UK Constitution

Question 1

What is a constitution?

Answer 1

The rules in a country that can override the law, give the government certain restrictions and that all citizens abide by, to show a share of power between the country and the people.

Question 2

What are the features of the US constitution?

Answer 2

• it sets out the power of government institutions such as rules for the senate and house of representatives however despite being hard to undo, it provides checks and balances to reduce power overflow

Question 3

What was the magna carts 1215 and why was it important?

Answer 3

It was a document between king John and the rebel barrons to limit the king’s power, which was important as this also made taxation fairer, provided the right to a fair trial and formed the basis of a constitution

Question 4

What was the 1689 bill of rights and why was it important?

Answer 4

William III signed a bill to prevent the monarch’s from trying to change the law without parliament consent. This was important as it helped to establish free elections and freedom of speech inside parliament

Question 5

What was the act of settlement in 1701 and why was it important?

Answer 5

It was an act that reinforced the 1689 bill of rights, helping to secure the Protestant succession to the throne, prohibiting Roman Catholics from acceding the throne, and guaranteeing a parliamentary system of government

Question 6

What was the act of union in 1707?

Answer 6

It refers to the two acts of parliament, one by England in 1706 and one by Scotland a year after which led to the for,img of ‘great Britain’

Question 7

What was the parliament act 1911?

Answer 7

It removed the power of the House of Lords to reject money bills and the power to veto a bill

Question 8

What was the parliament act 1949 and what was its importance?

Answer 8

It was an act of parliament that amended the parliament act 1911, reducing the power of the HOL because it cut the delay from the House of Lords on certain types of legislation to a single year to reduce - specifically public bills other than money bills

Question 9

What is the nature of the UK constitution?

Answer 9

It is unentrenched, uncodified, unitary, retains parliamentary sovereignty and provides about the rule of law

Question 10

What does an unentreched constitution mean?

Answer 10

It means there is no specific procedure to amend the constitution and the only thing needed to change it is the UK is a simple parliamentary majority

Question 11

What are the positives of an unentrenched constitution?

Answer 11

It helps to reduced outdated/backwards rules that don’t align to modern society, quick reforms can be made and it is flexible

Question 12

What are the negatives of an unentreched constitution?

Answer 12

It may allow for extremism/could be taken advantage of, could erode democracy, peoples rights and the integrity of the institutions

Question 13

What is an uncodified constitution?

Answer 13

One that can be added to over time e.g. in the UK, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand, rather than being written in one single document like the USA

Question 14

What is a unitary constitution?

Answer 14

One where the central government have supreme powers over all elements of government

Question 15

What are the positives of a unitary constitution?

Answer 15

• It prioritises national initiatives, shown recently when Angela Reiner turned over the disallowance of building a film studio in Buckinghamshire
• it helps to maintain a strong and stable government with effective leadership and provides a quick response in times of emergencies
• it means power can be granted to other areas (devolution)

Question 16

What are the negatives of a unitary constitution?

Answer 16

• It may seem out of touch with the rest of the UK and London may be prioritised
• less checks and balances
• fewer opportunities in other towns and cities

Question 17

What does parliamentary sovereignty mean?

Answer 17

It means they are the only institution that can create or end a law, meaning the courts cannot overrule parliament

Question 18

What are the two ‘twin pillars’?

Answer 18

Parliament and the rule of law

Question 19

Has leaving the EU brought back Parliamentary sovereignty?

Question 20

Why hasn’t leaving the EU brought back parliamentary sovereignty?

Question 21

What is the rule of law?

Answer 21

It means that there is equal application to the law, therefore nobody is above it, including politicians and also says a person shouldn’t be punished unless they broke the law

Question 22

What are the sources of the UK constitution?

Answer 22

Statute law, common law, conventions, landmark decisions, authorities works and treaties

Question 23

What is statute law?

Answer 23

The momentous acts of parliament contributing to the uncodified constitution

Question 24

What Acts are key examples of statute law?

Answer 24

• The parliament act 1911 which removed the HOL’s right of veto and to reject money bills
• representation of the peoples act 1928 - countrywide suffrage for men and women, where women were the majority of the electorate for the first time
• Scotland and wales act 1998 - re-established a Scottish parliament and provided a Welsh assembly
• HOL act 1999 - removed all but 92 hereditary peers to avoid having member of aristocratic family

Question 25

What is common law?

Answer 25

It is how the judiciary interprets the meaning of the law, contributing to the development of case law and the constitution

Question 26

What are key examples of common law?

Answer 26

• Entick vs Carrington 1765 - the principle was established that the executive cannot infringe the civil liberties of its citizens without legal justification and a precedent was made saying that British citizens were protected from arbitrary and autocratic governments
• RvR 1991, which established the principle that a husband could be guilty of raping his wife

Question 27

What was the Entick vs Carrington case about?

Question 28

Why was the RvR (1991) law so important?

