UK constitution

Question 1

arguments in favour of the uk having a codified constitution

Answer 1

it is the logical conclusion of recent constitutional reforms (the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Scotland Act 1998), it would provide greater clarity on what is constitutional, it would be an authoritative reference point for the courts, it would set limits on the powers of the state and its institutions, it would provide greater protection for the right of citizens, it would better inform citizens about the values and workings of the political system

Question 2

arguments against the UK having a codified constitution?

Answer 2

pragmatic adaptation has worked well and is preferable, there is no agreed process for establishing a codified constitution, there is no elite consensus on what a codified constitution should include, it would be rigid and difficult to amend, it would give judges who are unaccountable greater political power, there is no great popular demand and other issues are more important.

Question 3

what is a constitution?

Answer 3

a set of rules determining where sovereignty lies in a political system, and establishing the relationship between the government and the governed

Question 4

what does unentrenched mean?

Answer 4

a constitution with no special procedure for amendment

Question 5

what does uncodified mean?

Answer 5

a constitution not contained in a single written document

Question 6

what does unitary mean?

Answer 6

a political system where all legal sovereignty is contained in a single place

Question 7

what does parliamentary sovereignty mean?

Answer 7

the principle that parliament can make, amend or unmake any law, and cannot bind its successors or be bound by its predecessors

Question 8

what is the rule of law?

Answer 8

the principle that all people and bodies, including government, must follow the law and can be held to account if they do not

Question 9

what does statute law mean?

Answer 9

laws passed by parliament

Question 10

what does common law mean?

Answer 10

laws made by judges where the law does not cover the issue or is unclear

Question 11

what are conventions?

Answer 11

traditions not contained in law but influential in the operation of a political system

Question 12

what are authoritative works?

Answer 12

works written by experts describing how a political system is run, they are not legally binding but are taken as significant guides

Question 13

what are treaties?

Answer 13

formal agreements with other countries, usually ratified by Parliament

Question 14

what is devolution?

Answer 14

the dispersal of power, but not sovereignty, within a political system

Question 15

what are some examples of statute laws of historical importance?

Answer 15

Great Reform Act 1832 (extended the franchise), Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 (established House of Chambers as dominant chamber), European Communities Act 1972 (by which the UK joined the European Economic Community and incorporated the Treaty of Rome into UK law), Scotland Act 1998, Human Rights Act 1998, Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011

Question 16

what is judicial review? (in the UK context)

Answer 16

the power of senior judges to review the actions of government and public authorities and to declare them unlawful if they have exceeded their authority

Question 17

what is royal prerogative?

Answer 17

discretionary powers of the crown that are exercised by government ministers in monarchs name

Question 18

what are the sources of the UK constitution?

Answer 18

statute law, common law, the royal prerogative, conventions, authoritative works

Question 19

examples of works of authority

Answer 19

Erskine May’s ‘A treatise on the law, privileges and proceedings and usage of Parliament’ (1844)
Walter Bagehot’s ‘The English Constitution’ (1867)
A. V. Diceys ‘An introduction to the study of the Lawof the Constitution’ (1885)

Question 20

what did the 2011 Cabinet Office Manual seek to do?

Answer 20

bring together many conventions in a single document

Question 21

what is an example of a convention?

Answer 21

the monarch must give their assent to Acts of Parliament

Question 22

what prerogative powers have been weakened/ended?

Answer 22

the prerogative power to dissolve parliament was ended by the fixed-term parliament (however this may be repealed as proposed by the current government) and the constitutional Reform and Government Act 2010 put the parliamentary scrutiny of treaties on a statutory basis

Question 23

parliamentary sovereignty in practice

Answer 23

• under the European Communities Act 1972, parliament effectively agreed to make itself subservient to European law
• New Labour’s devolution programme saw the Scottish Parliament being granted tax-varying powers and primary legislative control over many areas of government operation
• Although UK referendums are technically only advisory in nature, their increased use 1997 could be said to have transferred a degree of legislative power from parliament back to the people

Question 24

what are the key principles which are said to underpin the UK constitution?

Answer 24

• parliamentary sovereignty
• the rule of law
• a unitary state
• parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy

Question 25

what are the strengths and weaknesses of the uk constitution?

Answer 25

strengths: adaptability, strong government, accountability
weaknesses: outdated and undemocratic, concentration of power, lack of clarity

Question 26

what were the four main themes of constitutional reform in 1997-2010

Answer 26

modernisation, democratisation, decentralisation, rights

Question 27

what was labours constitutional reforms 1997-2010 to do with rights?

