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Politics- Uk > Political Institutions paper 2 > Flashcards

Political Institutions paper 2 Flashcards

1
Q

How has the British constitution evolved? 1215-1707

A
  • Magna Carta- 1215- stated no one should be deprived of liberty or property without due process of law.
  • The Bill of Rights- 1689- included provisions for regular parliaments, free elections, freedom of speech within parliament.
  • The Act of Settlement- 1701- right of parliament to determine line of succession to throne.
  • The Acts of Union- 1707- united England and Scotland- was basis until Blair set up Scottish Parliament in 1997
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2
Q

How has the British constitution evolved? 1911-2017

A
  • Parliament Act- 1911- reduced power of house of lords so they could not delay money bills. Power of veto was limited to 2 years.
  • Parliament Act- 1949- Veto limited to 1 year.
  • European communities Act- 1972- Established EU law taking precedence over UK law.
  • European notification of withdrawal Act- 2017- EU law no longer takes precedence.
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3
Q

Why is Parliament sovereign?

A
  • Legislation passed by Parliament cannot be overturned- can be interpreted by SC.
  • Parliament can create legislation on any subject.
  • Parliament has right to amend/ repeal any previous acts of parliament.
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4
Q

The 3 U’s of British Constitution.

A
  • Uncodified- No single document, multiple sources
  • Unentrenched- Can be altered relatively easily- majority vote.
  • Unitary- Sovereignty in Westminster, devolution diminishing this.
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5
Q

What does the lack of entrenchment allow in the UK?

A
  • Parliament to be sovereign
  • Amendments can be made in 2 days- if a strong government has a mandate they can control the constitution.
  • 1998 Human Rights Act passed without any special arrangement
  • Use of referendums almost limits governments- although not legally binding- society can control the government power.
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6
Q

How can the British Constitution be criticised?

A
  • Nothing to stop a dictatorship.
  • Unentrenched- significant change is easy to bring about.
  • Unitary- sovereignty in Parliament, lack of power in other places- powers of devolution could be diminished if the government had large mandate.
  • Lacks clarity
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7
Q

What are the 5 main sources of the UK Constitution?

A
  • Statute law- laws passed by parliament- Human Rights Act
  • Common Law- Laws made by judges- innocent until proven guilty.
  • Conventions- traditions not contained in law but are influential- ordering military action without parliamentary approval isn’t supported.
  • Authoritative works- works written by experts describing how a practical system is run- Rules of Parliamentary law Book.
  • Treaties- a formal agreement with other countries- Maastricht 1992 transferred the European community into EU.
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8
Q

UK Constitution strengths and weaknesses

A

Strengths
- Flexible and adaptable
- Lack of revolution- shows its successful, completes a purpose
- Government can act decisively.
Weaknesses
- Lack of restraint
- Traditional- outdated
- Undemocratic- no separation between government and law makers.
- Uncodified- may lead to citizen ignorance or apathy.

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9
Q

The four principles of labour constitutional reform

A
  • Modernisation
  • Democratisation
  • Decentralisation
  • Restoration of rights
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10
Q

1997-2010 Constitutional Reforms under Labour?

A
  • HOL Reform- ended the right of all but 92 of life peers to sit in the Laws- Modernisation- inheritance no longer leading to power.
  • Electoral Reform- Proportional representation introduced for Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly and European Parliament- Democratisation.
  • Human Rights Act- Incorporated the European Convention of Human Rights into UK Statute law- restoration of rights.
  • Creation of the Supreme court- 2005 Constitution Reform Act led to SC being created 4 years later- Decentralisation
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11
Q

Evaluate the effectiveness of constitutional reform since 1997

A
  • Freedom of Information Act- improvements in clarity over MP’s and spending of public money- MPs expense scandal- being evidence of accountability.
  • Electoral Reform- Proportional representation not being introduced into Westminster- SNP got 1.5 mil votes and 50 seats, UKIP got 8.5mil votes and only 1 seat.
  • Human Rights Act- enshrined rights making all future legislation compatible with ECHR
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12
Q