Answer 28

Before this, there were no legal marriage safeguards

Question 29

What are conventions?

Answer 29

They aren’t recognised in statute law but can achieve the force of constitution precedence

Question 30

Examples of conventions in 1963, 1997, 2003 and on referendums:

Answer 30

• In 1963, lord Home recognised that becoming PM whilst in the lords also would be constitutionally unacceptable so he resigned his peerage in order to fight a by-election to enter the HOC despite there being no legal requirement against it
• the ministerial code of conduct 1997 which explains the roles of government ministers
• in 2003, the HOC was allowed to vote on whether to support military action vs Iraq and Blair established the convention that said parliament should be consulted over this commitment
• the public should be consulted in a referendum to legitimise proposed constitutional changes

Question 31

What are landmark decisions?

Answer 31

Historical events that have contributed to the constitution

Question 32

Examples of landmark decisions:

Answer 32

Magna Carta 1215, the petition of right 1628 which set out core rights - including freedom from arbitrary imprisonment, bill of rights 1689

Question 33

What are authoritative works?

Answer 33

A small number of influential works that are said to be part of the constitution

Question 34

What is an example of authoritative works?

Answer 34

In 1884, a clerk in the HOC named Erskine May published parliamentary practise which detailed how parliament operates and in 2019, John Bercow used one of its principles: that a motion or amendment ‘which is the same in substance’ shouldn’t be used to stop Theresa May reintroducing her Brexit deal

Question 35

Why did the UK accept the treaty accession that the PM negotiated?

Answer 35

Due to the European communities act in 1972

Question 36

What did the treaty accession result in?

Answer 36

• it made the UK a signatory of the treaty of Rome in 1957 and accept existing European community law

Question 37

What successes did labour have in terms of constitutional reform?

Answer 37

In 1998 Tony Blair passed the HRA which incorporated the ECHR, made the Good Friday agreement with NI which ended the violence of the troubles and held devolution referendums for Scotland and wales

Question 38

Results of the 1997 Scottish and Welsh devolution referendums:

Answer 38

In Scotland, there was a 60% turnout and 74.2% voted in favour of devolution and in wales, there was a 50% turnout and 50.3% voted in favour of a Welsh assembly

Question 39

What were the failures of Blair’s constitutional reforms?

Answer 39

He didn’t remove all hereditary peers, faced backlash after his cash for honours scandal 2006, his devolution schemes resulted in Scotland gaining more power than wales and NI, the gender reform act was vetoed and in 2004, to push for further devolution a referendum was held in the north east to grant them their own assembly however it was voted against

Question 40

What positive constitutional reforms did sadiq Khan add?

Answer 40

Free travel and primary school meals

Question 41

What were the different constitutional reforms of the 2010-2015 coalition?

Answer 41

Fixed term parliament Act 2011, electoral reform, parliamentary reform, further devolution and elected police and crime commissioners, power of recall

Question 42

What were the benefits and limitations of the fixed term parliament act 2011?

Answer 42

It said that a general election should be held exactly 5 years after an election which provided the government with more stability and made it more difficult for a PM to call a snap election. However the act does allow for an election to be called if the government lose a confidence vote/non-confidence vote, which was seen in 2017 and 2019 as May and Johnson were able to call early elections due to HOC support

Question 43

Electoral reform under the 2010-15 coalition:

Answer 43

A referendum was called in 2011 on whether FPTP should be replaced with AV, however the turnout was just 42.2% and 67.9% voted in favour of FPTP

Question 44

What parliamentary reforms happened under the 2010-15 coalition?

Answer 44

Most of the recommendations of the wright committee 2009 were enacted which said: backbench committee were to be established to give backbench MP’s more control over parliamentary debate, memberships of select committees would non longer be determined by whips and electronic petitions were introduced to allow the public to directly lobby parliament

Question 45

What devolution reforms took place under the 2010-15 coalition?

Answer 45

A referendum was held in 2011, where wales voted in favour of its assembly being given primary legislative power in the 20 subject areas it has power of and gained a 63.4% majority for however there was only a 35.5% turnout, in 2015 wales were given tax varying powers and in Scotland, the government could borrow up to 5mn

Question 46

What is devolution?

Answer 46

Power being granted from the central government to single regional/local governments like from Westminster to the Welsh assembly, Scottish parliament or the NI assembly

Question 47

Why has devolution in the UK been described as asymmetrical?

Answer 47

The powers given to Scotland were greater than those given to wales and Northern Ireland. All were given administrative devolution however wales weren’t given legislative devolution and neither wales or NI were given financial devolution

Question 48

What did the 1998 Scotland act do and what powers did it transfer?

Answer 48

It enforced the 1997 referendum which had a 74.3% majority in favour of a new Scottish parliament. This act said that: Scotland have tax-varying powers, MSP’s could nominate a first minister who leads the government and can chair the cabinet, the Scottish Secretary of State and the Scotland office can represent Scottish interest in reserved matters such as constitutional reform, defence and foreign policy

Question 49

What is the sewel convention and when was it?

