the constitution Flashcards
what is the nature of the constitution?
- uncodified
- flexible
- unitary
what is statute law?
acts of parliament
why is statute law the most significant source of the constitution?
because of parliamentary sovereignty
what is common law?
law created by judges ruling over time
what are examples of common law?
- murder
- R v R made marital rape illegal
what is the significance of common law?
updates constitution with modern societal attitudes and allows for updates when parliament has not legislated
what are conventions?
customs/traditions. important to the constitution’s evolutionary nature as they allow it to adapt. includes royal prerogative
what are examples of convention?
- Gove should resign if they lose an election
- royal assent
- IMR and CMR
- salisbury convention
what is the political significance of defying constitutions?
government could be punished by electorate
what are conventions open to during elective dictatorships?
abuse
what are works of authority?
interpreting the constitution
what are examples of authoritative works?
- English constitution - bagehot
- dicey
- Erskine may
what is the significance of authoritative works?
lack any legal authority and are outdated
what % of people did the constitution unit at UCL felt they had too little influence over how the UK is governed in 2022?
77%
what reform did new labour bring to the House of Lords?
House of Lords reform act 1999, limited hereditary peers to 92
what reform did new labour bring the human rights?
- the human rights act 1998
- freedom of information act 2005
what reform to the centralised system of power did new labour bring?
- devolution to scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
in total how many elected mayors are there across England?
16
what electoral reform did new labour bring?
proportional representation in elections to devolved bodies
what reform did new labour bring to the judiciary?
constitutional reform act 2005
what did the constitutional reform act 2005 do?
provided for the creation of the Supreme Court
what reform did the conservative/libdem coalition bring to devolution?
- extension of law making powers to welsh assembly
- 2014 welsh assembly gained tax raising powers
- indy ref leading to Scotland act 2016 which gave the devo-max
what reform did the conservative/libdems bring to elections?
fixed term parliament act 2015, set dates of elections and made them every 5 years
what reform did the conservative/libdems bring to voter registration?
the electoral registration and administration act 2013 - changed the way people registered to vote by implementing individual voter registration