Constitutional Reform Under New Labour&Lib-Dem Conservative Coalition

Question 1

How many years in opposition had Labour faced before their victory in 1997?

Answer 1

18 years

Question 2

What was the commons majority Labour won in 1997?

Answer 2

a 179 seat majority

Question 3

How many hereditary peers were left after the House of Lords Act 1999?

Answer 3

92

Question 4

Why was the second stage of Lords reform stalled in 2003?

Answer 4

Parliament rejected all 8 models for a reformed chamber

Question 5

Why were attempts in 2007 to revive the reform process of the lords dropped?

Answer 5

As the Commons voted for an entirely elected second chamber and the Lords gave its support to an entirely appointed model

Question 6

Who suggested that AV+ should be adopted for general elections?

Answer 6

the Jenkins Commission

Question 7

Where is the hybrid system AMS (FPTP top up) used? (2)

Answer 7

in the Scottish Parliament elections and Welsh Assembly

Question 8

Under PPERA 2000 what did Labour establish ?

Answer 8

an independent Electoral Commission

Question 9

What were the 3 tasks of the independent Electoral Commission?

Answer 9

to monitor elections, regulating party funding and expenditure and organising referendums

Question 10

What did the HRA 1998 incorporate?

Answer 10

it incorporated most of the provisions of the ECHR into the UK law

Question 11

What did the HRA 1998 allow citizens?

Answer 11

This allowed citizens to seek redress in UK courts without having to go to the ECHR in Strasbourg

Question 12

Where is the ECHR?

Answer 12

Strasbourg

Question 13

What did the Freedom of Information Act 2000 give citizens the right to?

Answer 13

the right to request information held by public bodies

Question 14

What did the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 do?

Answer 14

this established a new UK Supreme Court which took on virtually all the judicial role previously performed by the HOL

Question 15

When did the Supreme Court open?

Answer 15

October 2009 (original bill in 2005)

Question 16

What did the Constitutional Reform Act establish to appoint senior judges?

Answer 16

an Independent Judicial Appointments Commission

Question 17

In Labour’s time in government 1997-2010, what changes were made in London ? (3)

Answer 17

• Given an elected Mayor
• Given a strategic authority (the Greater London Authority)
• Given a 25 member elected assembly (The Great London Assembly)

Question 18

What did the Northern Ireland Act 1998 establish?

Answer 18

a Northern Ireland Assembly and power-sharing executive

Question 19

When was the referendum which granted the Welsh Assembly primary legislative powers in many areas of policy?

Answer 19

March 2011

Question 20

When was the coalition’s HOL Reform Draft Bill ?

Answer 20

2011

Question 21

What electoral system was given a UK-wide referendum by the coalition?

Answer 21

AV

Question 22

List (in chronological order) constitutional reform that took place under New Labour (Blair/Brown)

Answer 22

Devolution, Human Rights Act 1998, House of Lords reform 1999, Mayor of London 2000, Freedom of Information Act 2000, Supreme Court 2005/9

Question 23

What were most Lords before 1999?

Answer 23

Hereditary

Question 24

Give 2 reasons why a large number of hereditary peers was seen as a problem

Answer 24

1. Always a conservative majority. 2. Seen as undemocratic and old fashioned.

Question 25

How many hereditary peers remained after 1999?

Answer 25

92

Question 26

Why did further Lords reform never happen?

Answer 26

Many wanted it, but there was disagreement over what the future reform should be. Lib Dems wanted it to be elected, Labour wanted it partially elected. Blair was unwilling to dedicate more time to reforms during his term in office as it took a lot of political capital.

Question 27

Why did Labour establish a body in 1997 to look at electoral reform?

Answer 27

They were in favour of electoral reform whilst they struggled to win elections but changed their minds when they won a large majority in 1997. Therefore the “Jenkins commissions” recommendation of AV plus never happened.

Question 28

Did Labour ever do any electoral reform?

Answer 28

They lost interest in reforming general elections BUT they did use different electoral systems in the devolved assemblies.

Question 29

Which electoral systems are used in the devolved assemblies?

Answer 29

AMS in Scotland and Wales. STV in Northern Ireland. Labour also uses AV (alternative vote) for its leadership elections

Question 30

What is Devolution?

Answer 30

Creating local assemblies/Parliaments with law making powers for the various regions of the UK. These legislatures are subordinate to the Westminster UK Parliament.

Question 31

Where did Labour succeed and fail to create devolution?

Answer 31

Succeed: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. London. (Scotland by a large majority, Wales only just scraped through). N.I. was seen as a big success as it helped to end ‘the troubles’ in that province.
They failed to created a devolved assembly in the North of England as there was a referendum and 78% voted no.

Question 32

WHY did the Labour government want devolution?

Answer 32

Better representation, more local government, more accountability.

Question 33

What constitutional reforms have been made 2010-2015

Answer 33

Increased role of backbenchers, recall of MPs act, police and crime commissioners, more elected mayors, fixed term parliament act, attempts to reform Lords and electoral systems (AV referendum)

Question 34

What did the fixed term parliament act do?

Answer 34

Rather than the PM being able to choose the exact date of the next election, the date is set 5 years in advance.

Question 35

Why was the fixed term parliament act set up?

Answer 35

It was set up during the coalition gvt to try and ensure that the gvt continued to work together for the full 5 years.

Question 36

Has the fixed term Parliament act been a success?

Answer 36

During the coalition yes - since then no. Elections were called in 2017 AND 2019 using a super majority vote in Parliament. However it DID prevent Boris initially calling a general election without the support of Parliament.

Question 37

Other than general elections what else did the fixed term parliament act do?

Answer 37

It codified the ‘vote of no confidence’ motion that parliament has. Previously this had been a convention. Now it is statute.

Question 38

What does the MP Recall 2015 do?

Answer 38

It enables constituents to call for a by-election if they are unhappy with their local MP. 10% of the constituents living in an area must sign a petition calling for one.

Question 39

Why do some people dislike the MP recall act?

Answer 39

They are concerned that MPs who make wise yet unpopular decisions (Burkean model of representation) would be penalised.

Question 40

Example of successfully removing an MP through the MP recall act?

Answer 40

Christopher Davies. Conservative MP who falsified expenses claims.

Question 41

What Constitutional changes have been made since 2015?

Answer 41

Brexit, potential changes to HRA, (failed). EVEL was created then removed, Further English devolution with more elected mayors. Other issues related to Brexit like the Northern Irish backstop.