UK Constution - Conitutional Change Since 1997 Flashcards
1
Q
HOL act 1999
A
- removed all but 92 hereditary peers
- lords became a mainly appointed chamber, with peers appointed based on merit as opposed to by birth with the removal of most hereditary peers
2
Q
Reforms did enough; life peers?
A
- meant that peers don’t have to worry about election/removal if they made unpopular decision
- an consider long-term interests of the country
3
Q
More reform needed; HOL?
A
- still 92 hereditary peers
- 26 bishops but no repressentaion for other religions
- party leaders make the appointments
- HOL remains unelected
- very large & costly (over 800 peers)
4
Q
Devolution
A
- referendums were held in Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales on 1997-8
- people voted for powers to be devolved to new regional assemblies
5
Q
Devolution did enough?
A
- Good Friday agreement & devoltion transforme situation in Northern Ireland
- until collapse of power sharing agreement in 2017 the two main parties were working together
- although there are more calls for devolution to England when a referendum was called on the idea of a regional assembly in north east of England the idea was rejected
6
Q
More devolution? - Wales
A
- multiple prices of legislation devolving further powers to Wales since 1998, 2014 & 2017
- one of the reasons for increased demand is the imbalance of powers given in 1998 when wales got les powers than Scotland
- welsh nationalist movement for more powers has been groaning in demand for further devolution continues
7
Q
More devolution? - Scotland
A
- didnt stem the demand for Scottish independence
- 2014 - independence referendum
- further devolution to Scotland in 2016
8
Q
More devolution? - Northern Ireland
A
- since the 2016 EU referendum there have been ongoing discussions over how Brexit will work for Northern Ireland as it share a border with the Republic of Ireland
- the Northern Ireland ac 1998 will need to be amended as part of the Brexit process causing possible conflict in Ireland
9
Q
Devolution - HRA
A
- incorporated ECHR int UK law
- freedoms to life, fair trial amount many other rights
- ECHR requires states to hold free & fair election, abolish the death penalty, preserve family life & give foreigners the same rights as citizens
10
Q
Devolution - HRA (supreme court)
A
- HRA means that any public body cannot act in a way that would break with the convention & tat judiciary must make rulings tat are compatible with it
- the Supreme Court can strike down secondary legislation that is incompatible with the HRA, but for primary legislation they can only issue a ‘doctrine of incompatibility’, urging parliament to change the statue
11
Q
HRA did enough?
A
- fundamental rights clearly set out + accessible
- 8-fold increase in the number of HR cases and claimed brought to high court after the HRA was passed
12
Q
HRA didn’t do enough?
A
- still possible for governments to restrict the human rights of indivuals
- 2005 - control orders to restrict movement of suspect terrorists - only had to declare exemption from Art 5 for those who fall under suspicion
13
Q
Constitutional reform - judicial reform
A
- 2005 constitutional reform act;
- act speared the gov & judiciary
- formed UKSC which separated parliament from judiciary
- act reformed the appointment process for senior judicial appointments
14
Q
Constitutional reform - Lord chancellor
A
-split the role into 3 diff ones
- previously has been member of gov, speaker of HOL & head of judiciary
- doesn’t follow separation of powers
15
Q
Constitutional reform - Supreme Court
A
- formed to replace the ‘law lords’, as UK’s highest appeal court
- separated parliment & judiciary
16
Q
Constitutional reform - appointments
A
- senior judical appointments were made by the prime minister & Lord chancellor
- act established a judicial appointments commission to appoint based solely on legal qualification & ability
- gov still makes final decision
17
Q
Constitutional reforms - did enough?
A
- now clear separation of the 3 branches of government preventing abuse of power
- Judiciary is physically & constitutionally separate - greater judicial independence, strengthening rule of law
18
Q
Judiciary is physically & constitutionally separate
A
19
Q
Constitutional reform - more needed?
A
- UKSC is much weaker than it’s counterparts in most other liberal democracies
- can’t strike down legislation that would weaken parliamentary sovereignty
- composition of the UKSC is not very diverse - not representative
20
Q
Electoral reform - electoral system
A
- New labour introduced various forms of proportional representation for elections to European, Scottish, welsh & Northern Irish assemblies
- AMS was introduced for the welsh Assembly & Scottish parliament elections
- STV was used for the Northern Irish Assembly elections
21
Q
Electoral reform - AV
A
- 2011 referendum was held introducing the alternative vote for general elections
- referendum was rejected & FPTP remains
22
Q
Electoral reform - voting age
A
- UK voting age is 18 for general elections
- for 2014 Scottish independence referendum the voting age was lowered to 16 for the first time
- remains calls for voting age to be lowered from 18 for all UK elections
23
Q
Fixed term parliment
A
- the 2011 fixed term parliments act set 5 year periods between general elections
- took away the power of the prime minister to call a general election whenever they wished
24
Q
Further devolution to wales (2010-2015)
A
- the government of wales act 2015 gave the welsh government the control over some taxes, such as business taxes & included the provision for a referendum In wales to decide whether they could have control over income tax
25
Elected mayors & commissioners
- 2010 - 2015 coalition government introduced elected mayors in may cities across England
- police commissioners have been elected using an SV system
26
Major reforms since 2015 - recall of MPs
- gave constituencies the poor to recall any MP who has acted inappropriate/misbehaved
- for an MP to be recalled, over 10% of constituents need to support a petition in favour of it
27
Major reform since 2015 - devolution outside of London
- from 2015 the conservative government gave more powers to large cities
- the gov grated cities with financial independence by enabling them to keep revenue from business rates so they could fund local projects & policies
