ETVT constitutional reforms introduced since 2010 have had a significant impact on the UK constitution Flashcards
30 marks - condensed essay plan (17 cards)
overall line of argument is…
disagree- most constitutional reforms introduced since 2010 have had little impact on the UK constitution
paragraph 1 - BREXIT
for argument- BREXIT has had a significant impact on the constitution
- Brexit arguably the most significant change to UK constitution
- when Britain member of EU, uk accepted supremacy of EU law and therefore sovereignty of EU law > P laws
–> supremacy of EU law confirmed in the 1990 Factortame Case. - meant law passed by UK Parliament that contradicted EU law= ECJ or SC strike it down and force Parliament to change or remove it
- Now UK left EU, (Repeal of the European Communities Act 1972= Withdrawal of EU 2020), no longer higher court strike down parliament= sovereignty of parliament, a key cornerstone of UK’s constitution, has been regained.
- parliament now legislate almost any area of policy it wants to, rather than having to draft legislation in line with EU law e.g. significant control over immigration - Illegal Migration Bill March 2023
1 (ARGUMENT for )
what was the 1990 FACTORTAME CASE, and how did it highlight supremacy of EU law??
When the Law Lords ruled that the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 passed by UK parliament breached EU law as it required UK registered ships to have majority of British owners.
As a consequence, the UK Parliament was forced to unmake the law.
paragraph 1 - argument against: Brexit hasn’t had a significant impact on the constitution
- Brexit had limited impact on UK’s constitution as EU only had control over a limited number of areas of policy when the UK was a member
- EU CONTROLLED trade, competition policy and customs and tariffs.
- whilst EU had SOME control over immigration, agriculture, fishing and environmental policy.
- In other areas however, UK parliament was already sovereign when a member of the EU; including most taxation, national defence, education, health and social security.
what is the overall judgement for paragraph 1 on Brexit’s impact on the constitution?
Overall, the most persuasive argument is that Brexit has had very significant impact on the constitution. The European Union constrained the sovereignty of Parliament in many key areas of policy. Since leaving the EU, Parliamentary sovereignty has been regained, representing a significant shift in power within the constitution.
paragraph 2 - for argument that further devolution since 2010 has had a significant impact on the constitution…
how has welsh devotion shown this?
following a 2011 referendum in which 64% voted in favour, Wales gained primary legislative control over devolved areas, similar to what Scotland was originally given.
following the referendum, the coalition govt set up the SILK COMMISSION to consider even further devolution, leading to the 2014 Govt of Wales Act which renamed the Welsh Executive the Welsh Govt and also gave it control over landfill tax and stamp duty, alongside substantial control it already has over health, education and transport etc.
this can be seen as significant reform to the constitution as it resulted in a further decentralisation of power and sovereignty away from the UK Parliament and brought Wales in line with the powers originally devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
paragraph 2 - for argument that further devolution since 2010 has had a significant impact on the constitution…
how has Scottish devotion shown this?
In the run up to and since the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Scotland also gained more powers in order to try and satisfy calls for more autonomy and disincentivise independence.
This was in particular in the Scotland Act 2016, which gave the Scottish Parliament further powers, particularly in the area of tax raising.
–> This can be seen as fiscal devolution and brought Scotland close to ‘devomax’ =, whilst further reducing the sovereignty of the UK Parliament and increasing the strength of the West Lothian Question.
It can therefore be seen as having a significant impact on the constitution.
paragraph 2 - for argument that further devolution since 2010 has had a significant impact on the constitution…
how has regional devotion shown this?
there has been significant further regional devolution to England in the past 2 years.
In March 2023, the Uk government introduced tow Trailblazer Devolution Deals for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. These deals didn’t grant legislative control, but did give the regions substantial administrative control and funding autonomy over important areas of policy.
Since Starmer’s government was elected, 8 new devolution agreements in areas of England have been signed and the Labour govt has supported extending devolution across England to move decision making closer to the people and work closely with local areas on policy.
Devolved bodies including combined authorities and directly elected metro Mayers now cover 64% of the English population and over 90% of the population in the North.
paragraph 2 - against
argument that further devolution since 2010 has had a significant impact on the constitution…
it can be argued that these reforms had a relatively minor impact on the UK Constitution, as the true change to the UK Constitution through devolution had already occurred.
Though these freedoms did increase the powers of the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, these increases can be seen as marginal. the true point of constitutional change was introduced by New Labour in 1990s. this was when significant powers was devolved away from the UK Parliament for the first time. REFORMS SINCE THEN ONLY BUILD ON THIS.