Reforms under coalition and conservative Government

A
  • HOL and boundary reform- plans for mainly elected HOL was dropped due to rebellion by 91 backbench conservatives- Lib Dems then blocked implementation of limiting the number of MPs from 650 to 600.
  • Electoral Reform- Conservative wanted to retain FPTP, Lib Dems wanted Alternate vote system- Lib Dems proposal rejected by 68% of voters
  • Rights- Conservative wanted to replace Human Rights Act with the British Bill of Rights, Lib dems wanted to retain act- no resolution found
  • Fixed term parliament Act- Ended PM power to chase date of an election- new parliament can be elected on same date in 5 year intervals, if PM looses a vote of no confidence and fails to form a new gov in 14 days then an election can be held.
  • Reform of HOC- select committees chose by MP’s rather than party leaders- Backbench business committee introduced which choose topics for debate including some from e-petitions
  • Recall of MPs Act- If an MP is sentenced to a custodial sentence or suspended from the commons for more than 21 days a by-election is triggered if 10% of constituents in that area sign a petition.
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13
Q

Devolution under labour

A
  • Devolved bodies created fir Scotland, Wales and NI- following 1997 and 1998 referendums.
  • Was an attempt to dampen down the strong support for pro-independence SNP
  • Scottish can vote in Westminster on British issues but Britain can’t vote in Scottish parliament.
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14
Q

Devolution under conservatives and coalition

A
  • referendum in 2011 to grant further powers for Welsh Assembly- resulted in having 20 devolved powers where they did not have to consult Westminster.
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15
Q

How does devolution differ between countries?

A
  • Scotland- strong nationalist movement- received more powers- they have 129 MP’s- had less then 10% of devolved expenditure, now has 36%.
  • Wales- concerned with protecting cultural identity- 60 members in National Assembly- has own powers for education, Covid-19
  • Northern Ireland- division between nationalist and unionist- 90 members of Assembly- have powers on most issues affecting everyday life in Northern Ireland- have separate protocol with Brexit
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16
Q

Has devolution been successful?

A
  • Democracy has been enhanced- power no longer congested in Westminster.
  • The new legislature act as policy laboratories- if new policies work in NI, Wales and Scotland then it can be rolled out in Britain.
  • The different countries can respond differently to their own needs- COVID
  • Brexit- Scotland voted remain and still had to leave
  • Gender Bill- being blocked by Westminster
  • Low turnout rate in Scottish and Welsh devolution- is it supported/ needed
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17
Q

Should we extend devolution?

A

Yes
- England is most densely populated with no devolved body- Weak argument, there is separate regulations for Britain- Barnett Formula for public spending.
- There are strong regional identities in some parts of UK- Cornwall, Devon, Yorkshire- weak argument, through the defeat of Blairs proposal, the sense of identity isnt strong.
No
- England’s size and wealth could lead to it dominating a federal structure- weak argument- the English could clash with the UK Government.
- Most English don’t make a distinction between England and Britain- no strong sense of regional identities

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18
Q

What is parliament made up of?

A
  • The House of Commons
  • House of Lords
  • Monarch
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19
Q

What are the roles of parliament?

A
  • Holding Gov. to account- questioning the HOC and working on committees which run investigations around government actions.
  • Making/ amending laws- Most of draft laws go through Parliament- everyone in parliament can debate about them.
  • Representing UK citizens- MP’s represent their constituency.
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20
Q

What are the functions of parliament?

