Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Public Law > Constitutional Reform (Lecture 7) > Flashcards

Constitutional Reform (Lecture 7) Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
MBE flashcards MPRE flashcards Civil Procedure 1L flashcards
1
Q

describe the Constitution in 2 words and what that means

A

traditional and historic; changes via evolution

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what happened in 1688 and what was it based on

A

-Glorious Revolution of UK constitution
-based on restoration of the monarchy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what is the primary instrument for (gradual) reform

A

legislation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

give 2 acts and their 3 evolutions over time

A

-Reform Act 1832, 1867 and 1884
-Representation of People Act 1918, 1928, 1969

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

explain the evolution of the Reform Acts

A

-1832; votes for men with property
-1867; extended to urban men
-1884; extended to rural men

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

explain the evolution of the Representation of the People Acts

A

-1918; votes for men over 21 and women with property over 30
-1928; women over 21
-1969; all over 18

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

is the UK constitution flexible or inflexible and what does that mean

A

-flexible
-provides the possibility of change but reality is this often requires reactive change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

give 2 examples of how the UK’s constitution was flexible due to reactive change

A

-Parliament Act 1911; threats in response to HoL Liberal budget crisis
-Parliament Act 1949; change in anticipation of blocking Labour gov

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

who with what party recently tried to reform the uk constitution

A

-Tony Blair with New Labour gov in 1997

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what was the aim of Tony Blair and New Labour gov in 1997

A

-to ‘modernise’ and ‘re-invent’ Britain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

give 4 examples of New Labour’s post-1997 constitutional settlement

A

-Scotland Act 1998 (devolution of Scotland)
-Human Rights Act 1998 (put into domestic law for first time)
-House of Lords Act 1999 (removed hereditary peers)
-Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (intro UKSC)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

give 5 main reforms from New Labour’s constitutional reform which are considered key to our constitution now

A

-Devolution – power to Scotland, Wales and NI
- Human Rights Act – ECHR rights actionable in UK law
- Remove (most) hereditary ‘peers’ from House of Lords
- Freedom of Information laws to access official docs
- Creating the UK Supreme Court

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

is there any consistent narrative for why New Labour did the reforms they did? (3)

A

-modernisation of government eg HoL and referendum reform?
-separating powers eg 2006 Act and devolution?
-or simply no and they just did what they wanted

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

is there any fixed centrepiece

A

-V. Bogdanor ‘Our New Constitution’ argues the Human Rights Act
-and that devolution will render that constitutional [sic] quasi-federal in nature

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

describe New Labour’s approach in 5 ways

A

-Proactive
- Far-reaching
- Changed the modern constitution
- Created greater ‘constitutional consciousness’? eg more ppl aware of constitution and its powers
- Influential on other parties or a ‘one-off’?

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what do V.Bogdanor & S. Vogenauer, ‘Enacting a British Constitution: Some
Problems’(2008) argue are the implications of New Labour’s reforms

A

-unique process to democratic world underway of “transforming an uncodified constitution into a codified one gradually without any sort of consensus on what the end result should be”

17
Q

Gordon Brown’s flirtation with codification?

A

‘But there is now a growing recognition of the need to clarify not just what it means
to be British, but what it means to be the United Kingdom. This might in time lead to a concordat between the executive and Parliament or a written constitution.’
The Governance of Britain, Cm 7170 2007

18
Q

what is the main practical problem with codifying the UK constitution

A

-a “written constitution
could come into being except over an extended period of time, through extensive and wide consultation, and not without broad consensus
upon the values upon which they were based and the rights and responsibilities which derived from them.’
The Governance of Britain, Cm 7170 (2007) at [213]

19
Q

what happened in Parliament after New Labour replaced in 2010

A

-Hung Parliament (no party majority)
-Coalition Gov led by conservative PM David Cameron (anti reform) and libdem deputy PM Nick Clegg (pro reform)

20
Q

how long did the coalition gov last

A

-2010-2015

21
Q

give 8 examples of attempted/successful reform by the coalition gov 2010-2015

A

AV’ Referendum on voting reform in 2011 (happened but rejected)
- (completing) House of Lords reform (mainly failed)
- Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (repealed)
- EU ‘referendum locks’ – EU Act 2011 (repealed)
- Succession to the Crown Act 2013 (minor?)
- Scottish Independence Order 2013 (2014 referendum)
- More devolution to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland (success?)
- Recall of MPs Act 2015 (narrow scope?)

