The UK Constitution

Question 1

What are the 6 key documents that have influenced the growth of the UK political system?

Answer 1

1) Magna Carta - 1215
2) The Bill of Rights - 1689
3) The Act of Settlement - 1701
4) The Acts of Union - 1707
5) The Parliament Acts - 1911, 1949
6) The European Communities Act - 1972

Question 2

How did the Magna Carta come about and what did it state?

Answer 2

It was an agreement between King John and the barons who had rebelled against the abuse of royal power. It was largely a concession to specific demands of the nobility and it stated that no one should be deprived of liberty or property without the process of law, nor should anyone be above the law, including the King. Thiss still remains a powerful symbol of English liberties.

Question 3

Why was the Bill of Rights passed in Parliament and what did the document include?

Answer 3

It was passed in parliament in reaction to the arbitrary rule of King James II and included regular parliaments, free elections and freedom of speech within parliament.

Question 4

What was the main development from the Acts of Settlement?

Answer 4

It established the right of parliament to determine the line of succession to the throne.

Question 5

What happened during the Acts of Union?

Answer 5

England and Scotland were united and made into the United Kingdom and both placed into one parliament in Westminster as opposed to the 2 separate parliaments before the act. But Tony Blair in 1997 passed legislation for UK countries to have devolved governments, including Scotland.

Question 6

What is the main aim from both of the Parliament Acts and what did each of the 2 acts do?

Answer 6

The main aim is to reduce the power of the House of Lords to interfere with the agenda of the House of Commons. The 1911 act affirmed that the Lords couldn’t delay money bills and non-financial bills had a two-year delaying power which had replaced the veto power. All the 1949 act did was to reduce the delaying period to just one year.

Question 7

What was established in the European Communities Act?

Answer 7

As Edward Heath’s Conservative government took Britain into the EEC and made them the forerunner of the EU, the established principle was that EU law would take precedence over UK law when a conflict occurred. This has now been repealed since the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Question 8

What do we mean by a ‘codified’ constitution?

Answer 8

A constitution in which laws and rules are set out in a single document.

Question 9

How come the UK constitution is ‘uncodifed’?

Answer 9

The UK’s laws come from a variation of different sources as opposed to having them all on a single document and not all of them are written down.

Question 10

The UK’s constitution varies across 5 different sources. What are these sources?

Answer 10

1) Statute law
2) Common law
3) Conventions
4) Treaties
5) Authoritative works

Question 11

What do each of these 5 sources mean?

Answer 11

1) Statute law - The body of law passed by parliament and the most important source underpinned by parliamentary sovereignty. Not all of these laws are constitutional but only those which affect the nature of the political system and the citizens’ rights.
2) Common law - These are legal principles laid down by judges in their rulings in court cases and are often important in cases where it’s not clear how statute law should be applied in practice.
3) Conventions - Customs and practices that don’t have legal force but have been broadly accepted over time but can still be challenged by an act of parliament.
4) Treaties - Agreements with other countries, mainly EU member states, that UK governments have signed since joining the EU in 1973. Following the 2016 Brexit referendum, these are likely to be overturned.
5) Authoritative works - Textbooks that explain the working of the political system.

Question 12

What do we mean when the constitution is ‘entrenched’?

Answer 12

A constitution that is protected by a higher court and requires special procedures to amend it.

Question 13

How come the UK constitution is ‘unentrenched’?

Answer 13

Any laws and amendments can easily be changed by a simple majority vote in Parliament as there’s no special procedure for constitutional amendments in the UK.

Question 14

What is ‘unitary’ sovereignty?

Answer 14

A political system where all of the legal sovereignty is based in a single place

Question 15

What is ‘parliamentary sovereignty’?

Answer 15

The principle that parliament can make, unmake and amend any law on any subject whatsoever. No one Parliament is bound by the decisions of its predecessors nor can they bind its successors.

Question 16

Give examples of the 3 main ways Parliament can be said to be sovereign?

Answer 16

1) No parliament can bind its successor - In 2003 parliament repealed Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act which had made it illegal for local authorities and schools to intentionally promote homosexuality.
2) Legislation passed by parliament can’t be struck down by a higher body like a constitutional court - Over the last 5 decades the UK Supreme Court has tried to overturn parliamentary acts but has always failed to do so.
3) Parliament can make a law on any subject - The mid-1960’s saw major social changes such as legalising abortion, expression of homosexuality, easier access to divorce and abolishing the death penalty.

Question 17

What is the rule of law and what are some of the laws that come under this?

Answer 17

The rule of law is the principle that all people and bodies, including the government, must follow the law and must be held to account if they don’t.

1) Everyone has the right to a fair trial and no one should be imprisoned without due legal process of law.
2) All citizens must obey the law and are all equal under it.
3) Public officials aren’t above the law and can only be held account by courts.
4) The judiciary must be independent of any political interference.

Question 18

In detail, explain the 2 main reasons as to why the British public wanted constitutional reform in the late 90’s?

Answer 18

1) Demands for modernisation - Tony Blair’s New Labour Party were sympathetic to the idea of constitutional reform as part of its plan to modernise British institutions. Old Labour had adopted some political reforms such as extending the vote to 18 year olds but they were concerned with economic and social issues. New Labour made themselves more open to demands from pressure groups and citizens who wanted a stronger guarantee of citizens’ rights.
2) 19 years of Conservative rule, 1978-97 - The Conservative governments of this time had refused any type of constitutional reform. This had helped to build up pressure for change in places like Scotland where the population feld ignored by a distant government in London. Scots then rejected a number of Conservative policies like the “Poll tax” in 1989 as well as certains accusations of corruption against many MP’s in Parliament where the integrity of institutions were questioned.

Question 19

What were the major changes under Labour from 1997 to 2010?

Answer 19

1) The House of Lords was reformed to just 92 hereditary peers who served for life.
2) Devolved powers were introduced for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This would be designed to decrease support for Scottish independence and bring together the conflicting unionist and nationalist factors in N.Ireland.
3) Along with the devolved parliaments they introduced PR voting systems for them.
4) The Human Rights Act was updated with the ECHR being incorporated into UK statute law. This included citizens’ rights in receiving a fair trial, freedom from slavery, respect for privacy and family life etc. Whilst judges could amend it, they couldn’t strike down laws that were incompatible with it.
5) The 2005 Constitutional Reform Act led to the creation of the Supreme Court in 2009.

Question 20

What have the reforms been since the coalition government in 2010?

Answer 20

1) House of Commons boundary reform - There were plans for the number of MP’s to be reduced from 650 to 600 so that votes would be more equal across the country. Even though the Lib Dems halted this, the Conservatives confirmed this would be used for the 2020 general election.
2) Electoral reform - A referendum was held in May 2011 on changing the general election voting system from FPTP to Alternative vote (AV). They comfortably lost 67-33%.
3) Rights - The Conservatives wanted to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights with the Lib Dems wanting to retain the act. After the Conservatives failed to get this through, their 2015 manifesto pledged to revisit the issue.
4) English votes for English laws (EVEL) - In May 2015 the Conservative government offered a solution to the West Lothian question with EVEL. With Scottish and Welsh MP’s allowed to vote on English issues but English MP’s not allowed to vote on Scottish and Welsh issues, EVEL passed a law that only English MP’s can vote on English issues. This was used for the first time in parliament in January 2016.
5) The Fixed Term Parliament Act (2011) - This ended the PM’s power to call the date of a general election and concluded that parliaments can only be elected on a 5 year cycle. Only way another general election can be called is if a PM loses a vote of no confidence by 2/3’s of the vote.
6) The recall of MP’s act (2015) - This was a response to voters having no legal means of removing scandalous MP’s who refused to give up their seats. If a MP was to perform custodial sentence or is suspended from the Commons for 3 weeks, a by-election of that seat is called if at least 10% of constituents sign a recall petition.