A
  • Passing of legislation
  • Parliamentary scrutiny
  • Providing ministers
  • Representing the electorate
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21
Q

Passing of Legislation

A
  • Parliament have authority to pass/amend laws
  • HOC have exclusive power to give consent to taxation
  • Most legislation is initiated by Gov, limited opportunity for others to initiate.
  • A strong opposition is needed to beat executive proposals. David Cameron defeat on plans to extend Sunday Trading- due to adversarial nature of party system- opposition constantly confronting the gov.
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22
Q

Parliamentary Scrutiny

A
  • Parliament has responsibility to exercise oversight of the executive.
  • Opposition holds gov. to account.
  • Ministers have duty to explain and defend their policies in parliament.
  • Questioning of ministers
  • Select committees- shadowing individual departments.
  • Debates- set piece of events, high quality, include individuals with expertise, rarely influence the course of events.
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23
Q

Providing ministers

A
  • parliament acts as a recruiting ground for future ministers- whips recommend candidates for promotion.
  • PM possesses wide powers of patronage.
  • Award of peerage can be used to secure the services of a particular individual as a minister, if that person is not an MP.
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24
Q

Representing the electorate

A
  • Commons is dominated by one party due to FPTP, representative of voting support- not proportional representation though
  • Lords don’t reflect society- over half are over 70, 3/4 are male
  • Due to FPTP MP’s are expected to respond to constituents issues.
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25
Q

Issues with representative functions

A
  • MP’s loyalty to their party- desire to win promotion for gov. may conflict the need to represent the constituency- Ministerial code states they should avoid conflict of interests but MP’s can make representations to colleagues in the government if they make it clear that they are acting as a representative
  • Commons not truly representative- lack of women as MP’s compared to general public
26
Q

Exclusive powers of the House of Commons

A
  • Taxation and Public expenditure- HOC represents taxpayer therefore only they can vote on taxation. The Chancellor of Exchequer is obliged to sit in the commons where the annual budget is presented.
  • Confidence and Supply Agreements- the minority government forms an informal agreement with another party to vote alongside their party for policy concessions
27
Q

Exclusive powers of the House of Lords

A
  • Acts as revising chamber, proposing amendments to government legislation.
  • Can delay non-financial legislation
  • If gov. were attempt to prolong the life of parliament beyond its 5 years, the lords are empowered to force a general election.
28
Q

Have lords become more important?

A
  • They have become more legitimate-1999 removal of hereditary life peers
  • No party has overall control due to hereditary peers departure
  • Cross benchers began to play more important role in holding government to account
29
Q

How does the commons maintain its supremacy?

A
  • Majority and numbers- the gov. usually make use of majority to overturn lords amendments
  • Ping Pong- A bill can go back and forth between HOC and HOL but the government can accept or reject any recommended changes.
  • Can use the Parliament Act to force a bill through
30
Q

What is in place to allow parliament to check gov. powers?

A
  • Parliamentary privilege- immunity from being sued for libel- MPs freedom of speech
  • Creation of Backbench Business Committee in 2010- can choose a topic for debate on 35 days in Parliament.
  • Rise in number in backbench rebellions
  • Increase in use of urgent questions- MP’s raising questions that require immediate action- increased from 1234 in 2000-2009 to 3547 in 2009-2013
  • Lords with expertise will contribute to debates- the HOL defeated gov. on police, crime, sentencing and courts bill.
31
Q

How do committees check government powers?

A
  • witnesses are called- used to develop evidence to either scrutinise executive or help pass new legislation.
  • Public Liaison Committee- Directly check the prime minister twice a year- the chair of all committees sit in this- they are knowledgeable
  • Departmental select committee- scrutinise the government work and order them to answer questions
  • Are only recommendations
32
Q

How effective is the opposition?

A
  • Opposition may focus on attacking the government through media.
  • Leader of opposition directly respond to government programme and replies to the chancellor of exchequer budget speech.
  • Opposition party given 20 days to choose a subject for debate- 17 days for largest opposition, 3 days for rest.
  • Government will usually table an amendment by cancelling it out by commending its own policies- due to the large mandate they can get this through.
  • Opposition are offered money due to their lack of ability to access the civil service- should be spent on policy research- Conservative cut the amount of funding after 2015
33
Q

Current functions of a Prime minister

A
  • Head of governing party and the executive
  • Represents the country on an international stage
  • Sets the date for general election
  • Commander in chief of armed forces
34
Q

What are the main roles of the executive?

