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Darwin UK Politics > The constitution > Flashcards

The constitution Flashcards

1
Q

What are the sources of the UK consitution

(6)

A
  • Common law ( judge made law).
  • statute law ( parliamnetry staututes/acts
  • authorrtative works
  • Convention
  • treaties
  • historical Landmark decisions
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2
Q

Give 3 examples of statute law

A
  • The HRA
  • The scotland act
  • the wales act
  • the goodfriday agreement
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3
Q

Give an example of a common law

A

Bushels law (1670), The judge tried to fien the juary for not voting a certain way, edward bushel ignored this and a seperate judge ruled that judges my not try to “lead the jury bythe nose”

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4
Q

Give 3 examples of consitutuinal conventions

A
  • The PM declairs war, overidden in 2003 when balir brought iraq to parliament
  • The sailsbury convention, that teh house of lords will not appose/delay policies put to them tehat were in the winning parties manifesto.
  • the public shold be consulted via a refurendom before parlaiment make cosnitutionally sigificant chances
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5
Q

Give 4 examples of historrically land mark dessiosn

A
  • The parliament act 1911 and 1949 -limmiting the power of the lods first to only delay a bill 2 years then 1
  • the representation of the peopels act 1918 and 1928 expandinf the franchise
  • the bill of rigths 1689
  • the magncarta 1215
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6
Q

when was the parliament act

A

1911 and 1949

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7
Q

Give an exampel of a consitutionally significant authortative work

A

2010, Gus O’Donnell on the precedures to be followed if a outrigth governement is not reached

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8
Q

Give an example of a constitutionally significant Treatie

A

The EU-UK withdrawal agreement 2020

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9
Q

when was the blair government

A

1997-2007

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10
Q

what are the primary aims on consitutional reform

(4)

A
  • decentralisation of power
  • democrtisation
  • transparency
  • right sprotection

(but they are all interconected)

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11
Q

what were the significant consitutional reforms of the balir era

(4)

A
  • HRA 1998
  • devolution
  • The house of lords act 1999
  • The constitutional reform act 2005 separation of powers ( converting the law lords to the supream court )
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12
Q

what is a non herritage peir in the hosue of lords called

A

a life pear

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13
Q

How are life pears appointed

A

The House of lords commision, but officially through the PM

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14
Q

Give exampels of 2 sucess of lords reform two failers of lords reform

A
  • Only 92 herritage pers were left in 2000 (much better democrtisation
  • life pears = policy experts to finalise bills
  • still 92 left !
  • partizan
    2. Blair was critisised as giving life pearage to his political alies and labour Donors, appointing 203 lords and 162 labour. ( “cash of honers scandel”)
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15
Q

when was the fixed term parliament act

A

2011 not 2015

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16
Q

when was the recall of MP’s act

A

2015

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17
Q

What were the successful and attempted consitutional reforms of the coallison governemt 2010-2015 (5)

A
  1. The fixed term parlaimet act 2011
  2. attemted elctoral reform (the AV refurndom) (2011)
  3. further devolution - (Scottish independence and more power to assemblies )
  4. elected police commissioners
  5. the recall of MP’s act 2015
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18
Q

the highest police comissiner tuenout is really ……….. % not 25%

A

49%

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19
Q

The lowest police turn out for a police commisioner election has been ?

A

18%

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20
Q

How has the fixed term parlaiment act been unsusessful in practicallity

A
  • every time the government has wanted to call a snap election sice they have been successful in egtteign the 2/3 majority needed to pass an act to make it happen
    1. e.g. 2019 and 2017
  • furthermore, but parties ( labour and conservative) said tehy would repeal the act in their 2019 manifesto
21
Q

What is the convetion that The lords will not delay legistation that is in the winning parties manifesto

A

The Sailsbury Convention

22
Q

What consitutional reforms Have there been sice 2015

A
  • EVEL (solving the westloathian probelem)
  • BREXIT
23
Q

Give two diadvantages of an elected lords

A
  • loss of specialsit scrutiney
  • democratic gridlock of bills as both parties will have a democratic mandate
24
Q

arguments (+ countre them ) for there being a codified consitution with an entrenched bill of rights

A

**rights protection **
* Righst are only codified in statute law and not entrched, this means tehey acn be repealed by a simple majority rule in the commons. ( an entrenced bill of rigth swold help protect peopel from a tyranical overly powerful governement)
* 1. For example in 2022 the government repeal and replaced the HRA with the a new bill of rights. This makes it much harder fro people to amke cases to courts for their human rights being challenged.
* The Plastic nature of the cositution also allows for the government to easily codify new rights into law, e.g. the freedom of information act 2000, the equallity act 2010
**clarity in the realtionships of the branches **
* The Uk is a unitary systema s apposed to a federal one like the US, so right now it is assumed that parliament is soverign. This means that tecnically the legislagture can ignore the will of the electorate in refurendoms and the Judicary in the form of supream court rulings.
1. After 911, in the early 2000s parliament passed a serrise of legislations, one after the other, after each were declaired imcompattable with artical 5, (right to a free trial), of the ECHR, ( bascially one replacing the next). In doign so they esentully ignored the Law lord/ The supreme corut.
2. However, in the end The 2006 Terrorism act was reduced in the amount of time it allowed for terrorist suspension from 90 days to 28 days, beause of the ruling of the supream court, wicth is somewhat of a win when in 200, accordign to the Anti terrorism crime and security act, they could be suspened indefienty
**limmit the powers of the PM and governemnt **
* * if the governemnt has an substancial majority they can act how ever they choes to “ weilding the sword of parliamentry soveignty” as they like, to suit their own agenda
1. For example, before 2015 PM’s could simply desdided when they wanted to call an election with a majority vote in parliament. Therefore they could all them when the polls were good and ensure their victory, allowign for them to secure a long time in office
2. for example both balir and thacher called 3 ealy elections and secured power for a decalid before being lobbies to resign in one way or another.
3. Howerver 2015 fixed term parliament act
4. howerver both torries and Labout proposing to remove it in their 2015 maifesto

