UK Gov: The Constitution Flashcards
Parliament act 1911
- Wrote into law the convention that Lord’s cannot veto/change any money bills.
- Removed the Lord’s veto power and replaced it with the power to delay bills for up to 2 years - parliament can force bills through after that
Parliament act 1949
- Limited the Lord’s ability to delay bills to only 1 year.
Key principles of New Labour’s reforms
- Democratisation - reforming the constitution to make the UK more democratic.
- Modernisation - reforming parliament/the UK to make it more effective.
- Restoration of rights - better protecting the rights of UK citizens
- Decentralisation - dispersing power to local governments
Why did New Labour want to reform the HoL?
- Unelected body so undemocratic.
- Largely hereditary peers from aristocratic families (777 hereditary peers) –> strong conservative majority due to this.
What was New Labour’s reform plan?
2 stage plan to reform, as there was agreement that it needed reform but disagreement over what should replace it.
1. Stage 1 would remove all hereditary peers.
2. Stage 2 would replace the HoL with a new second chamber.
How was the HoL reformed ?
- Under the 1999 HoL act, Blair removed almost all hereditary peers, but had to compromise with the HoL to get the bill through, so allowed 92 of the origional 777 hereditary peers to remain.
- In 2000, the HoL Appointments Commission was established (HOLAC), which began to nominate life peers who had specific expertise to the HoL.
- The PM can and does still nominate peers, but these are scrutinised by the appointment and it can express dissaproval.
- No second stage reform ever took place, so the HoL remains unelected/undemocratic.
- Most life peers are appointed by recommendation of the PM as political patronage, which critics have described as a democratic travesty.
Problems persisting from/despite reform in the HoL
- No second stage reform ever took place, so the HoL remains unelected/undemocratic.
- Most life peers are appointed by recommendation of the PM as political patronage, which critics have described as a democratic travesty.
- Temptation is always for the PM to appoint political allies as a means of acquiring a majority in the HoL - Blair appointed 374 and Cameron appointed 245.
- Cash for honours scandal - in 2006 Blair was investigated for having appointed labour donors to the HoL.
- This has remained an issue - HOLAC criticised Johnson’s decision to add major tory donor Peter Cruddas to the HoL, though he was still appointed anyway.
- The HoL has also been criticised for its large membership, with 783 currently and no upper limit - especially since they can collect £332 per day for turning up.
outline
Human rights act 1998
- Enshrined the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law.
- Meant that rights can be defended in UK courts rather than having to go to Strasbourg.
- Included protections such as freedom from torture, right to life, right to a fair trial, right to privacy.
How was the HRA 1998 significant/positive.
- Helped develop the UK’s rights based culture as all new legislation must be compatible with the HRA and the supreme court can declare acts incompatible.
- Parliament usually addresses declarations of incompatibility, and also has a joint committee on human rights to scrutinise bills for compatibility, showing the** persuasive influence of the HRA.**
- Prevention of Terrorism act 2005 was amended after it was ruled that some laws allowing the detention of suspects were incompatible with the HRA as they allowed discrimination based on nationality and immigration status.
- Can be seen then as enhancing the rule of law.
Limits of the HRA 1998
- Not entrenched so can be repealed by an act of parliament any time.
- Suella Braverman was warned in 2023 that her Illegal Migration Bill would likely be incompatible, but the government decided it wanted to proceed anyway.
- Rwanda plan ruled unlawful by the supreme court but has still passed after Sunak forced it through.
- Has been criticised for largely benefiting the wrong people, such as how it prevents terror suspects from being deported.
Proposed further rights-based reforms
British bill of rights:
* At various points the Conservatives have backed pulling out of the ECHR and replacing the HRA with a British bill of rights.
- Suggested changed have included elavating the right to public safety over the right to family life, making it easier to deport foreign criminals.
- Also increasing the power of the press by ranking freedom of expression higher than privacy.
* A British bill of rights would also make the supreme court the highest court of appeal rather than the ECHR.
- This arguably limits the protection of rights as a British bill of rights would merely be a parliamentary act, whereas the ECHR is an international treaty
outline
Electoral reform under New Labour
- Devolution led to the introduction of various forms of PR.
- AMS used in Wales and Scotland.
- STV used in N.Ireland.
- Supplementary vote introduced for London Mayoral elections.
- In 1999 they also adopted a party list system with larger multi-member constituencies for European Parliament elections,
How was electoral reform under New Labour positive/significant?
- Where implemented, PR leads to fairer and more democratic results, with a fairer opportunity for smaller parties.
- makes the UK more democratic - **implementation of key new labour goal. **
- Electoral recognition that FPTP is flawed.
Limits of these reforms
- FPTP still used for the general election, which really is the most important.
- democracy still limited.
- Was condsidered briefly to be changed but was not, largely due to Labour’s success under FPTP.
Reasons electoral reform should be taken further
- Would imrove democracy by giving parties a fairer chance and voters more meaningful choice
- help voter apathy?
- Has been effective in Scotland and Wales (except for reason power sharing collapse with SNP and Green party)