A
  • Proposing legislation- Announces new programme at start of each parliamentary session at kings speech, has power to introduce legislation that contends with emergencies.
  • Proposing the budget- The government needs to raise revenue in order to fund public services and meet its spending priorities. Budget is created by Chancellor of Exchequer in consultation with PM and presented to HOC for approval.
  • Making policy decisions- decides how to give effect to its aims for future direction of country
35
Q

What are the main powers of the executive

A
  • Royal Prerogative powers- Historically belonged to the crown, have been transferred to PM- 2011 Fixed term parliament act removed right of PM to determine the date of general election (limited powers)
  • Secondary legislation- the government can modify/repeal existing legislation - enables government to evade parliamentary scrutiny- 2/3 become law without being put before MPs
  • Initiation of legislation- controls most of parliaments time available for legislation- 20 days for opposition, 13 days for private members bill and variable times for backbench business committee- if government has a majority they can rely on patronage and whipping- the guillotine allows the government to curtail debates on the individual clauses of the bills
36
Q

What is individual ministerial responsibility

A

concept of responsibility, not a fixed law which can be enforced. there are no rules governing the circumstances in which ministers may be obliged to take responsibility for their actions by resigning from the government. Individual responsibility is set out in the ministerial code issued at the start of the new formation of governments by the prime minister.

37
Q

ministerial responsibility- resignations

A

they are obliged to give accurate information to the prime minister- if they are knowingly misleading parliament there is an expectation to resign- they remain in office for as long as they retain the prime ministers confidence- the blurring lines of accountability that is reliant on the prime ministers attitude, media and seriousness of the offence means that ministers haven’t been held responsible- instead blame can be placed in civil servants for departmental errors.
civil servants used to be anonymous however this has changed recently- allowing ministers to loose a sense of accountability- personal misconduct is more likely to lead to a ministerial stepdown rather than a failure of policy/ administration.

38
Q

types of governing- uk

A
  • Presidential government- centred around one individual, they control the legislative agenda, and effectively rule as a president in a constitutional government- Tony Blair
  • Cabinet government- legislative agenda is set by, done and pushed through by the cabinet and they as a collective are more powerful than the prime minister- Theresa May, coalition government
39
Q

What factors impact the prime ministers powers?

A
  • Management skills of the prime minister- a determined prime minister will exploit the elastic nature of the office to gain control over the cabinet. The right to appoint and dismiss ministers can be used to reshape the top team, to remove poor performers and bring in new blood, and marginalise opponents
  • PM’s ability to set agenda-pm has a traditional right to chair a meeting, they can keep certain items off the agenda
  • Cabinet committees to take decisions- the PM can choose memberships of these committees. many decisions taken in smaller groups or in bilateral meeting involving the PM.
  • Development of PM office and cabinet office- the PM has access to more resources than other ministers- the press office works closely with the PM, to create positive gov. presentation
  • Political and economic situation- large parliamentary majority and united party will find it easier to gain ascendancy- popularity with public, booming economies and ability to master events
40
Q

to what extent to prime ministers dominate cabinet

A
  • they dominate- appointment/ dismissal of ministers, set agenda, press and image portrayal
  • They don’t- ministerial responsibility, reliance on majority, volatility due to outside conditions(economy)
41
Q

should parliament be consulted before military action is taken

A
  • No- urgency, risk of leaks of information, expertise in military is not in parliament, overcomplication due to differing views, shouldn’t be subjected to party politics, prerogative powers of PM
  • Yes- democracy- consent of people, legitimacy, reasoning, evidence, questions- stops erratic decisions that are unjust
42
Q

