the constitution Flashcards
what is the British constitution like
evolutionary - no revolution just small changes over a long period of time
uncodified - not contained in one single document- in a vareity of sources
unentrenched - any law can be changed by a simple of act of parliament
sources of the uk constitution
statute law - momentous acts of parliament
common law - way in which judiciary interprets the meaning of the law - important in cases where statute law is unclear
eg bushels case ( represents landmark case protecting the independence of a jury) and Somerset vs slave (started important precedent that courts must always dispense justice whatever the consequences)
conventions - traditions
convention that pm is head of largest party in parliament
salisbury convention - HOL won’t oppose legislation in the winning party manifesto
collective ministerial responsibility
convention on asking parliament to commit military forces
referendums
authoritative works-
Walter bagehot - the English constitution
Erskine may - in 2019 speaker of HOC used Erskine may to stop may putting her Brexit deal through again
new books can become authoritative works - eg o’donnells book on guide to coalition
treaties
the development of the constitution since 1997
blair government- he was a modernising and progressive leader and was able to implement changes due to weak opposition and big majority
his reforms:
Decentralisation/devolution - 1997 - gave Scotland and Wales greater powers to govern themselves
aimed to provided greater self determination to parts of the uk
house of lords- the hereditary principle undermined the legitmacy of the HOL so as a compromise instead of removing all they removed it to 92
has raised the self confidence of the House of Lords
still lacks democratic legitimacy
lords appointed through political patronage
electoral reform - although Tony Blair expressed interest in electoral reform but after his large majority the enthusiasm was reduced - although they did do the Jenkins commsion to investigate alternatives but they ignored it
however adopted new voting system for devolved assemblies
human rights act 1998 - first time it positively states the rights that British citizens can claim also provided judiciary with important powers to protect our civil liberties
however its only an act of parliament so doesn’t represent a higher constitutional law
article 15 also gives government right to suspend eg after 9/11 to lock up suspected terrorists - belmarsh case
supreme court - constitutional reform act
ended HOL judicial function and replaced it with the Supreme Court 2009
judges not nominated by lord chancellor instead a committe
reforms under coalition government
fixed term parliament act 2011 - a royal prerogative power traditionally of the PM was decideding the date of a general election - would cause arguments if coalition did this so did the fixed term parliament act
decided election wld be held exactly 5 years after last general election - made government more stable + limit PM power
can call election with 2/3s of parliament agreeing like Theresa may did in 2017 with majority of 522-13 saying yes - therefore significance of act minimal
electoral reform - coalition agreement stated that government would call a referendum over whether to switch to AV
only 32% in favour of AV and the turnout was only 42%
some criticised nick Clegg for using av in the referendum rather than AMS
Parliamentary reform - established backbench commitee - 35 days where they choose what to debate
select committee members no longer determined by whips
gave debates to people - if gets 100,000 singniures in e petitions its likely to be debated
further devolution
more powers to Wales and Scotland
elected police commissioners - however turnout in these was so low its debated wether these have a mandate or legitimacy
recall of MPs act 2015
aimed to make MPs more accountable to there constituents by allowing people to demand a by election if an mp is sentanced to prison or suspended from parliament for more than 21 days - for it to be successful to get election 10% of MPs must sign
mp Ian paisley was subject this for being suspended in HOC for not disclosing holiday he survived as only 9.4% signed
reforms of conservative government
English votes for English laws 2015 - solved West Lothian question
brexit - the backstop and repeal of eu laws
impact of devolution on Scotland
in 1997 Scotland voted 74.3%
powers passed to them in 1998 include
local government, housing, environment, education and health
powers not devolved to Scotland are said to be ‘reserved’ to Westminster
scotland was first member of uk to ban smoking in public places
didn’t introduce tuition fees
in 2016 ended right of council tenants t buy houses they lived in
powers reserved for Westminster - foreign policy, defence, immigration
when SNP won the 2011 election- the Cameron government agreed to an election as the snp could claim electoral mandate for one
to convince people to not vote for independence the main parties promised extensive new powers -
55.3% voted no to independence
as a result the smith commission was established to recommend new powers inc determine abortion laws, speed limits and varying the rate of income tax
the act also states that powers are now permanent features on the uk constitution so can only be removed by referendum