Answer 27

• The Human Rights Acts 1998 incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law
• The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives greater greater access to information held by public bodies

Question 28

what was labours constitutional reforms 1997-2010 to do with devolution?

Answer 28

• A Scottish parliament with primary legislative and tax raising powers
• A Northern Ireland Assembly with primary legislative powers
• A Welsh Assembly with secondary legislative powers
• A directly elected mayor of London and a London Assembly
• Electoral mayors in some English authorities

Question 29

what was labours constitutional reforms 1997-2010 to do with electoral reform?

Answer 29

New electoral systems for devolved assemblies, for the European parliament and for elected mayors

Question 30

what was labours constitutional reforms 1997-2010 to do with parliamentary reform

Answer 30

• all but 92 hereditary peers are removed from the house of lords
• limited reforms to the workings of the house of commons (select committee system - chairs elected by backbenchers, BBBC, petitions committee)

Question 31

what was labours constitutional reforms 1997-2010 to do with the judiciary?

Answer 31

• The constitutional reform act 2005 (reduced role of Lord Chancellor, made supreme court highest court and removed judicial role of house of lords)
• Supreme court started work in October 2009
• New judicial appointments system
• Changes to the role of lord chancellor

Question 32

what were successful constitutional reforms of the coalition government?

Answer 32

Scotland Act (2012) implementing Calman Commission report on further powers, referendum on further legislative powers for Wales (2011), Fixed-term parliament act (2011), European Union Act (2011) making future EU treaties subject to referendum lock, Wright reforms in House of Commons creating BBBC, petitions to force issues onto Parliaments agenda, Recall of MPs Act (2015), elected police commissioners

Question 33

what were the failed constitutional reforms of the coalition government?

Answer 33

alternative vote referendum defeated (2011), elected second chamber - Lords reform bill reform withdrawn (2012), planned reduction of House of Commons to 600 MPs aborted (2013), failure of inter-party talks to reform party, funding, only two out of Englands 12 largest opt for elected mayors, abandonment of 200 all-postal primaries

Question 34

what shows that even before it was removed by the current conservative government that the fixed term parliament act had limitations

Answer 34

Theresa May called an early election in 2017 by introducing a motion and achieving a 2/3 majority in the Commons - the opposition could not oppose the motion as they would have appeared weak in avoiding an election

Question 35

what did the Recall of MPs Act 2015 do?

Answer 35

provided for constituencies to ‘recall’ an MP who had been involve in some kind of misbehaviour. requires a petition supported by at leat 10% of the MPs constituents

Question 36

what did the Scotland Act 2012 do?

Answer 36

the act gave the Scottish parliament the power to vary income tax up or down 10 pence in the pound and devolved further powers to the Scottish parliament. allowed Scottish government to borrow up to £2.2bn per annum

Question 37

what did the protection of Freedoms Act 2012 do?

Answer 37

offered citizens greater protection from the state by putting in place proper scrutiny of the security services and oversight of surveillance and data collection

Question 38

what did the House of Lords reform act 2012 do?

Answer 38

the act was aimed at halting the inexorable increase in the number of those eligible to sit and vote in the House of Lords, by giving existing peers the right to retire or resign their seats in chamber. It also allowed peers to be removed as a result of serious criminal offences or non-attendance. 54 peers had resigned under the terms of the Act by 2016, with 4 removed for non-attendance

Question 39

why did the planned reduction of the House of Commons to 600 MPs fail?

Answer 39

the Lib Dems originally supported the planned reduction until the defeat in 2012 to their proposals for an elected House of lords due to 91 conservatives voting against it at its second reading. Nick Clegg claimed the conservatives had ‘broken their coalition contract’ when he announced the government was abandoning the bill in august 2012 and the lib dems withdrew their support for the reduction of the size of house of commons and voted against the orders for 600 new constituencies in retaliation.

Question 40

how many of the the conservatives and lib dems reforms had been delivered by 2015?

Answer 40

8 conservative reforms and 5 of the Lib dems

Question 41

what are important constitutional reforms since 2015?

Answer 41

EVEL, the Scotland Act 2016, Brexit, City devolution outside London

Question 42

what are the aims of further constitutional reform?

Answer 42

active participation and engagement, fair representation, good governance

Question 43

what are possible ways active participation and engagement could be encouraged by further reform?

Answer 43

simplifying voter registration, lowering voting age to 16, making wider use id e-democracy, opening up candidate selection

Question 44

what are ways in which further constitutional reform could provide for good governance and restore trust?

Answer 44

completing lords reform, modernising the commons, enhancing local democracy