Constitution Examples. Flashcards
What are the Five Sources of the UK Constitution?
Statute Law, Common Law, Conventions, Authoritative works, EU law however, less relevant.
Examples of Statute Law?
Economic Crime and Transparency act 2023 - Aims to drive out foreign corrupt funds from UK economy.
Levelling up and Regeneration act 2023 - Speeding up the planning process, cutting bureaucracy and holding developers to account.
Examples of Conventions?
Salisbury Convention - Lords will not block Government Manifesto promises or a second or third reading and came into force as the Government often doesn’t have the majority in the Lords.
Sewell Convention - When the UK parliament wants to legislate on a devolved matter they must first receive the consent of the devolved assembly.
Examples of Authoritative Works?
Walter Bagehot 1867 - The English Constitution - Sets out the roles of the cabinet Ministers, he referred to them as First Amongst Equals.
A. V. Dicey 1885 - An introduction to the study of the Law of the Constitution - Focused on Parliamentary sovereignty, “twin pillars of the constitution”.
What is set out by the rule of law?
No one can be punished without trial, No one is above the Law, General Constitutional principles result from Judge made common Law.
New Labour Constitutional Reform Examples.
Human Rights act 1998, Freedom of Information act 2000 - greater access to information held by public bodies, Lords Reform Act - removed all but 92 hereditary peers, Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - Supreme Court opened 2009.
Coalition Government reform examples.
Fixed Terms Parliament act 2011, Scotland act 2012, Protection of freedoms act 2012, House of Lords reform act 2014, Wales act 2014.
Boris Johnson constitutional reform?
Early Parliamentary Election act of 2019.
Scottish Devolution?
1998 Scottish Devolution Referendum - 74.3% for Scottish Assembly, 63.5% for tax. Compromised of 129 MSP’s, Scotland act 2012 made Scottish parliament, Scotland act 2016 gave 50% of VAT revenue raised in Scotland to Scotland - £15 billion. 2014 Independence referendum - 84.5% turnout, 55.3% vote no.
Welsh Devolution?
1997 Welsh Assembly referendum - 50.1% turnout, 50.3% yes to devolution. Welsh Assembly has 60 Members. 2006 Government of Wales act offered more powers if approved in a referendum - 2011 referendum resulted in 64% yes vote.
Wales act 2014 - devolved power to landfill tax and stamp duty.
Wales Act 2017 - 10% of Welsh income tax revenue.
Northern Irish Devolution?
Communal Conflict, Distinctive Party System, Security. 1998 Good Friday Agreement - Power sharing deal, UK and Ireland amend their constitutions to clarify Northern Ireland’s position. 108 members.
81% turnout, 71% yes, 29% no.
2002 - 2007, 2017 - 2020 Suspensions 2022 -
What did the Act of Settlement do?
It was signed in 1701 and it made it so that the line of succession can only pass through protestants, catholics can no longer have the crown. This extended to people that had married a Roman Catholic which indirectly led to a Union with Hannover.
What did the Acts of Union do?
It was signed in 1707 and brought together the UK and Scotland into one singular union under the crown on the basis of a treaty signed between the two parliaments in 1706.
What did the 1911 Act of Parliament do?
It entirely removed the right of the House of Lords to veto money bills and placed a limit on the length that they could veto a public bill to just two years. It also set the maximum term for parliament to just 5 years rather than 7.
What did the 1949 Act of Parliament do?
It built upon the 1911 Act by limiting the veto for public bills to just one year.
Explain the Nature of the UK Constitution?
- It is un-entrenched in the sense that it is easy to change due to parliamentary sovereignty which enables parliament to change it in any way that they deem fit.
- It is uncodified in sense that it is not found in one single document and is found in a number of different documents.
- It is Unitary in the sense that a majority of power is centralised around parliament.
What are the twin pillars of the UK constitution?
Constitutional Monarchy and the Fusion of Powers. Outside of this there is also the ideal of parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law.
How did Labour reform the House of Lords?
Labour passed the 1999 House of Lords Act which limited the number of hereditary peers to just 92 who were voted on by the Lords, another 10 of whom were made into life peers. It also reduced the Number of Lords from 1’330 to 669 by 2000. The House of Lord Appointment commission now also promoted a proportion of Lords on an apolitical basis.
How did Labour Carry out electoral reform?
Various forms of proportional systems were introduced for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and European Elections. They also ordered a commission led by Roy Jenkins to investigate the effect of First Past the Post on General elections however, nothing came of this. Some argue that this is due to them winning such a significant majority in 1997.
Why did Labour implement devolution?
Scotland - It was very much a pragmatic effort in an attempt to limit the influence of the SNP and dampen their support.
Northern Ireland - Aimed to bring to give Nationalist and Unionist parties and in turn stop further violence.
Wales - There was less demand for independence in Wales and in turn the Welsh assembly gained less power than the Scottish Parliament.
What did the Human Rights Act 1998 do?
It incorporated the ECHR into UK law enshrining rights such as fair trial, freedom from slavery and degrading treatment, respect from privacy and the right to family life. All future legislation had to be compatible with ECHR and judges can strike down law if its not. However, the act is unentrenched as proven by 2005 control orders which removed the right to liberty if suspected of terrorism.
What did the 2005 Constitutional Reform act do?
It established the Supreme Court which came into force in 2009 which made it the highest Court of Appeal in UK cases except for Scotland. Previously Law Lords had performed this function and by removing them the separation of powers increased.
Why was the Coalition keen on carrying out constitutional reform?
- As part of the agreement between the Lib Dems and Conservatives the Lib Dems demanded Constitutional reform.
- Cameron wanted to appear as a more liberal prime minister and restore public confidence in the government.
What did the Fixed terms Parliament Act 2011 do?
It ended the prime ministers power to call for an immediate general election, instead a new parliament will be elected every 5 years unless 2/3rds of MPs vote in favour of an election or if a Prime Minister after losing a vote in no confidence isn’t able to form a government after 14 days. It was removed in 2022 with the Election reform act.
