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UK Government and Politics > British Constitution > Flashcards

British Constitution Flashcards

1
Q

What is a constitution?

A

A distinct set of rule or laws that dictates how something is run

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2
Q

What is the UK constitution

A

Uncodified - based on a variety of sources.

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3
Q

What is sovereign in the UK?

A

Parliament

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4
Q

What are statute laws?

A

Laws passed by parliament to become part of the constitution - receive Royal Assent. Not all law constitutional law.

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5
Q

What is a constitutional statute?

A

Statutes that have been recognised to be above other ordinary laws in the hierarchy of Acts of Parliament.

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6
Q

Example of a constitutional statute

A

Representation of the People Act 1969

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7
Q

Another example of a constitutional statute

A

Human Rights Act 1998

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8
Q

What is the impact of the constitution being pragmatic and flexible?

A

Upholds parliamentary sovereignty.

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9
Q

When was the Act of Settlement?

A

1701

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10
Q

What did the Act of Settlement do?

A

Prevented Catholics from succeeding to the throne.
Protect salaries of judges - judicial independence and neutrality.
Parliament had to agree to dismiss a judge for improper behaviour.

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11
Q

When was the Laws in Wales Act passed?

A

1535 and 1542

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12
Q

What did the Laws in Wales Act do?

A

Made Wales a full and equal part of England - legal system to Wales - Welsh MP come to Westminster.

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13
Q

When was the Acts of Union?

A

1707

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14
Q

What did the Acts of Union do?

A

United Scotland and England and established the parliament of Great Britain and Westminster.

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15
Q

When was the second Act of Union?

A

1800

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16
Q

What did the 1800 Act of Union do?

A

United Great Britain and Ireland - Ireland could elect MPs to represent them in Parliament.

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17
Q

When was the Irish Free State Constitution?

A

1922

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18
Q

What did the Irish Free State Constitution do?

A

All but six counties seceded, leaving two nations, the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This recognised the new constitution of the Irish Free State.

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19
Q

When was the first Parliament Act?

A

1911

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20
Q

What did the first Parliament Act do?

A

Limited the Lords’ powers - could only delay bills for two years. Could not do anything to money bills. Only able to veto bills that extended the life of Parliament beyond 5 years.

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21
Q

When was the second Parliament Act?

A

1949

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22
Q

What did the 1949 Parliament Act do?

A

Power to delay was reduced from two years to one year.

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23
Q

What were the Reform Acts?

A

Extension of the franchise by lowering property requirements

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24
Q

When was the Representation of the People Act?

A

1918

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25
Q

What did the Representation of the People Act do?

A

Expanded the electorate to all men over 21 and to women over 30 who met certain criteria

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26
Q

When was the Equal Franchise Act?

A

1928

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27
Q

What did the Equal Franchise Act do?

A

Lowered the women’s voting age from 30 to 21.

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28
Q

When was the second Representation of the People Act?

A

1969

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29
Q

What did the 1969 RotPA do?

A

Extended the voting franchise to almost all citizens over 18.

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30
Q

What is common law?

A

Laws derived from judicial decisions and precedents.

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31
Q

What did William the Conqueror set up in 1066?

A

Curia Regis (King’s Court) - appointed judges to settle disputes.

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32
Q

What is stare decisis?

A

To stand by decided matters, judges were increasingly expected to observe this foundation of common law.

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33
Q

Which courts can establish precedent?

A

Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.

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34
Q

How much the state act?

A

In accordance with common law or statutes. Rule of Law

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35
Q

Why do statutes override common law?

A

Parliamentary Sovereignty.

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36
Q

Define Law

A

More certain than conventions, can be looked up and a judge can give a conclusion. Breaking laws leads to the enforcement by the courts.

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37
Q

What is a convention?

A

Non-legal rules that are considered binding. There is no definitive source, which can lead to disputes, can only be politically enforced. Source purposes to allow branches of government operate smoothly.

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38
Q

Example of a convention

A

Prime minister being the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons.

39
Q

What is the Salisbury Convention?

A

Any laws in a manifesto should not be voted against by the House of Lords.

40
Q

When was the last time a law was denied by a Monarch?

A

1708 - Scottish Militia Bill

41
Q

What is the Royal Prerogative?

A

The remaining power that solely belongs to the monarchy. It is the common law and the judges that decides what the monarch’s powers are.

42
Q

What does the Royal Prerogative do?

A

Enables ministers to deploy armed forces, make and unmake treaties and grant honours as well as many other things.

43
Q

What is an authoritative text?

A

Books written by constitutional experts - obtained constitutional status.

44
Q

What was Erskine May’s Authoritative text?

A

Treatise on the Law Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament (1844).

45
Q

What authoritative text did Bagehot write?

A

The British Constitution (1867)

46
Q

What authoritative text did Dicey write?

A

Introduction to the study of the Law of the Constitution (1885).

47
Q

What did Dicey define as the two pillars of the constitution?

