The nature and sources of the British Constitution

Question 1

Uncodified

Answer 1

A constitution that is not contained in a single set of documents

Question 2

Codified

Answer 2

A constitution in which all provisions are written down in a single set of documents

Question 3

Statute

Answer 3

• the most important source
• acts of parliament
• includes HRA 1998

Question 4

Common law

Answer 4

• laws/ rights passed down over the years by judicial rulings
• case law/judge-made law

Question 5

Conventions

Answer 5

• unwritten rules and procedures that facilitate the smooth running of the Constitution
• Salisbury-Addison Convention means that the Lords will not vote down a bill in the second or third reading if mentioned in election manifesto

Question 6

Authoritative works

Answer 6

• the least clear source
• book and documents that deal with parliamentary procedures
• Erskine May’s “Parliamentary Practice” is often cited by the speaker of the Commons when ruling on parliamentary business and debates

Question 7

The royal prerogative

Answer 7

• the formal powers that remain with the monarch but that are exercised by the executive
• for example, the dissolution or prorogation of parliament
• BoJo sought the Queen’s permission to prorogue parliament which was granted (but later ruled illegal by the SCOTUK)

Question 8

Rule of law

Answer 8

The rule of law is the principle that the law applies equally to everyone, that no one is above the law, not even the government

Question 9

Parliamentary sovereignty

Answer 9

• makes Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK which can create or end any law. Generally, the courts cannot overrule its legislation and no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.
• the most important part of the UK constitution.

Question 10

Individual rights

Answer 10

Rights that each citizen has, eg. right to free speech

Question 11

Collective rights

Answer 11

Rights held by a group of people, eg. trade union members or people with disabilities

Question 12

Constitutional Milestones - Magna Carta (1215)

Answer 12

• the first document writing the principle that the king and his government was not above the law
• it sought to prevent the king from exploiting his power
• included the right to justice and a free trial
• only 4/63 clauses are still valid today

Question 13

Constitutional Milestones - Bill of Rights (1689)

Answer 13

• established the principles of frequent parliaments, free elections and freedom of speech within Parliament (Parliamentary Privilege)
• significant as parliament has continued to meet every year since

Question 14

Constitutional Milestones - Act of Settlement (1701)

Answer 14

• ensured a Protestant succession to the English throne
• shows parliament ‘calling the shots’ and setting the criteria for the monarchy

Question 15

Constitutional Milestones - Parliament acts (1911 and 1949)

Answer 15

• severely reduced the power of the HoL
• ended the absolute veto of the Lords and restricted their power to delay a bill for 2 years (1949 Act changed this to 1 year)
• also prevented from delaying money bills/ budgets
  –> all Commons bills become law automatically after a year

Question 16

Modernisation of Political Institutions - HoL Act 1999

Answer 16

• removed all but 92 hereditary peers
• allowed for the nomination of my life peers/”people’s peers”

Question 17

Modernisation of Political Institutions - Constitutional Reform Act 2005

Answer 17

• created a separate Supreme Court, replacing the unelected Law Lords
  –> greater sense of judicial independence and separation of powers

Question 18

Modernisation of Political Institutions - Succession to the Crown Act 2013

Answer 18

• allowed the eldest child of the monarch to ascend to the crown, no matter their gender

Question 19

Modernisation of Political Institutions - HoL Reform Act 2014

Answer 19

• gave existing peers the right to resign, as well as being able to remove peers for criminal offences/non-attendence

Question 20

Greater democracy - Greater London Authority Act 1999

Answer 20

• allowed for the election of a directly elected mayor for London

Question 21

Greater democracy - Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011

Answer 21

• allowed for the direct election of Police and Crime Commissioners

Question 22

Greater democracy - Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011

Answer 22

• required the PM to secure the support of at least 2/3 of MPs to call a general election, rather than doing it unilaterally

Question 23

Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland Acts 1998

Answer 23

• set up devolved assemblies/parliaments in these countries

Question 24

Human Rights - HRA 1998

Answer 24

• incorporated the ECHR into UK law, which allowed UK courts to take that into consideration when making rulings
• reduced the number of cases referred to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg

Question 25

Human Rights - Freedom of Information Act 2000

Answer 25

• gave individuals greater access to information held by public bodies like corporations and government

Question 26

Successes of Modernisation to Political Institutions

Answer 26

• gender equality reached the monarchy
• HoL smaller and more diverse, as well as easier to remove peers for misconduct/non-attendance
• clear separation between the executive and judiciary through creating of the Supreme Court

Question 27

Failures of Modernisation to Political Institutions

Answer 27

• remains illegal for a Roman Catholic to be the monarch
• the UK remains unique in the democratic world in having an entirely unelected legislative body, even though changes did improve it
• the Supreme Court is not diverse and entirely unelected

Question 28

Successes of Devolution

Answer 28

• successful in both Scotland and Wales
• popular support for devolution in Wales has increased (50.3% in favour in 1997 –> 63.5% in 2011)
• although it faced some problems in NI, helped put an end to the violent ‘Troubles’ period

Question 29

Failures of Devolution

Answer 29

• policy disagreements and a scandal over a renewable energy scheme led the NI assembly to be suspended from Jan 2017- Jan 2020
• support for devolution in England has not increased: the vote for a North East England Assembly was firmly rejected by 78% in 2004
• the West-Lothian question remains unanswered

Question 30

How are rights well protected in the UK?

Answer 30

• formal support of human rights from the government –> every act of parliament has to declare that it’s compatible with the HRA 1998
• legislation like the FOI Act 2000 promotes citizens rights and a more transparent government

Question 31

How are rights NOT well protected in the UK?

Answer 31

• our rights are not entrenched in the constitution like in the US –> in theory all legislation could be overturned if the government had a landslide majority (like Tony Blair did in 1997)
• parliamentary sovereignty rather than constitutional sovereignty
• Brexit removed the safety net for non-discrimination laws protecting migrant and labour rights that EU formerly provided

Question 32

Individual vs Collective Rights - Ashers Baking Company Ltd

Answer 32

• refused to bake a cake for Gay Rights Activists with the slogan “support gay marriage”
• in Oct 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that it was not discrimination against gay people, but rather the message
• example of individual rights prevailing over collective rights

Question 33

Individual vs Collective Rights - Uber Drivers

Answer 33

• in 2016, two Uber drivers sued Uber claiming they were employees rather than self-employed
• claiming employee status would entitle them to holiday pay and the minimum wage
• they were supported by the Independent Worker’s Union of Great Britain, but opposed by some fellow drivers that enjoyed their self-employed status
• Uber ended up losing the case, and collective rights prevailed over individual rights (at the expense of the drivers that enjoyed self-employed status)

Question 34

Individual vs Collective Rights - Christian Guest House Owners

Answer 34

• in 2013, the Christian owners of a Cornish guest house lost a court case over refusing a same-sex couple to stay together in a double bedroom
• shows that the issue of citizens rights is a dynamic rather than a fixed aspect of the UK constitution