In relation to further English regional devolution in particular, it can be argued that the impact is minor, as none of these devolved bodies have primary legislative control like in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
They only have some financial autonomy and administrative control over some areas of policy e.g. transport.
paragraph 2 devotion judgement…
Overall, further devolution since 2010 has certainly increased the powers of the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments and of regional bodies in England, however, the overall impact of this on the UK Constitution is minor. Significant power had already been devolved and the true point of constitutional change was when the power was first devolved in the late 1990s.
paragraph 3 -
for argument that parliamentary reform since 2010 has had a significant impact on the constitution
three key parliamentary reforms can be argued to have had a significant impact on the UK Constitution: The Fixed Term Parliaments Act, English Votes for English Laws and Recall of MPs Act.
paragraph 3 - for
how has the Fixed Term Parliaments Act impacted the constitution?
The FTPA, introduced by the coalition govt in 2011, removed the power of the PM to call a snap election when it suited them, by requiring 2/3 of Parliament to support a snap election before it was called.
It was designed to reassure the Liberal Democrats that Cameron wouldn’t call for a snap election when it suited the Conservative Party and therefore distract him from governing effectively. It performed its role during the coalition govt, which lasted the whole 5 years.
It can be seen as a significant constitutional changes as it removed the prerogative power of the PM to call a snap election, therefore significantly limiting the power of the PM.
paragraph 3 - for
how has ‘English votes for English laws’ (2015) impacted the constitution?
In order to seek to tackle the West Lothian question, which questioned why Scottish MPs should be able to vote on English matters in the UK Parliament that don’t affect their constituents, when English MPs can’t do the same in the Scottish Parliament, the Conservative govt implemented EVFL in 2015.
This allowed English MPs to veto any legislation affecting England only from being passed and was used around 1/3 of bills in the 2015-17 Parliament. It may have become more significant if a govt was elected with a majority in the UK but not in England.
It can be seen as having significant impact on the UK constitution as it talked the West Lothian Question and introduced an aspect of English devolution.
paragraph 3 - for
how has The Recall of MPs Act (2015) impacted the constitution?
the RC MPs act was introduced in response to the fact that voters had no legal means between elections of removing scandalous MPs who refused to resign their seats. It means that if an MP is sentenced to a custodial sentence or suspended fork the Commons for more than 21 days, a by-election is triggered if at least 10% of constituents sign a recall petition.
In October 2019 = Brecon and Radnorshire by-election after Christopher Davies provided misleading expenses claims.
It can be seen as having significant impact on the UK constitution as it increased the accountability of Parliament through introducing direct democracy.
paragraph 3 - against parliamentary acts
On the other hand, it can be argued that all three of these parliamentary reforms had a limited impact on the UK Constitution.
It can be argued that the Fixed Term Parliaments Act in fact had a limited impact on the constitution as it was largely ineffective after the coalition and consequently scrapped by Boris
Johnson’s government in 2022.
The Prime Minister was able to successfully call a snap election in 2017 and 2019 by effectively shaming the opposition into voting for an election, which they are unlikely to block as it would make them seem very weak.
English Votes For English Laws, too, can be argued to have had a limited impact on the UK Constitution. It failed to allow English MPs to make their own laws, failed to provide a viable expression for English identity and simply added unnecessary complications to the legislative process. As a result, it was scrapped by Johnson government in July 2021.
The Recall of MPs Act can be seen as limited as it only introduces an element of direct democracy and accountability for MPs who have broken the law or been suspended from Parliament, rather than for all MPs.
paragraph 3 parliamentary reforms judgement -
Overall, Parliamentary Reform since 2010 has had a limited impact on the UK Constitution. The impact of EVEL and the Fixed Term Parliaments Act were temporary and limited, with both since being scrapped, whilst the Recall of MPs Act only increases accountability for a very small number of disgraced MPs, rather that changing the constitution in any meaningful sense.
conclusion -
There have been few constitutional reforms since 2010 that have had a significant impact on the UK constitution. Parliamentary reform was limited and mostly temporary, whilst devolution simply built on the real significant reforms that took place under New Labour. Brexit, however, should be seen as a major constitutional reform which had a major impact on the constitution by returning significant sovereignty to Parliament. Overall, therefore, most constitutional reforms introduced since 2010 have had little impact on the UK constitution, but Brexit has had a significant impact.
