Evaluate the view that citizens can no longer feel confident that their rights in the UK are secure and established Flashcards
1
Q
what is the LoA
A
rights are not protected
2
Q
Paragraph One - No Bill of rights
A
- Rights in the UK are protected by the HRA, which is an unentrenched piece of legislation. This means that the rights can be removed by any government with a parliamentary majority.
- the Act is severely restricted. As Amos states, the Human Rights Act ‘only gives further effect to a very limited and outdated range of human rights contained in the ECHR’
Ultimately, the HRA only gives supplementary effect to Protocols 1 and 6 of the ECHR, both of which contain predominantly civil and political rights as opposed to the economic, social and cultural rights that are deemed important within our society today
- the Act is severely restricted. As Amos states, the Human Rights Act ‘only gives further effect to a very limited and outdated range of human rights contained in the ECHR’
3
Q
Paragraph One - However (HRA is beneficial)
A
- It is malleable - it’s lack of codification and entrenchment can be seen as a positive, no realistic threat to remove it.
- The HRA allows citizens to challenge laws in UK courts, previously they had to go to the ECHR
- UK court can issue a ‘declaration of compatibility’ which can put pressure on the government to back down
- The HRA has remained unaffected by Brexit and the leaving of the EU
An example of the HRA working effectively is the Poundland Case (2013), in which Cat Reilly won her claim that it was unlawful to force her to work for free at Poundland as a condition of her claiming jobseeker’s allowance.
4
Q
Paragraph one - rebuttal
A
HRA not entrenched, so government can modify that way it operates e.g. creation of Control order in 2005. Simply through a parliamentary majority, Tony Blair nearly introduced a 90 day detention without trial period, although it was reduced to 24.
5
Q
what is the theme for paragraph 2
A
government
6
Q
what is the theme for paragraph one
A
HRA and bill of rights
7
Q
paragraph two - government
A
- Emergency powers in Covid. The Government was able to pass a large amount of legislation to curb the rights of people to try and reduce the infection rate for COVID.
- Lack of representation. 10% of the House of Commons comes from an ethnic minority, compared to 14.4% society. 35% of the House of Commons are women, compared to 50.59%. This means people don’t feel like they are being best represented, as the House of Commons is mostly white men.
The UK has more surveillance cameras than any other country in Europe. In 2010, it was estimated that there is one CCTV camera for every 14 people.
- Lack of representation. 10% of the House of Commons comes from an ethnic minority, compared to 14.4% society. 35% of the House of Commons are women, compared to 50.59%. This means people don’t feel like they are being best represented, as the House of Commons is mostly white men.
8
Q
paragraph two - however
A
- Emergency powers are protecting their rights. The COVID emergency powers were passed in order to save lives and it was certainly able to do so. COVID cases went from 56,000 in January 2021 to 2,500 in April due to the imposition of a lockdown.
- Representation is improving, passing an increasing amount of laws to benefit minorities e.g. women’s rights. The percentage of women in parliament is improving drastically. In 1979, this figure was at 3%, but this is now at 35%.
- Strong majorities becoming increasingly rare. In the last 4 elections, there have been two occasions where no party has won a majority.
- Even majorities do not stop scrutiny - Conservative MPs criticism of the Rwanda plan.
9
Q
paragraph two - rebuttal
A
- Strong majorities - laws can be changed very easily and can be used to infringe on rights e.g. Tony Blair attempting to pass 90 day without trial detention period
Given FPTP, the likelihood is that nearly all elections will result in a government securing a majority
10
Q
what is the theme for para 3
A
judiciary
11
Q
paragraph three - judiciary
A
- It puts an incredible amount of power in the hands of 12 unelected and unaccountable justices.
- Judges are demographically unrepresentative - ‘male, pale and stale’. In 2017, a quarter of judges in the Court of Appeal and a fifth of those in the High court were female.
Judges are seen as being part of the ‘establishment’ and so are inclined to uphold the status quo, as argued by J.A.G Griffiths in the book ‘The Politics of the judiciary’.
- Judges are demographically unrepresentative - ‘male, pale and stale’. In 2017, a quarter of judges in the Court of Appeal and a fifth of those in the High court were female.
12
Q
paragraph three - however
A
- The use of judicial review and ultra vires means that the SC can stop ministers and MPs from acting in a way that may infringe rights.
- The HRA and rights based culture has allowed the SC to be active in defending rights in the UK.
The SC has effectively protected rights. In the segregation in schools ruling (2017), the court ruled that a co-educational faith school in Birmingham had caused unlawful discrimination by separating boys and girls.
- The HRA and rights based culture has allowed the SC to be active in defending rights in the UK.
13
Q
paragraph three - rebuttal
A
The SC has the power to overrule Parliament through their D of Is. The fact that an unelected body can overrule the elected body shows that rights are not secure.
