The Constitution

Question 1

What is the nature of the British constitution?

Answer 1

1. Uncodified, found in a variety of sources. E.g. statute law, the Human Right Act 1998, which ensured the right to a fair trial among many other things.
2. Unitary, all power ultimately derives from central government, unlike federal governments.
   E.g. in the UK, the House of Commons has ultimate authority, it can decide what constitution is, e.g. Representation of the People Act 1918 gave men over 21 and women over 30 with property the vote.
3. Rule of law, everyone is equally subject to the laws of the land.
   E.g. in 2016 the government was found by the courts to have acted illegally trying to restrict aid to people born out of the UK.
4. Parliamentary sovereignty, parliament is the supreme authority, the constitution is what parliament says it is. E.g. parliament decided to incorporate the ECHR in to the UK’s constitution by passing the HRA 1998, which ensured the right to a fair trial among many other things.

Question 2

What are the key sources of the UK constitution?

Answer 2

1. Statute law is any law derived from parliament.
   E.g. the Representation of the People Act 1918 gave the right to vote to all men over the age of 21 and all women with property over the age of 30.
2. Common law is law passed down over the years by legal judgements in the courts.
   E.g. the UKSC ruling that Boris Johnson’s proroguing of Parliament was unlawful. Statute law has can repeal or modify common law.
3. Royal prerogative are powers held by the Monarch but are exercised by the PM.
   E.g. David Cameron authorised air strikes in Libya in 2011 using his royal prerogative powers.
4. Conventions are unwritten traditions
   E.g. when the Lords rejected the People’s Budget in 1909 and broke convention, a constitutional crisis took place.

Question 3

What are key developments of the British constitution before 1900?

Answer 3

1. Magna Carta 1215.
   E.g. clause 39 guaranteed the right to a swift and fair trial. Only applied to free men.
2. Bill of Rights 1689.
   E.g. stated that parliaments must meet frequently, with complete freedom of speech within parliament.
3. Act of Settlement 1701.
   E.g. stated that parliamentary consent had to be given for the Sovereign to engage in war, and judges were to hold office on good conduct and not at Royal pleasure.

Question 4

What are key developments of the British constitution from 1900-1997?

Answer 4

1. Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949.
   E.g. 1911 Act removed the power of absolute veto from the lords, and limited their power to a 2 year delay. 1949 Act reduced the delay to just 1 year.
2. European Communities Act 1972.
   E.g. stated that British law had to conform with EU law
3. Representation of the People Act 1918
   E.g. gave men over 21 and women over 30 with property the vote.

Question 5

What are key developments if the British constitution since 1997?

Answer 5

1. Freedom of Information Act 2000.
   E.g. stated that public bodies such as government departments had to publish information about their activities such as annual reports, and had to allow members of the public to request information form these authorities via a freedom of information request. However 37% of requests were denied in 2016.
2. Fixed-term Parliament Acts 2011. E.g. stated that general election must be held every 5 years, 2/3 majority of Parliament is now needed to call an early election. However Theresa May called an early election in 2017 when Tory lead was 20% when Commons agreed 522-13.
3. Scotland Act 2012.
   E.g. gave the Scottish government the power to vary income tax up or down by 10 pence per pound and devolved multiple other areas.
4. Equality Act 2010.
   E.g. protects people from being discriminated based on age, gender, race and various other categories, by employers, businesses, organisations etc.

Question 6

‘Statute law is the best protector of citizens rights’

Answer 6

1. No, common law is better
   E.g. in the R vs R UKHL 1992 the courts ruled that it should be illegal for a man to rape his wife.
   (it has protected rights where statute law has failed)

Yes, statute law is the best
E.g. the HRA protects citizens from government action that is incompatible with the ECHR, such as