Constitution Flashcards
(43 cards)
Why is the UK constitution fit for purpose(Flexible)
Because of statute law, it is very easy and quick to say introduce an Act of Parliament compared to amending the US Constitution. Therefore, because the UK constitution is unentrenched, it is very flexible. Additionally, the flexibility of the constitution allows it to stay relevant and up to date. This is because it can adapt and respond to changing circumstances such as the introduction of devolution as a response to the rising nationalism in Scotland and Wales
Why is the UK constitution fit for purpose(democratic)
The UK’s long democratic rule is seen as evidence of the strength of the constitution due to Parliamentary sovereignty for example to power of the House of Lords was reduced through the Parliament acts because of the growing belief that an unelected second chamber should not stand in the way of policies passed by an elected government
Why is the UK constitution fit for purpose(history and politics)
Codified systems codify rights that were relevant at the time into a document that is supposed to endure. However, with the UK’s uncodified constitution, these rights are easy to change and develop over time giving it an ‘organic’ character
Why is the UK Constitution fit for purpose(effective government)
Due to the absence of a written constitution, government decisions backed by a statute law cannot be struck down. This allows UK governments to take strong and decisive action for example Attlee’s of 1945-51, which set up the NHS and nationalised a wide range of industries and the Thatcher Governments of 1979-90, which introduced privatisation and deregulated the economy
Why is the UK constitution not fit for purpose(uncertain)
It’s flexibility however also means the constitution is less clear and the lack of rigidness in the constitution means the government have potentially too much freedom to do what they please. Confusion also surrounds many constitutional rules as they are not clear enough such as its unwritten elements like conventions
Why is the UK constitution not fit for purpose(centralised)
The constitution fails to limit the governments power leading to it becoming overconcentrated with an over-mighty executive. Additionally, despite the constitutional reforms introduced since 1997 which have dispersed government power, many argue that they do not enable to Government to be effectively checked which is a key job of a constitution
Why is the Uk constitution not fit for purpose(weak protection of rights)
Due to its evolutionary nature, apart from the fear of not being re-elected, there is nothing that forces the government to respect individual freedom and basic rights. For example, the passage of the Human Rights Act 1998 has improved rights protection. However, it is not an entrenched bill of rights and therefore can be set aside by Parliament as it did over terrorism legislation
Why is the UK constitution not fit for purpose(elective dictatorship)
Once elected, UK governments can more or less act as they please until they come up for re-election. This is because sovereign power is vested in the hands of Parliament which is ‘dominated’ by the government of the day. With this concentrating power, it allows the government of the day to completely shape and reshape the constitution however they please. This leads many to question whether the UK really even has a constitution
What did the House of Lords Act 1999 do?
Removed all but 92 hereditary peers
What did the Constitutional reform act in 2005 do
Established a new Supreme Court-moved the judges from the House of lords to a new UK Supreme Court, physically separating the legislative and judicial branches.
Reformed the role of Lord Chancellor-divided the job into 3 different positions The Lord Chief(Judiciary), The Lord Chancellor(Executive) and the Lord Speaker(legislature).
Reformed the process of selecting judges- Established the Judicial Appointments Commission which included Five non professional members, Five judges, two professional members and one lay magistrate and one tribunal minister
What did the Greater London Authority act in 1999 do?
Created the Greater London Authority, consisting of a directly elected mayor, and a 25 member London Assembly to hold them to account- makes it easier for local governing of the area and introduced new bodies such as TFL and MPA.
What did the Political parties, Elections and referendums act in 2000 do?
Limited donations to political parties and the amount candidates can spend on their campaigns.
Also created the independent Electoral commission to oversee elections and referendums and to regulate political finance.
Made elections more fair.
What did the Human Rights Act in 1998 do?
Incorporated the rights set out in the ECHR into UK law-allowing them to be upheld by UK courts
Required the judiciary to interpret legislation, as far as possible, in a way which is compatible with convention right.
If they cannot interpret an Act of Parliament in a way that makes it compatible with human rights then judges must issue a ‘declaration of incompatibility’.
Made it easier for UK citizens to know their rights as before you had to go to France which was inconvenient and expensive. Fairer system as peoples rights are more accessible now.
What did the Freedom of Information act in 2000 do?
Established a general right of access to recorded information held by more than 100,000 public bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Act lists 24 exemptions to “the general right of access” in order to protect sensitive information with 9 being entirely, or partially, absolute.
Gave way to expenses scandal.
Exposed the gender pay gap
What did the Wright Committee reforms do?
Select committee chairs elected by MPs across the Commons and paid an additional salary, to encourage more independent-minded MPs. Also suggested that all other select committee members be chosen by MPs from their party, rather than party leaders.
The Commons voted to change its Standing Orders to require the election of committee chairs. The first select committee chair elections then took place under the coalition government on the 9th June 2010.
Creation of the Backbench Business Committee which allocated 35 days each session to schedule debates on issue raised by backbench MPs. Established on 15th June 2010, through a change to the Standing Orders.
Creation of E-petitions to allow the public to more directly influence Commons debates.
Any E-petitions that collected 10,000 signatures received an official government response and those with 100,000 signatures could be schedules for a debate by the Backbench Business Committee.
What did the recall of MPs act 2015 do
Allows constituents to recall their MP if they are convicted of a crime and given a sentence of 12 months or less or if following an investigation from the Standards Committee MPs vote to suspend them for at least ten sitting days or if they are convicted under the Parliamentary Standards Act for making false or misleading expenses claims and then they need 10% of the MP’s constituents to sign the removal petition within six weeks.
What did the House of Lords Reform Bill 2012 do?
Planned to phase elections and new appointed members over 10 years but was abandoned in September 2012 after 92 Conservative MPs rebelled at the 2nd Reading.
What did the House of Lords Reform Act in 2014 and House of Lords(Expulsion and Suspension) Act in 2015 do?
A private member’s bill that allowed members, for the first time, to retire. Also allows for peers to be expelled if they do not attend at all in a session, or if they were sentenced to more than a year in prison( House of Lords Reform Act).
A private member’s bill that provided for the Lords to make Standing Orders that would allow the expulsion of peers who break the Lords code of conduct(House of Lords Expulsion and Suspension Act)
What did the Fixed-term parliaments act do?2011
Set the date for the next general election as 7th May 2015, and established that all subsequent elections would be held every five years on the first Thursday in May. Also provided two ways for a general election to be triggered earlier:
1) Through a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the House of Commons, which required a majority of MPs to vote that they had lost confidence in the government.
2) If two thirds of MPs voted in favour of holding an early election.
Ended up being blamed for Brexit and was then repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act
What were the strengths of Devolution
the devolved bodies have allowed the government to become closer to the citizens they represent, making the politicians more accountable to the electorate, also makes the government much more region sensitive
What are the weaknesses of devolution
It threatened the stability of the UK because it gave Scotland more power and the choice to be independent from England, has also created regional disparities with different groups benefitting in the different regions
What are the strengths of the House of Lords Reforms
gave more power to elected and appointed officials. Also got rid of a large amount of the hereditary Lords which made it a much more fair chamber
What are the weaknesses of the House of Lords reforms
there were still 92 hereditary peers which meant that it was not a completely elected house, like the lib-dems wanted. Also didn’t do anything about the fact there are too many people in the house
What are the strengths of the Judiciary reforms
new independent judges are far more willing to be a check on the legislature and executive, recall ensures that MPs stay aware of their obligations to their constituents.