What are the 4 models of high leadership

A
  • The US model- head of state and government, governs country in a partisan way, represents USA in bipartisan way
  • Strong president model- president not head of government, president elected and has considerable power
  • constitutional monarchy model- head of state is monarch- has limited powers, largely ceremonial, the PM plays all roles for head of state and government
  • Weak president model- president nominated by legislature rather than popularity elected, weak figure-head, play some roles as head of state including ceremonies, president can be politically involved
43
Q

What is the judiciary

A

a branch of government that enforces the law and interprets the meaning of laws, including constitutional law

44
Q

supreme court

A

they are separate from both government and parliament, they are there to hear points of law that are of greatest importance. They replaced the appellate committee of the house of lords.

45
Q

judicial reviews and it’s objectives

A

judicial review is a critical role because it helps achieve the two democratic objectives of ensuring government doesn’t overstep its power, and asserts the rights of citizens. The freedom of information and human rights act enhanced this

46
Q

supreme court case studies

A
  • PJS V News group 2015- PJS won the appeal by a 4 to 1 appeal, he went to supreme court for injunction to prevent publication of a news story which was declined because of publication needs, it was appealed successfully as it was seen to undermine his right to privacy.
  • Vince v Wyatt 2015- appeal by former wife against the striking out of her claim for financial relief 18 years after the grant of decree absolute due to ex husband getting wealthy. Appeal allowed and cost allowance order was in the wives favour.
47
Q

why would a case go to supreme court

A
  • if there is an important judicial review concerning the government or important body
  • if the case has implications for citizens
  • If it involves important interpretation of law to examine what parliament intention was when it originally passed law.
  • If it has attracted public interest
  • If a key issue of human rights might be at stake
48
Q

what is a public inquiry

A

a major investigation, convened by a government minister, that can be gifted special powers to compel testimony and release of other forms of evidence. the only justification is that it is a public concern

49
Q

Leveson inquiry

A

An inquiry into culture, practices and ethics of the british press following the news international phone hacking scandal. This was chaired by lord justice leveson, it resulted in the establishment of a press recognition panel which ensures media protect public and follows proper procedure

50
Q

Grenfell towers inquiry

A

started in 2017 and is still ongoing- chaired by retired judge martain morore-bick. it has 2 phases, first addressing events on the night of the fire- 46 recommendations like improving fire rescue training. Phase two investigates the wider situation- waiting for final report due to it being paused until after covid arrangements

51
Q

what is judicial precedence

A

judges should have the ultimate judgement on how a law is implemented, they are legal experts, qualified, neutral, unbiased and limits power of parliament

52
Q

does the supreme court control government powers

A
  • Judiciary interpret the laws, government have no say in this- judicial precedence
  • Judiciary influence future legal decisions- undemocratic
  • Judicial review- proroguing of parliament in 2019- supreme court can scrutinise government and limit their power
53
Q

judicial precedence case- knauer v ministry of justice

A

Mr knauer made a claim for future loss and dependency under the fatal accidents act 1976 following his wide’s death after she contracted mesothelioma during the course of her employment as an administrative assistant at HMP due to exposure of aspestos. MOJ admitted liability for her death, there was a dispute around whether the loss of payments from the act should be considered from the day of death or day of trial- the judge was bound to follow precedence set by the HOL in the cases of Cookson V Knowles therefore was calculated from her death. the judge allowed Knauer to appeal straight to the supreme court due to him stating he would have preferred to calculate the multiplier from the date of trial.

54
Q

judicial precedence case- R V Shivpuri

A

Shivpuri was persuaded to act as a drugs courier- he collected a suitcase which contained several packages of white power which he believed to be heroin or cannabis but was in fact legal snuff. Shivpuri was charged with attempting to be knowingly concerned in dealing with and harbouring drug of heroin under the criminal attempts act 1981. S appealed as he stated he couldn’t be found guilty as the substance was not a drug- the appeal was overruled and conviction was upheld due to the “objective innocence” set out in the case of Anderton V Ryan was not permissible for this case as he had intent to deliver drugs.

