Nature And Sources Of The Constitution (UK Gov 1) Flashcards
Magna Carta
-1215
-first instance of monarchs power being limited and fair trials
Bill of rights
-1689
-established parliamentary sovereignty
Act of settlement
-1701
-judiciary become free from interference (judicial independence)
Act of union
-1707
-unfified the UK by placing Scotland under Westminsters power
First parliament act
-1911
-lords cannot delay money bills
-can only delay other bills for 2 years
Second parliament act
-lords can now only delay bills for one year
European communities act
-1972
EU law becomes sovereign over uk law as we join the EU
EU Withdrawl act
-2019
-removed UK from EU (re-establishment of parliamentary sovereignty)
Nature of the UK constitution (6):
-unentrenched (no specific procedure for amendment)
-uncodified (not written into one document)
-unitary state
-constitutional monarchy
-rule of law
-parliamentary sovereignty
The twin pillars
-parliamentary sovereignty
-rule of law
First set out by AV Dicey
Sources of the uk constitution (5):
-statue law
-common law
-conventions
-authoritative works
-international laws/ treaties
Examples of constitutionally significant statue laws
-parliament acts
-representation of the people (1969)
-Human rights act (1998)
Examples of common law
-the royal prerogative (powers of the monarch exercised by government ministers)
Exemplified when Johnson tried to prorogue parliament in 2019 and May tried to trigger article 50 in 2017
Examples of conventions
-Salisbury convention (lords shouldn’t block manifesto)
-Sewel convention (UK parl shouldn’t legislate on matters affecting devolved bodies without their consent)
-Collective ministerial responsibility (MPs should be in public agreement with the government always)
Examples of authoritative works
-Erskine May
-Bagehotes’ “the English constitution”
-Dicey’s “introduction to the study of the law of the constitution”
Rights reforms under Labour
-1998 HRA (codifies 1953 ECHR)
-2010 Equality act (collates 116 laws into one)
-2000 Freedom of information act
Devolution reforms under Labour
-1998 Scotland act (follows referendum with 74% voting yes)
-1998 Northern Ireland act (follows 71% referendum and Good Friday agreement)
-1998 government of wales act (follows 50.3% referendum)
-1999 Greater London authority act (follows 72% referendum)
Constitutional reforms under Labour
-1999 House of Lords Act (Removes all but 92 hereditary peers)
-2005 constitutional reform act (eradication of Lord chancellor as member of all 3 branches and forms SC)
Electoral/ democratic reforms under Labour
-2000 Electoral commission established
-PR systems introduced in devolved bodies and EU elections
-Jenkins report advocated for AV over FPTP but never implemented
Constitutional reforms under coalition
-2011 fixed term parliament act (removed prerogative power so that elections can’t be held at politically advantageous time)- repealed by dissolution and calling of parliament act 2022
-2014 HoL reform act (gives lords the ability to resign or be removed or retire)
-2015 recall of MPs act (MPs can be recalled if given a custodial sentence, suspension r made false monetary claims with support from 10% constituency)
Devolution reforms under coalition
-2012 Scotland act (gives Scottish parliament the power to vary income tax by 10p in £1)
-2014 Wales act (change name of welsh government to Senedd Cymru and a few taxation powers)
Rights reforms under coalition
-2012 protection of freedoms act (increased protection from the state for citizens)
-2013 Marriage act (legalises gay marriage)
Devolution reforms post-2015
-2017 wales reform act (increased taxation powers)
-2016 Scotland act (full power to set income tax rates)
Controversial acts post 2015
-2024 asylum and immigration act (breach of HRA)
-2019 EU Withdrawl act (left Brexit, could argue an infringement of the Sewel convention)
Devolution in Scotland
-administrative, financial and legislative
-powers include income tax (as of 2016), uni tuition fees and curriculum and justice
-Holyrood= 73 FPTP MSPs and 56 AMS MSPs
-strong appetites for independence (2014 ref= 85% turnout)
Devolution in Wales
-administrative and legislative (on reserved matters only)
-same areas as Scotland but less freedom (e.g. no control on police)
-income tax power since 2014
-40 FPTP members, 20 AMS
Devolution in Northern Ireland
-power sharing devolution between unionists and nationalists
-cooperation tax (lowest powers)
-unstable stormont (NI came under power of Westminster from 2017-2020 because of this)
-108 MPs elected by STV
Barnett formula
-formula used to calculate money given to devolved states per capita
-criticised for causing financial imbalance (2019= devolved bodies received 129% more per capita than England)
-beneficial as any left over money can be invested into whatever the government thinks best
Devo max
When a state has fully devolved (nowhere in UK currently has this)
Successes of devolution
-2006 Scotland banned smoking in public and by 2007 it was banned across the UK
-historically there has been more female representation in devolved assemblies
HOWEVER devolved elections have had much lower turnout
West Lothian question
Is it fair for MPs from devolved states to vote on matters concerning England and Wales only
-e.g. in 2018 8 DUP members voted in favour of making cuts to free skl meals in England and wales only
EVEL
-English votes for English laws
-2015-2020
-abolished in pursuit of Scottish conservative popularity
-could be argued as undemocratic
-could also be argued as more democratic and legitimate
Metro mayors
-mayors existing in large cities in England (currently 9)
-powers of local transport, housing and jobs/skills
-success= 2023 Manchester mayor deprivatises local buses to reflect local identity and community
-failure= 2023 Andy Street of West Midlands threatened to resign over Sunak’s HS2 scrapping
Why is the UK “quasi-federal”?
-no state has devomax, but devolution in some areas has lead to the idea of a less unionist nation
Why could a codified constitution be potentially beneficial?
Could more robustly protect rights, prevent elective dictatorship and maybe establish a fully elected second chamber (should you think thats a good thing)