impact of devolution on Wales
only 50.3% said yes to devolution so was offered less extensive devolved powers than Scotland
Wales was given administrative powers in education, health, transport and agriculture but not legislative or financial powers like Scotland
in effect Wales was given powers on how to implement acts of parliament
over the years Wales has developed more powers not because of welsh nationalism but to not create a significant gap between Scotland
there was another referendum on weather to give Wales more powers but turnout was only 35.4% but was in favour of Wales being able to enact its own legislation
as a result of referendum the Wales act 2014 gave more powers
control of a number of taxes eg stamp duty and landfill tax
changing name of welsh assembly to government
Wales act 2017 gave Wales right to vary income tax up to 10p in the pound
also made it permanent feature like Scotland
impact of devolution or Northern Ireland
history very different to Scotland and Wales
as result of partition of Ireland they were given own parliament in 1922 which lasted till 1972 where Edward heath removed it due to increased violence
later Tony Blair passed the good Friday agreement 1998 - a power sharing assembly would fairly represent unionists and nationalists
stv chosen so one party doesn’t dominate
powers they have education transport housing
2002-2007 assembly suspended
2007 reopened as 2 parties reached an agreement - ‘chuckle brothers’
2017 assembly was suspended again
in what ways could the uk constitution be furthered reformed
HOL - elected one as its more democratic
however critics argue as a mainly revising chamber it contains experts in every field and so scrutinising is in high regard.
incases of despute HOC prevails as it possesses democratic legitimacy
if both chambers were elected there would be a potential for gridlock because both would claim democratic mandate
electoral reform - provide minority parties with fairer representation
eg in 2015 general election ukip and greens won almost 5 million votes but only 2 seats
arguments in favour of English devolution
England has biggest population yet only citizens without own government
in 2011 Wales voted for more powers and the 2016 Scotland act recognised its permanence - these show the popularity so its illogical for England not to be granted same rights
devolution has created asymmetric uk - leading to resentment that englands interests are being taken less seriously eg the Barnett formula by which public funding is allocated across the uk has meant the spending across England per capita is less than other parts of uk - devolution to England could resolve this
strong sense of regional identity eg Cornwall and Yorkshire so regional assemblies would be popular and relevant
cornwall was given powers of control of investment and bus services
elected mayors shows how power can be decentralised - provides template for how English devolution could be introduced
arguments against English devolution
very little demand for reform - despite the asymmetry most English people are content
the EVEL since 2015 has significantly addressed the West Lothian question
English parliament could challenge the authority of Westminster
not all parts of uk have strong regional identity - north east rejected opportunity to have its own assembly 78% to 22%
reasons we should codify the constitution
one of 5 countries with no codified constitution
citizens rights need the protection of an entrenched bill rights - 1976 lord halishman warned uk was in danger of becoming an ‘elective dictatorship’ because there were so few constraints on the influence of governemt
human rights act 1998 can be repealed
would clarify relationships between various branches of government and establish where sovereignty lies - lack of clarity over where power lies is shown through the gina miller where Supreme Court ruled that the royal perogative does not permit government to negotiate Brexit without consulting parliament
rights of minorities could be recognised - especially important in multicultural socitety
– could be helped by how a codified constitution would enhance supreme court authority as it would be able to quash laws which It deemed ‘unconstitutional’ by referring to a higher law
codified - public could become more politically engaged as they know there relationship with the government
reasons we shouldn’t codify the constitution
uncodified nature means that constitution is very flexible and can quickly respond to social, political and security circumstances - belmarsh case 2001
more democratic - puts power into hands of elective representatives who are accountable to the electorate rather than unelected judges
civil liberties are adequate;y protected by common law and the human rights act 1998 and equality act 2010. judiciary has successfully used both of these to acts to protect and develop civil liberties
codified constitution only suits attitudes of people who made - can’t keep up with way society changes - eg in 1960s could quickly change laws on homosexuality, abortion and capital punishment without need for long process
the unmodified nature has allowed for a changing relationship between England Scotland Wales and northern ireland in response to the will of the public - more difficult to achieve if constitution codified