55
Q

european courts of human rights case study

A

Voting rights for prisoners- ECHR said a ban on prisoners voting was against their Human Rights. The UK government ignored the ECHR judgement. The ECHR should have fined the UK but they didn’t- therefore power lies in parliament

56
Q

How powerful is the supreme court

A

Powerful
- Judicial precedence- binds future courts- government has now power to entrench the laws
- SC interprets the laws created by parliament
- Supreme court influences future decisions
- judicial review checks the power of the government- proroguing of parliament in 2019- government had to act on the supreme court decision
- Supreme court can ignore ECHR judgment- prisoners voting rights 2005
not powerful
- Constitution is uncodified- parliament can amend and change the consensus and laws
- Parliament is soveriegn
- Can only make common law when no statute law is in place- cant create laws only interpret it
- Cases hold little impact- Trump and scottish gold club
-

57
Q

judical independence

A

the principle that judges must be free from political interference- vital as they may be called on to administer justice in cases where conflict is apparent between state and individual
- terms of employment- judges are unable to be removed from office unless they break the law- there is an official retirement age which is 70- they can comment on cases without backlash
- Pay- they are paid automatically from independent budget- no possibility of minister manipulation
- Appointment- judicial appointments commission and selection commission for supreme court are transparent in their procedure and free from political intervention
- the change from law lords to supreme court removes any possibilities of them being subjected to government pressure- some concerns raised in 2011 as lord Phillips responded to cuts in court system funding as part of coalition, lord Philips argued independence of the court is at risk if there is no pre-set funding as an attempt to eliminate budget deficit. Justice secretary dismissed this as he insisted the SC was independent of any political interference and government accepted this judgement.

58
Q

judiciary is independent and neutral

A
  • The constitutional reform 2005 removed most threatsof independence
  • Judges cannot be removed by ministers as a result of their decisions- security of tenure
  • Judges cannot be threated with loss of income if politicians not happy with their decisions
  • Ministers have little influence over which judges are appointed- appointments largely independent of politics
  • There is no recent evidence of bias in favour or against the government
  • Judges uphold the rights of all sections of society so appear to be neutral and have no preference
59
Q

judiciary is not independent and neutral

A
  • ministers do have some influence over final appointment of most senior judges
  • The neutrality of judges sometimes is challenged on the basis that they come from a very narrow social background being virtually all white males from comfortable backgrounds and privately educated
  • Some rights campaigners argue that some members of the judiciary tend to favour the establishment over citizens rights
  • Some conservative politicians claim the judiciary contains too many liberal lawyers who tend to favour rights over state security and law and order
60
Q

influence of supreme court over ministers and parliament

A

they interpret the 1998 human rights act- if the SC believes an existing piece of legislation is in conflict with the European declaration of human rights it can issue a declaration of incompatability- there is an expectation that parliament will modify the law to bring it in line with the convention- however doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty means sc has no power to strike down laws. Instead they have power of judicial review- the court can inquire whether ministers have followed correct procedures in the way that they implemented legislation- it examines the actions of public bodies to see if they have acted ultra vires

61
Q

judicial review case study- Al Rawi case and secret hearings

A
  • brought former inmate from Guantanamo bay, who claimed UK security services had contributed to their detention and mistreatment. The security chiefs, supported by the government, argued that they must be allowed to give evidence in secret. The SC rejected this argument on the grounds that it breached the principle to a fair trial.
62
Q

judicial review case study- supreme court and brexit

A

Gina Miller argued that the PM could not initiate brexit through prerogative powers. The supreme court upheld an earlier ruling in favour of Ms Miller by the High court on the grounds that EU membership introduced statutory rights for UK citizens, which only parliament could remove.

Politics- Uk (2 decks)

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