25
Q

when was the freedom of information act

A

2000

26
Q

Which conservative MP voted against Brexit, despite his consituency voting in favour of leaving, Proclaiming to belivein the trustee model

A

Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe)

27
Q

what was the back and forth of the anti terrorism bills of the early 2000s

A
  1. The governement passed the Anti terrorism crime and security act 2001 allowing them to hold susspected terrorists for in 2004 the llae lords made a decloration of incompatabillity with this, stating that it was in contracition with atical 5 and 14 (rigth to a free trial and to not be discriminated agaist for your HR), the governemrnt replaced teh bill with the prevention of terrorism act 2005, witch had the exact same problem and was also delaired incompattable with artical 5 in 2006. Yet again in 2006 (after the 7/7 terrorist attack), the goverment imposed the terroism act 2006 with the aim to hold susppected terrorists for 90 days, yet again this was incompatable with artical 5 and the government kept the princial of the act but they did reduce the time of the supesnsion period to 28 days. This shows Pariament having more power than The supream court but still trying to appear to be lsitenign to them.
28
Q

whats is it aclled when a PM has a large majority and acts very presidencially/ uniterraly in parliament

A

wielding the sword of parliamentary sovereignty

29
Q

arguments agaist (+ countre them ) a codified consitution with an entrenched bill of rights

A

**avoids entrenching corrupt principals **
* who would right it ?, woudl it be partizan ? would it still work in years to come?
1. The US second amendment, the right to abir arms, nolonger nessisary with heavy weponary of the 21st centuary and the lack of the impending thret of the british taking over. This has resulted in over 600 mass shootings in 2022 in the us.
2. Vs in the uk where after the Dunblane masicure of 1996, the Uk governemnet was quickly able to pass a bill banning all hand guns without an licence of extenive requrements.
3. however, a comsition is not fully concreet. for exampel, in the US it can be changed with a supper majority of a 2/3 vote in Congress and bein passed in 3/4 of state legistlatres

felexable to changing political cercomstaneces
* demands of the times change and the consitution would fail to keep up with this
1. for example, over time natioanlism and demand for power in scotland has grown as well as the issue of the IRS in Northern irland. The flexible nature of the consitution allowed for devolution the the regeins of the UK in the form of the devolved assemblies, ending the troubles in NI powersharing and somwhat scolands demand for power
* Consitutuinal reform, specifically devolution has not always been entirely sucsessful or popular.
1. By 2016 37/53 preposed mayors had been refected in refurendosm
2. The NI assembly at stormont was suspeded from 2002 to 2007
3. wales only 50.3 wanted devolution 50.2% turn out

more democratic
* represenative of the people make desions rather than a centuaries old piece of paper written by a small select group of the polulation
1. For example, its undemocratic that, acording to a 2020 poll in the US 90% and over 50% of congress went of the elcectorate want some Gun controle but the consitution blocks this.
2. where as in the uk the governemnt will conventionally consult the electorate on controversual consitutional dessiosions and then they can act democratically, as the pulbic choses, for example, in the 1975 the electorate voted to remain in the EU but in 2016 they voted to leave, and in 2017 artical 50 was triggered.

30
Q

when was the Dunblane masicure

A

1996

31
Q

how many mayors had been rejeted in referendums by 2016

A

37/53

32
Q

when was the brexit refurendom

A

2016

33
Q

when was Bushel’s law (case) and what was his full name

A
  • Edward Bushel, 1670
34
Q

what was teh blair scandel where he appointed labour Donors and suporters to the lords as life pears

A

“the cash of honers scandele”

35
Q

how many conservative lords are there

A

262 ( an inbuilt majority )

36
Q

how many labour lords are there

A

175

37
Q

how many cross bench lords are there

A

184

38
Q

how many conservative, labour and cross bench lords are there

A
  • conservative 262
  • labour 175
  • cross bench 184
39
Q

how many bishops are in the lords out of the 92 herritage peers

A

26

40
Q

Give an example of a lord with good political exerpertise

A
  • Phillope hamond
    1. before he was a lord he acted as defense sec
    2. foreign sec
    3. and chanceller
41
Q

name a time the house of lords delayed a legistation

A
  • they delayed the PM’s power to trigger artical 50 unless the governement garentee teh rights of al EU nationals.
42
Q

what is the terrorist group in NI called

A

the IRS

43
Q

how many mass shootings have there been in the US in 2022

A

600

44
Q

what is the British constitution also known as

A

A living constitution

45
Q

name a non political expert life peer who increses diverity

A

lord Adebowale: former charity worker and community leader

46
Q

when was EVEL and what problem did it solve

A

2015, The west lothian problem

47
Q

Give an example of how the HRA not begin intrenched has resulted in a challenge to rights

A

The conservatives are trying to overall The HRA with the British bill of rights, this will allow them to deport refugees to Rwanda

48
Q

how is a new election called

A
  • 2/3 majority vote in the house of commons
  • every 5 years
49
Q

list the reasons it would be good to have a codified constitution

A
  • rights protection
  • clarity of the role and relationship of the branches
  • limits the power of government

Darwin UK Politics (2 decks)

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