The UK Constitution Flashcards
Parliamentary Sovereignty
Parliament can make and unmake all the laws of the land e.g. The 2003 parliament repealed Section 28 of the Local Government Act
AC Dicey
Historical constitutional scholar who identified 2 key principles of the UK Constitution:
Rule of Law
Parliamentary Sovereignty
Sources of the UK Constitution x5
Statute Law e.g. Acts of the Union
Conventions e.g. elections being held on Thursday
Authoritative works e.g. Erskine May, AC Dicey’s The English Constitution
Treaties e.g. Maastricht
Common Law
The UK Constitution
Unitary, uncodified and unentrenched
Federal VS Unitary
Federal constitution: Where sovereignty is shared with two or more levels of government
Unitary constitution: Where sovereignty resides in a single place e.g. The UK Parliament
What is a Constitution?
A set of laws setting out how a political system works, defining the powers of the government and the rights of citizens
A codified constitution is set out in a single document. The UK has an uncodified constitution.
Entrenchment means that a constitution has a formal amendment process so is rigid and difficult to change
Parliamentary Reforms (x3)
1997 Labour Government removed all but 97 hereditary peers from the House of Lords
2011 Fixed Term Parliament Act mean that a 2/3 majority on a vote of no confidence must occur for an election, or 5 years pass
2010 Wright Reforms created the Backbench Business Committee so backbench MPs could propose debates from E-petitions
Constitutional Reform Act 2005
Ended the role of Lord Chancellor, a cabinet minister who sat in the Lords and advised on the appointment of judges
Created the Supreme Court
English Devolution
The West Lothian Question: Is it fair that Scottish MPs can vote on purely English matters but English MPs cannot vote on purely Scottish issues as these go to the Scottish Parliament
In 2015 English Votes for English Laws was established which allowed English MPs to vote on laws which affect England only, though it is rarely used
Devolution
Different to federalist as powers are not guaranteed and differ from body to body
1997 Referendums. 50% turnout for Welsh Devolution and only 50% voted in favour
1998 Good Friday Agreement
North East Devolution 2004
77% voted against 2004 devolution
The Barnett Formula
Formula which calculates the spending for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England
Many people believe it to be unfair that England receives the least amount of spending per head
The Rule of Law
Equality before the law
All people entitled to a fair trial
Welsh Devolution
Elected through AMS
Control over stamp duty
First UK nation to pass 5p plastic bag bag charge
2017 Wales Act means that devolution can only be ended through a referendum
Scottish Devolution
1997
Free university tuition fees, free prescriptions and free nursing care
Elected through AMS and 16 year olds can vote
Control over abortion and tax bands
The Smith Commission advised on powers after 2014
Recent Changes to UK Voting (x3)
Jenkins Commission (New Labour) to investigate reforms to the UK electoral system
In recent years there have been lots of referendums (2011,2014 and 2016)
2010 coalition government created the E-petition system
1998 Human Rights Act
Made the European Convention on Human Rights statute law
Arguments for the entrenchment and codification of the UK Constitution (x4)
Greater protection of civil liberties
Greater education on constitutional issues
Greater legitimacy to the political process as a constitutional court can assess whether parliament is acting constitutionally
Reduced chance of ill-considered legislation
Arguments against the entrenchment and codification of the UK Constitution (x3)
No demand for codification
Authoritative works provide explanation, so less interpretation
A constitutional court gives power to unelected and unaccountable judges and takes away parliamentary sovereignty
Arguments against English Devolution (x3)
EVEL works. It passed the 2016 Housing Bill
2004 North East England Devolution was defeated
England’s wealth and size means that it would dominate a federal structure
Arguments for English Devolution (x3)
The Barnett Formula is unfair on England
Strong regional identities in the UK such as Devon and Cornwall provide a basis for regional assemblies
Ends the issue of the West Lothian question better than EVEL which is rarely used
Further Reforms (x4)
Independent Scotland
A more proportional voting system for UK elections (in the 2015 election, UKIP won 12.6% of votes but only one seat, but the SNP won 4.7% but 56 seats)
Elected House of Lords
A Bill of Rights rather than the Unentrenched 1998 Human Rights Act
Northern Irish Devolution
The Good Friday Agreement 1998
90 MCAs
Elected through STV as this is proportional and ensures representation of both unionists and republicans
Powers over education, justice, welfare and pensions