Answer 49

After the 1998 Scotland act, the UK government said that it would not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of Scottish parliament and this was recognised in a 2001 memorandum

Question 50

What powers did the 2012 Scotland Act do?

Answer 50

It gave the Scottish parliament power to raise or lower income tax by 10p in the pound, control of stamp duty, landfill tax and the ability to borrow up to £2.2bn a year

Question 51

What powers did the 2016 Scotland Act transfer?

Answer 51

It devolved additional legislation powers such as: abortion law, speed limits and welfare. It also devolved new income tax powers and removable taxes like air passenger duty. Scotland’s government and parliament also became recognised as a permanent feature of the uk constitution

Question 52

What did the 1998 government of wales act do and what powers did it transfer?

Answer 52

It enforced the 1997 Welsh referendum which gained a 50.3% majority in favour of a Welsh assembly however it limited them to making secondary legislation in specific areas whilst the UK parliament would continue to legislate for wales

Question 53

What powers did the 2006 wales act transfer?

Answer 53

It established a separate Welsh government in a different building and granted some legislative powers but with a different model to the one in Scotland as they could only make legislation in 1 of 20 specific policy fields

Question 54

What was the 2011 Welsh devolution about?

Answer 54

Whether the Welsh assembly should be able to make laws on all matters in the 20 subject areas it has powers for which gained a 63% majority in favour of it

Question 55

What did the 2014 and 2016 wales acts do?

Answer 55

The 2014 act devolved stamp duty, business rate and landfill tax, as well as the power to set income tax rates but only following a successful referendum. However the 2016 Wales act removed the need for this referendum as recognised the Welsh assembly as a permanent feature of the constitution and changed Welsh legislative powers to a reserved model like in Scotland. It also led the assembly change their name to show national pride and it was changed to ‘senedd cymru’ in May 2020

Question 56

What did the 1998 Northern Ireland Act do?

Answer 56

It devolved both executive and legislative powers to the Northern Irish assembly: reserved matters which the NI assembly could legislate with consent of the NI secretary, and transferred matters in which anything not expected or reserved can be transferred like housing, education and economic development

Question 57

What legislative/financial powers does the Northern Ireland assembly have?

Answer 57

No tax raising powers like in Scotland and wales

Question 58

How are the first and deputy ministers appointed in Northern Ireland?

Answer 58

Following decades of conflict between nationalists and unionists, both assembly and executive power was shared via an election where seats are taken as ‘unionist’, ‘nationalist’ or ‘other’ and if one resigns the other loses their position

Question 59

How are other positions in the Northern Ireland assembly allocated?

Answer 59

Using the d’hondt formula - each party’s number of assembly seats is divided by the number of executive seats they have won +1 and the party with the highest result gets to choose a ministerial position, and this process is repeated until all positions have been allocated

Question 60

What were the success of devolved powers for Scotland?

Answer 60

They were the first country to ban smoking in public places, allow voting at 16 and provided free medical prescriptions

Question 61

What may happen next in Scotland?

Answer 61

A drive for more powers such as more social and economic independence and there might be a push for federalism or decentralised union

Question 62

What has been the impact of devolution in wales?

Answer 62

There has been a clear boost in Welsh language and culture with additional representation however powers were limited in comparison to Scotland and their NHS is in disarray

Question 63

What may happen next for Welsh devolution?

Answer 63

A larger senedd or possibly an independence referendum

Question 64

What voting system was granted to stormont?

Answer 64

STV

Question 65

What are some examples of how powers been extended in Northern Ireland?

Answer 65

• justice and policing (2010 hills borough agreement which transferred responsibility for law and order to the assembly
• Brexit related powers: post 2016, the assembly has gained influence over some areas previously governed by EU law, like agriculture and fisheries

Question 66

What have the failures of the NI devolution been?

Answer 66

The assembly has been suspended 6 times in its history, the last being in 2022 over bexit protocol, the petition of concern has proved unprogressive as it was used by the DUP to block Sinn Fein amendments to welfare reforms in 2012 and to block the proposal of same sex marriage in 2015. Northern Ireland hence are still behind the rest of the UK on rights of abortion, only legalising it in 2019 and there are still concerns over corruption following the RHI scheme which cost the public purse £500mn

Question 67

What are the successes of NI devolution?

Answer 67

Power sharing has made it harder for paramilitary groups to recruit members, unemployment has been reduced as well as an increase in foreign investment and the NI assembly has a good record on private members’ bills, with 34% becoming.a law compared with Westminster’s 5%

Question 68

What are the successes of devolution in wales?

Question 69

What are the failures of devolution in wales?

Question 70

What have been the successes of devolution in Scotland?

Question 71

What have been the failures of devolution in Scotland?