How the constitution has changed since 1997 - UK Consitution

Question 1

Demands for modernisation

Answer 1

• For Blair, the British constitution was urgently in need of reform and New Labour would address this problem
• Power was too centralised in Westminster
• The rights of the citizens were insufficiently protected
• Since the government was so remote and unaccountable, the public had become disengaged from politics
• Democracy would be revitalised by constitutional reform - ‘modernisation is the key’
• “We wish to change politics itself, to bridge the gap between governed and government and to try to address the deep-seated and damaging disaffection with politics which has grown up in recent years.”

Question 2

The experience of Conservative rule from 1979-1997

Question 3

The ‘big tent’

Question 4

(Decentralisation) How did Blair seek to deliver on his 1997 manifesto commitments?

Answer 4

• Since so much power had been focused on Westminster (especially during the prime ministership of Margaret Thatcher 1979– 90), power should be devolved back to the people
• Scotland and Wales would be offered their own elected governments
• Cities and towns would be given the opportunity to elect their own mayors.

Question 5

(Democratisation) How did Blair seek to deliver on his 1997 manifesto commitments?

Answer 5

• Public should be given more influence over decision making
• Greater use of referendums on important constitutional issues
• House of Lords would be reformed, in order to encourage greater democracy

Question 6

(Transparency) How did Blair seek to deliver on his 1997 manifesto commitments?

Answer 6

• The role of the senior judiciary would be reformed, in order to encourage greater trust in government
• Freedom of Information Act would also open up government, making it more accountable to the public.

Question 7

(Rights protection) How did Blair seek to deliver on his 1997 manifesto commitments?

Answer 7

• British citizens’ human rights were not protected by a codified constitution
• Government committed to incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into British law
• Providing the judiciary with an important new statute, protecting and advancing the public’s civil liberties

Question 8

House of Lords reform

Answer 8

• (1999) reduced the number of hereditary peers to 92.
• Vast majority of the Lords is now therefore made up of life peers, who are appointed by the Prime Minister (although opposition leaders can also propose peers)
• House of Lords Appointments Commission can also propose life peers
• 26 Lords Spiritual

Question 9

Electoral reform

Answer 9

• Tony Blair set up the ‘Jenkins Commission’ to consider electoral reform after the 1997 election
• Labour’s election manifesto promised: “An independent commission on voting systems will be appointed early to recommend a proportional alternative to the first-past-the-post system.”

Question 10

Devolution

Answer 10

• Scotland Act (1998) - given a Parliament with devolved powers - make legislation on most domestic areas of policy e.g. health, education and agriculture and the ability to raise income tax by 3p in the £
• The Government of Wales Act (1998) - created a weaker Welsh Assembly which still controlled most domestic policies but had to get agreement from Westminster for legislation
• Northern Ireland had been given a Parliament at Stormont (1921) - with the intensification of the IRA campaign and Catholic/Protestant conflict it was suspended (1972)
• Northern Ireland Act (1998) - Blair’s negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement (two Catholic parties + Ulster Unionist Party) created a New Stormont Parliament which was designed to have ministers from both communities and also created some joint institutions with the Irish Republic

Question 11

The Human Rights Act 1998

Answer 11

• The Labour government (1998) introduced the Human Rights Act (HRA)
• Came into effect in 2 October 2000
• Incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK law
• For the first time, a legal documentation of UK citizens’ rights was enshrined in law, giving judges an opportunity to check that government laws are compatible with the act.
• Main function was to make explicit in law rights which, in effect, already existed
• Includes rights such as the right to life, freedom from torture, right to a fair trial, freedom of thought and expression, right to marry etc.

Question 12

The Supreme Court

Answer 12

• (2005) - Constitutional Reform Act which, for the first time in constitutional history, provided for the separation of the Appellate Committee (supreme court) from the legislature (Parliament) and the executive (Government)
• Made it so the judges weren’t a part of the House of Lords anymore
• Reformed the office of Lord Chancellor so that it could be held by someone other than a Member of the Lords and transferring his judicial functions to the Lord Chief Justice
• Established an independent Judicial Appointments Commission to recommend judicial appointments
• The first members of the Supreme Court were the existing 12 Law Lords
• Made provision for judges of the Court of Appeal (covering England and Wales), and equivalent courts in Scotland and Northern Ireland, to sit as acting judges in the new Supreme Court
• 11/12 Law Lords in post in July 2009 became the first Justices of the Supreme Court and will remain Members of the House of Lords
• They are no longer entitled to sit or vote in the Lords but return to the House of Lords when they retire as Justices
• New judges appointed to the Supreme Court will not be given peerages

Question 13

(Enthusiasm for reform quickly waned) Criticisms

Answer 13

• Having won by such a large margin ministers lost their enthusiasm for sharing power with others
• A promised referendum on changing the electoral system never materialised
• Stage two of House of Lords reform was quietly shelved

Question 14

(The reforms were piecemeal) Criticisms

Answer 14

• Reforms were individual solutions to particular problems

- Lacked coherence as they were not part of a general constitutional blueprint

Question 15

(The reforms did not address deeper problems) Criticisms

Answer 15

• No concrete reform of parliament or the role of prime minister
• Problem of ‘elective dictatorship’ persisted
• Blair never brought forward either a codified constitution or an entrenched bill of rights