A

Parliamentary Sovereignty and the Rule of Law

48
Q

When was the Cabinet Manuel written?

A

2010

49
Q

What is a treaty?

A

International agreement, a contract negotiated between countries through ministers.

50
Q

What Act was passed in 1972?

A

Treaty of Ascension & European Communities Act 1972

51
Q

What did the Treaty of Ascension & European Communities Act 1972 do?

A

An international agreement providing the UK, Denmark, Ireland and Norway to join the EEC, now the EU. The Act legislated for the UK to join the EEC, and required all laws to be incorporated into UK domestic law.

52
Q

Why is the constitution subject to interpretation?

A

Parliamentary Sovereignty - constitution is what parliament says it is.

53
Q

How did Lord Norton describe the constitution?

A

Pragmatic - “stipulates what should be on the basis of what has proved to work rather than on abstract first principles”

54
Q

What is the power distribution in the UK?

A

Fusion of Power - the three branches overlap - power to the PM

55
Q

What did Lord Hailsham warn could happen?

A

Elective dictatorship (thank you Matt)

56
Q

What is a feature of the constitution?

A

Evolutionary - always changing

57
Q

How is the constitution flexible?

A

Change can be made by a simple Act of Parliament.

58
Q

What is parliamentary sovereignty?

A

Legislation by Parliament in binding and can be set aside by no body other than parliament itself.

59
Q

What is a constitutional monarchy?

A

Government is drawn from and conducted through Parliament, under a monarch exercising no significant independent powers.

60
Q

What is the rule of law?

A

All are subject to the same justice, and have the right to the due process of the law - the government is not above the law.

61
Q

What is a unitary state?

A

No level of government below national level enjoys autonomous power - devolved powers can be withdrawn.

62
Q

How is government formed?

A

Through parliamentary elections.

63
Q

Where is government personnel drawn from?

A

Parliament

64
Q

Who is government accountable to?

A

Parliament

65
Q

What act revoked the European Communities Act 1972?

A

European Union Withdrawal Act 2018 and the Eu Withdrawal Agreement Act 2020

66
Q

What is the term for prime ministers and ministers exceeding their lawful powers?

A

Ultra Vires

67
Q

What did the Human Rights Act do?

A

Incorporated most of the ECHR provisions into UK law - new form of rights based law - enhanced senior courts role - declaration of incompatibility.

68
Q

When was the House of Lords Act?

A

1999

69
Q

What did the House of Lords Act do?

A

Removed all but 92 hereditary peers.

70
Q

When was the Freedom of Information Act?

A

2000

71
Q

What did the FIA do?

A

Introduced the right to information

72
Q

What established the Supreme Court?

A

Constitutional Reform Act 2005

73
Q

What act transferred the power to ratify treaties to Parliament?

A

Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010

74
Q

Who resigned in 2003?

A

Irvine

75
Q

What was the impact of Irvine’s resignation?

A

Constitutional reforms didn’t have someone to effectively take up his mantle.

76
Q

What did the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 do?

A

First provided UK wide referendum on electoral vote - reduction of the House of Commons to 600 - reform constitutiency boundaries.

77
Q

When was the Eu Referendum Bill

A

For a referendum in June 2016.

78
Q

What region voted to get rid of elected mayor?

A

Torbay in 2016

79
Q

What was the Middlesborough 2013 turnout?

A

15%

80
Q

When was the Equality Act passed?

A

2010

81
Q

What makes some acts weak?

A

Statute law is subject to amendment from parliament.

82
Q

What does the ECHR mean for certain rights?

A

There is a double lock. on some rights.

83
Q

How many applications to the ECHR have there been since 1966 to 2010

A

14,469 UK citizen applications - only 1.3% found against the government.

84
Q

What are individual rights?

A

Rights held by an individual citizens

85
Q

Example of individual right:

A

Right to fair trial.

86
Q

What is a collective right?

A

Belong to groups ranging from formally organised groups - trade unions - to those that are faith based, or those that reflect certain characteristics such as gender, disability or sexuality. Applied to the population

87
Q

Examples of a collective right?

A

Right to protection against acts of terrorism.

88
Q

What company denied sale to a gay rights activist because of the slogan “Support gay rights”?

A

Ashers Baking Company Ltd.

89
Q

What did the Supreme Court do in 2018?

A

Overturned the judgements of lower courts - didn’t discriminate because the person was gay but because it could have been forced speech.

90
Q

What happened in 2013?

A

SC ruled against Christian owners of a guest house who refused to allow a same-sex couple to share a double bedroom.

91
Q

What was the FGM Act 2003?

A

Banned the practice of Female Genital Mutilation

92
Q

What SC case was in 2016 against uber?

A

Two drivers claimed they were employees and not self employed - entitled them to benefits. Uber lost the case.

93
Q

What did the Courts rule in 2004?

A

Indefinite detention of suspected terrorists broke human rights laws.

UK Government and Politics (10 decks)

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