Government Powers

Question 1

What is a consequence of statute law being the highest constitutional source in the UK?

Answer 1

any government with a working majority in the HOC has the legal authority and power to reshape the constitution as it sees fit through passing regular statue though Parliament

Question 2

What are the 4 principles of the UK constitution?

Answer 2

1) Parliamentary Sovereignty
2) Parliamentary government under a Constitutional monarch
3) The rule of law
4) The unitary state

Question 3

What 3 interlocking principles, rooted in common law, is parliamentary sovereignty based upon?

Answer 3

• Parliament can make or unmake any law
• Only Parliament can make UK law
• No Parliament can bind its successors

Question 4

What is a parliamentary government?

Answer 4

This is when a government is drawn from parliament (fusion of powers) and operates on the basis of a mandate granted though free and fair elections to each constituency. This is why the PM is the leader of the largest party in Parliament.

Question 5

What type of Parliament do we have in Britain?

Answer 5

a bicameral Parliament

Question 6

In Britain what does our bicameral Parliament operate alongside?

Answer 6

a constitutional monarch

Question 7

In what 2 ways is the monarchy restrained?

Answer 7

through statute and convention

Question 8

What is a bicameral Parliament?

Answer 8

This refers to a body, most commonly a legislature comprising of two chambers

Question 9

According to which authorative text did the rule of law have 3 main strands?

Answer 9

A.V Dicey 1885

Question 10

According to A.V Dicey 1885 (authorative text) what were the 3 main strands of the rule of law?

Answer 10

1) no one can be punished without trial
2) No one is above the law and are all subject to the same justice
3) the general principles of the constitution result from the decisions of judges rather than from parliamentary statute or executive order

Question 11

What state is Britain said to be as opposed to a federal state?

Answer 11

a unitary state

Question 12

What is a unitary system?

Answer 12

This is a system where ultimate sovereignty rests with a central government

Question 13

What does it mean that Britain has a unitary state?

Answer 13

This means that all ultimate power in the UK is held by the central government at Westminster

Question 14

What is a federal system?

Answer 14

under a federal system, sovereignty is shared, with the regions or states that comprise the nation retaining ultimate power over certain areas of policy

Question 15

What is said to have undermined parliamentary sovereignty?

Answer 15

the European Communities Act 1972

Question 16

What treaty did the European Communities Act 1972 incorporate into UK law?

Answer 16

the Treaty of Rome 1957

Question 17

What effect did the Treaty of Rome 1957 have on UK law?

Answer 17

this gave European law precedence over UK statute where the 2 are in conflict

Question 18

What did eurosceptics fear would happen with UK membership in the EU?

Answer 18

they feared that the extension of qualified majority voting (QMV) in the council of ministers would further reduce the UK Parliaments ability to prevent Europe-wide policies being imposed on UK citizens. QMV allowed a country to be overruled against it’s will if there was a significant majority from other countries.

Question 19

What reforms have signalled changes to Britain still having a parliamentary government under a Constitutional monarchy? (3)

Answer 19

• Increased use of referendums
• rise of executive dominance
• increasing savage media criticism of the royal family