UK Constitution

Question 1

6 ways of describing UK constitution

Answer 1

1. Flexible - relatively easy to change, no special procedures, no ‘higher’ law unlike the US
2. Uncodified - not written in one single document, comes from variety of sources
3. Unwritten - misleading term, most is written down just not in a single document
4. Evolutionary - evolved gradually over time, most constitutions are revolutionary
5. Unitary - sovereignty lies with central government + devolved regions (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Greater Manchester)
6. Quasi Federal (semi)

Question 2

5 sources of the UK constitution

Answer 2

1. Statute law - House of Parliament (Acts of Parliament) written
2. Royal Prerogative powers - powers now exercised by PM and cabinet, which would traditionally be exercised by monarch (e.g. treaties, war, patronage) unwritten
3. Common Law - law made by judges (e.g. medical ethics, technology, complex constitutional cases) unwritten
4. Convention - habits and practices of everyday politics (e.g. PM is leader of the largest party in House of Commons) unwritten
5. Works of authority - major, important academic texts (e.g. Bagehot’s “The English Constitution 1867) written

Question 3

Asymmetric devolution

Answer 3

Political arrangements differing from region to region

Question 4

Codified

Answer 4

Arranged into a systematic code in a single document. E.g. The U.S. Constitution

Question 5

Uncodified

Answer 5

Constitution not written in a single document. E.g. The UK Constitution

Question 6

Common Law

Answer 6

Law made on precedent and tradition, made by judges. E.g. judicial review

Question 7

Constitution

Answer 7

-System of rules describing structure and power of government
-relationship between different parts of government
-relationship between government and citizen

Aim - to allocate power within a state

Question 8

Constitutional monarchy

Answer 8

System of government with a monarch sharing power with a constitutionally organised government

Question 9

Conventions

Answer 9

Principles of behaviour which are not legally enforcable (enforced by Political Parties)

1. Appointment of the Prime Minister
2. CCR / CMR
3. IMR
4. Royal Assent
5. Salisbury Convention
6. Sewel Convention

Question 10

Devolution

Answer 10

Decentralisaton of governmental power

e.g. Scottish Parliament, National Assembly of Wales, local authorities

Question 11

Judicial review

Answer 11

Legal review of members of a public body ensuring they have acted lawfully

e.g. 2019 Prerogeration of Parliament
-Supreme Court, Lady Hale, Boris Johnson

Question 12

Parliamentary government

Answer 12

A system of government which allocates public decision making powers to a house of elected representatives

Question 13

Prime-minsterial government

Answer 13

Suggests power is concentrated in the hands of the PM and PM is dominant figure

Question 14

Parliamentary Sovereignity

Answer 14

Parliament is the Supreme legal authority in the UK. They create and can end laws.

Question 15

Royal Prerogative Powers

Answer 15

Powers that would’ve previously only been used by the monarch, but are now used by the government

e.g. raising taxes, declaring war

Question 16

Rule of Law

Answer 16

Dictates that everyone is subject and accountable to the same law.

Established from Magna Carta 1215.

Question 17

Statute

Answer 17

Laws passed by parliament. E.g. Data Protection Act 2018

Question 18

Unitary state

Answer 18

Sovereign state governed as a single entity in which central government is the supreme authority

e.g. the UK

Question 19

West Lothian question

Answer 19

Originally posed by Labour MP Tam’Dalyell in a Commons debate
“Why should Scottish MPs be able to vote on English matters at Westminster, but English MPs cannot vote on matters involving the Scottish Parliament?”

Question 20

Westminster model

Answer 20

Type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of prodecures for operating a legislature

Question 21

3 Constitutional changes since 1997

Answer 21

House of Lords reform - reducing hereditary peers to 92

Human Rights Act 1998 - incorporated EU human rights law into UK law, right to life, right to a fair trial etc.

Establishment of devolved legislative bodies - Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, decentralised power