first place because of calls for independence within Scotland (especially from SNP); devolution, and granting some powers used to be conciliatory and prevent break-up of union. Further powers granted 2015-16 following indyref 2014, e.g. now also control over some welfare benefits. Revoking devolution would cause mass outrage and in practice cultural pressure makes it impossible without instigating break-up of the union

Question 13

How is Parliamentary supremecy challanged

Answer 13

Under the court case AXA General Insurance Limited v The Lord Advocate (Scotland)

Question 14

How does HRA undermine parliamentary soverignty

Answer 14

• HRA undermining parliamentary sovereignty through judicial review

Question 15

How does judicial review used to undermine Parliamentary soverignty

Answer 15

o Govt can be considered ‘ultra vires’ for example, in the case of Home Secretary v. AP (2010), the government contravened civil liberties by detaining AP (who remained anonymous for security reasons) requiring that he was confined him to a flat for 16 hours a day, in a town 150 miles away from his family in London, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. The Supreme Court ruled that this amounted to a breach of his human rights, and consequently, the government control order was ‘ultra vires’ and had to be rescinded.

Question 16

What is the Constitutional reform act

Answer 16

o 2005 CRA created a Supreme Court (finally established 2009) as highest court of appeal, ending law lords who had sat in House of Lords, now emphasising separation of power. It also assured this by removing judicial functions of the Lords Chancellor (who had previously been member of Cabinet, Speaker of HoL, with responsibility to appoint judges). Now, JAC appoints to the SC.

Question 17

What granted more power to scots under Brown?

Answer 17

Then in 2012 Calman Commission under Gordon Brown granted further powers including right to set a Scottish income tax rate/borrowing powers. Then, following indyref 201, further powers given 2015-16 e.g. over welfare benefits. Now, control over taxation representing 36% of devolved expenditure, compares with less than 10% when it was established.

Question 18

What stat shows how much Scots love Scottish assembly

Answer 18

o In 2014 survey: 57% of Scots felt having Scottish Parliament was strengthening Scotland’s voice in the UK.

Question 19

Limitation of CRA

Answer 19

o Concerns have been raised that the judiciary is still dependent on the executive (in the form of the Ministry of Justice) for its funding. Lord Phillips of Worth Maltravers commented that “the Court Service of England and Wales has not been able to provide us with their contribution and we had to call upon the Lord Chancellor to make up the
difference” and argued that “this arrangement clearly does not provide the security of funding which had been envisaged by Parliament and risks the Court being subject to the kind of annual negotiations the arrangements were intended to avoid.

Question 20

• Electoral system (FPTP unfair/bad, failure of AV 2011)

Answer 20

o AV 2011 failure, a vote more against Lib Dems than against the PR system; in Scotland, AMS for government elections and STV for local councils, in NI, STV, Wales using AMS too; yet England FPTP needs reform desperately because of its issues, particularly prevalent in the 2005 election, when Labour secured a majority of the seats in the House of Commons with only 35.2% of the total vote.

Question 21

Example of FPTP being shit

Answer 21

On an individual level, MP Alaistair Mcdonnel, in the 2015 general election, became the MP for his constituency on 24.5% of the vote.

Question 22

What are the constitutional reforms done 2010+

Answer 22

-	FTPA
o	Holding PM to account
-	Recall of MPs Act
o	Ability to hold MPs accountable
-	Devolution
o	Granting further powers to prevent dissolution of the union
-	Reform of HoC
o	Ensuring impartiality of SCs enables better scrutiny of govt

Question 23

What were new labour constitutional reforms

Answer 23

• HRA
  o Most important in enabling a strengthened protecting of civil liberties
• Devolution
  o Essential in keeping the union together, and a fundamental and massive change
• CRA 2005
  o Symbolic mass importance in separation of the three branches, ensuring judicial independence
• HoL Reform
  o Ending most hereditary peerage granting greater legitimacy to Lords and detaching from feudal past

Question 24

What shows spending disparity in the UK n england

Answer 24

o Under 1978 Barnett formula (invented by former Labour Chief Sec. to the Treasury Joel Barnett in 1978) for deciding on levels of public spending, England receives less per person than other parts of UK – The figures vary slightly every year, but in 2016/17 Scotland, just under £11,000 was spent per person and in England it was just under £9,000. Get a federal solution to promote equality

Question 25

How would devolution benefit England on an identity basis?

Answer 25

• Some areas have strong regional identity - basis for regional assemblies (devolve on regional scale)
  o E.g. Devon and Cornwall have strong regional identities that might enable regional assemblies for co-ordination of local policies and attracting inward investment; tried by Blair in establishing Regional Development Agencies.

Question 26

Example of Metro mayors being shit

Answer 26

Remember Novara article on how Mayors are shit - copied America when successful cities have had partisan regional assemblies

Question 27

• Solve West Lothian Q

Answer 27

Failed solution: EVEL attempted to solve but report ‘Finding the good in EVEL’ in 2016 said it was ‘unhelpfully complex and opaque’ and only puts off the issue by giving England ‘capacity to apply a veto’.

Question 28

Example of SNP fucking up English votes for English Laws

Answer 28

Also, some situations where it can be bypassed: e.g. 2016 SNP MP’s defeated Cameron proposal for extension of Sunday trading laws in England/Wales (as it could affect Scottish workers).

Question 29

Examples of y English devolution isnt a good idea

Answer 29

• No public demand - no strong englush identity
• Beaurocracy with cost to taxpayer (650m for scotland)
• Blairs proposals in 2004 for north east regional assembly - 78% voted no

Question 30

Welsh Assemblys limited power

Answer 30

o Wales have fewer powers than Scotland e.g. lack of control over police and justice, or income tax and borrowing; there is growing demand for equal power, with a poll May 2019 highlighting 51% are for.

Question 31

Welsh assemblies failures

Answer 31

Furthermore, health consumes roughly half of the Welsh Government’s £16 billion budget so AMS success or otherwise in getting the right results is a crucial test but 29% of voters think that the NHS has got worse since devolution – further powers need granting to ensure ability to control it effectively

Question 32

• Need for reform of NI system given the failure to form government, and beginnings of stirrings about Brexit

Answer 32

• Need for reform of NI system given the failure to form government, and beginnings of stirrings about Brexit

o Claims that NI devolution has been successful fly in face of current situation; the NI executive collapsed Jan. 2017 after resignation of Martin McGuinness (because of RHI scandal), talks have continually collapsed between DUP and Sinn Fein, meaning there has been no sitting government for over 2 years (new world record). Devolution needs to be taken further, or reformed in some other way, to achieve conciliation
o Plus, Brexit related stirrings beginning – Sinn Fein demanding an Irish border poll in wake of Sturgeon’s call for indyref2 in 2017, stating there is a necessity given that ‘Brexit would be a disaster for the economy’. DUP’s Nigel Dodds branded it “opportunistic nationalism”. Tensions need resolution.