22
Q

give 4 examples of failed attempts of reform in the Coalition Gov era 2010-2015

A

-AV’ Referendum on voting reform in 2011 (happened but rejected)
- (completing) House of Lords reform (mainly failed)
- Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (repealed)
- EU ‘referendum locks’ – EU Act 2011 (repealed)

23
Q

give 4 examples of successful reforms by the Coalition gov 2010-2015 and any drawbacks they had

A

-Succession to the Crown Act 2013 (minor?)
- Scottish Independence Order 2013 (2014 referendum)
- More devolution to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland (success?)
- Recall of MPs Act 2015 (narrow scope?)

24
Q

what was the approach of the coalition gov 2010-15

A

-Proactive, but a (very) mixed package?
-In terms of (i) aims, (ii) substance, (iii) significance, (iv) legacy

25
Q

did the coalition gov 2010-15 extend the era of reform

A

-yes but mixed bag

26
Q

give an example of non legislative reform in the coalition gov 2010-15

A

-Cabinet Manual 2011
-primarily a guide for those working in government, recording the current position rather than driving change. It is not intended to be legally
binding or to set issues in stone. The Cabinet Manual records rules and practices, but is not intended to be the source of any rule.’
- Sir Gus O’Donnell, Preface, iv

27
Q

is there an issue with the Cabinet Manual 2011

A

-it is out of date as it has not been updated since 2011 eg we have left EU since then

28
Q

give the 5 leaders of the conservative governments since coalition gov ended in 2015

A

-2015-16 David Cameron
-2016-19 Theresa May
-2019-22 Boris Johnson
-2022-22 Liz Truss
-2022-24 Rishi Sunak

29
Q

what is the approach of the conservative governments (2015,2016,2017-19)

A

-extended reform but in reverse?
-eg Brexit = major constitutional change via EU Referendum Act 2015, vote to leave 2016 but left Jan 2020

30
Q

what is the timeline of brexit

A

-EU Referendum Act 2015
- vote to ‘leave EU’ in 2016
- left in Jan 2020

31
Q

what was the approach of Johnson Conservative Government (2019-2022) as stated in the Conservative Manifesto 2019 p.48

A

-‘After Brexit we also need to look at the broader aspects of our constitution: the
relationship between the Government, Parliament and the courts; the functioning of the Royal Prerogative; the role of the House of Lords; and access to justice for ordinary
people…. We will update the Human Rights Act and administrative law to ensure that there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government. We will ensure that judicial review… is not abused to conduct politics by another means or to create needless delays’

32
Q

in short, what is the aim of the Conservative Manifesto 2019 p.48

A

-reform the relationship between Gov , Parliament and the courts
-reform Royal Prerogative and HoLords
-update Human Rights Act

33
Q

give 5 examples of attempted/successful reform in Johnson’s Conservative gov 2019-22

A

-Repeal Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (done)
- Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 (passed)
- Independent Reviews of Administrative Law (IRAL) / HRA (done, 2022 Act)
- Blocked 2nd Scottish Independence Referendum (done)
- Constitution, Dem & Rights Commission (never happened)

34
Q

what was the approach of the Truss/Sunak Governments (2022-24)

A

-Truss paused ‘Bill of Rights Bill’ – Sunak experiments with
disapplication instead (eg Safety of Rwanda Act 2024)
- Elections Act 2022 (voter ID)
- Counsellors of State Act 2022
- Further reform in aftermath of Brexit: eg Regulations to implement ‘Windsor Framework’ re Northern Ireland in 2023/24; Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023

35
Q

explain the last flashcard more

A

-……

36
Q

current state of uk cosntitution reform?

A
  • New Labour method of proactive reform now embedded?
  • But more major / radical reform seems to have stalled / gone into reverse
  • Or is this just a reflection of the different political parties’ priorities?
  • New Labour reforms are key parts of foundations of UK constitutional law… the ‘New Labour Constitution’??

Public Law (8 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions