The UK Constitution

Question 1

Powers once solely exercised by the monarch that, by convention are now used by, or on the advice of, the PM and other government ministers

Answer 1

Royal Prerogative

Question 2

The power and authority to make, unmake and implement laws

Answer 2

Legal sovereignty

Question 3

The name given to the fundamental rules outlining how a state is to be governed

Answer 3

Constitution

Question 4

A form of government where the monarch wields unrestricted political power

Answer 4

Absolute monarchy

Question 5

A document created for the Civil Service in 2011 that usefully codifies and explains of the unwritten conventions and rules of government

Answer 5

The Cabinet Manual

Question 6

Where the laws, rules and principles of a state are not collected in a single document, and have a number of different sources

Answer 6

Uncodified Constitution

Question 7

Name given to texts written by constitutional theorists that have no legal authority but are considered indispensable guides to the UK Constitution

Answer 7

Authoritative Works

Question 8

When sovereignty is concentrated in a central government that can distribute power to regional and local governments, but can ultimately overrule them

Answer 8

Unitary Constitution

Question 9

Question raised during devolution debates of whether MP’s from NI, Scotland and Wales should be able to vote on matters only affecting England

Answer 9

West Lothian Question

Question 10

A constitution which is collected and written on a single document

Answer 10

Codified Constitution

Question 11

A system of government where sovereignty is divided between central and regional bodies, each with their own separate spheres of power and authority

Answer 11

Federal Constitution

Question 12

Singed by King John in 1215, this was the first written document that compelled a monarch to act according to the rule of law

Answer 12

Manga Carta

Question 13

The belief that the power of the government should be derived from, and limited by, fundamental laws

Answer 13

Constitutionalism

Question 14

This transferred constitutional supremacy from the monarchy to Parliament, establishing the concept of Parliamentary sovereignty

Answer 14

Bill of Rights 1689

Question 15

The legal principle that all people, including the government, are subject to and accountable to the law, which should be fairly applied and enforced

Answer 15

Rule of law

Question 16

The constitutional principle that government should be separated into three branches, each with separate membership and powers

Answer 16

Separation of Powers

Question 17

Term popularised by Lord Hailsham in 1976 describing the UK’s weak separation of powers and the government’s dominance in Parliament

Answer 17

Elective dictatorship

Question 18

The statutory granting of certain political decision making powers from the central government, to regional governments

Answer 18

Devolution

Question 19

Act of Parliament that incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, making it enforceable in UK courts

Answer 19

Human Rights Act 1998

Question 20

The constitutional principle that Parliament has supreme legal authority, able to make or unmake any law and unable to bind any future Parliament

Answer 20

Parliamentary sovereignty

Question 21

The body of law that is based on custom, usage, and judicial decision law manage in legal cases over time

Answer 21

Common law

Question 22

A characteristic of codified constitutions

Answer 22

Rigidity

Question 23

Where the constitutional amendment process is made purposely difficult

Answer 23

Entrenchment

Question 24

Informal rules and customs that are not legally enforceable but are widely respected and considered to be a fundamental part of the UK Constitution

Answer 24

Conventions

Question 25

Where each branch of government can limit the powers of the others, preventing a single branch from becoming too powerful

Answer 25

Checks and balances

Question 26

The 2005 Act of Parliament that provided for a new Supreme Court to replace the Law Lords as the UK’s highest court

Answer 26

Constitutional Reform Act

Question 27

The principle that government is created by and subject to the will of the people, who are the source of all political power and authority

Answer 27

Popular sovereignty

Question 28

The location of real, exercisable, power and influence within the state, influences by the accountability of Parliament to the people

Answer 28

Political sovereignty

Question 29

A feature of Parliamentary democracies where members of the executive branch are also members of the the legislative branch

Answer 29

Fusion of Powers

Question 30

A characteristic of uncodified constitutions

Answer 30

Flexibility

Question 31

A political system that is legally unitary but is politically increasingly federal due to the devolution of significant powers to regional bodies

Answer 31

Quasi-federalism

Question 32

Term used when states voluntarily decide to share decision making powers over a number of policy areas in a system of international cooperation

Answer 32

Pooled Sovereignty

Question 33

The 2011 law that requires elections to be held every 5 years, early elections may only be held in special circumstances

Answer 33

Fixed-term Parliaments Act

Question 34

The 2000 law that gives a general rights of access to recorded information held by more than 100,000 public bodies in England, Wales and NI

Answer 34

Freedom of Information Act

Question 35

A form of government where the monarch acts as head of state but is restricted by the constitution and has a largely ceremonial role

Answer 35

Constitutional monarchy