constitutional reforms since 1997 Flashcards
what were the 4 identifiable aims in thhe 1997 labour manifesto
- MODERNISATION of HoPs and civil service and local gov.
- GREATER DEMOCRATISATION of the political system, increased participation in direct democracy, electoral reform
- DECENTRALISATION of powers from westminister, local/regional government
- improving and safeguarding individual and minority RIGHTS —> HRA 2001
what are the 8 constitutional reforms since 1997 being studied
- HoL reform
- Hoc reform
- HRA
- electoral reform
- freedom of information
- london gov.
- judicial reform
- devolution
what happened in the HoL reform and what was the comprimise
STAGE 1 = remove hereditary peers so all appointed life peers and CofE bishops HoL ACT 1999
—> comprimise = cranborne comprimise = 92 out of 753 HP stayed
STAGE 2 = replace remaining lords with elected or partially elected chamber but this didnt happen
what was the effect of the HoL change
- more difficult for labour than expected
- 92 out of 753 HP still remained in the cranbourne comprimise
what was the HoC reform about
- concerned with the departmental select committees of the HoC
- 2010 = backebench business committee gave MPs 20 days of parliament to debate issues of their choosing
- labour gov. in 2010 introduced new system of selecting chairs of departmental committees - now MPs elect a chair rather than whip involvment
how has the HRA been reformed in the UK
HRA 1998 came into force in 2000
- encorporated the ECHR into uk law
- binding on the gov. too but the protect parliamentary sovereignty, it doesnt bind parliament but any laws which contravene it can be deemed illegal by the SC or the gov. must declare an overwhelming reason why it is neccesary
- parliament can repeal it at any time - tories want to replace it with british bill of rights
what is the impact of the HRA 1998
- binds devolved powers too
- can hold any of those bodies to scrutiny
- only exception is parliamentary legislation
what is the freedom of information act 2000 about
- gave the government and secret services the rightton conceal info they felt may predjudice the work of the gov.
- 2008 mps expenses scandal came to be known when someone put in a request and parliament attempted to block this in the HC but it was denied and the daily mail investigated it finding 100s of MPs milking the system
what was the impact of the freedom of information act 2000
- citizens can see the information held by public bodies
- citizens have the right to see the workings of government
- led to MPs expenses scandal 2008
what was the electoral reform under labour in 1997 about
- in 1997b labour was worried about if they would get a majority so needed the support of the LibDems and in their MANIFESTO proclaimed electoral reform
- after the election, labour had 43.2% of the vote so didnt need the libdem support but sunce it was in their manifesto they set up the Jenkins Commission to change the AV
- labour carried out electoral reform when devolution was being considered
what was the impact of electoral reform under labour in 1997
- having one so well, labour didnt need the support of the LibDems anymore and became less interested in electoral reform
- ## 2011 AV referendum to reduce elective dictatorship and winners bonus under FPTP
what were the three parts of the establishment of the SC and the impact of each of them
- seperation of the judiciary and government
- supreme court
- appointment of senior judges
what is the seperation of the gov. and judiciary about
- in the past the lord chancellor was also a cabinet minister and senior government member, head of judiciary abd HoL
- placed them in all 3 branches of gov.
- so this was changed to make them seperate
what was the establishment of the SC about
- the highest court used to be the HoL when it met as a court not parliament
- members of the judiciary shouldnt be involved in politics to protect the RULE OF LAW
- so it was decided to take the senior judges out of the lords and creat the SC
- established autumn 2009
- new court had same powers as old HoL
what was the appointment of senior judges about
- previous practice of seniour judicial appointments at hands of politicians like the PM and lord chancellor
- danger of appointment based on political viewpoints rather than experience
- JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION
- most senior appointments to SC have been placed in the hands of a non political committee of senior judicial figures
