Has Constitutiinal Reform Been A Success

Question 1

1A: protection of rights p

Answer 1

Due to the fact that the HRA is not entrenched, it could be repealed any moment, it was in 2015, 2017 and 2019 CON manifesto to replace it with a BBOR, and Reform is now winning the popular vote in polls and wishes to repeal it.
Further, government can ignore declarations of incompatibility, for example, when the Rwanda plan was declared as incompatible by SC as Rwanda is unsafe, as parliament is sovereign, CON simply planned to make a new act saying Rwanda was safe, essentially overriding it.
Whether HRA is a democratic deficit is also debatable as it takes power away from sovereign parliament and gives it to the unelected judiciary

Question 2

1B: protection of rights

Answer 2

Despite this, some may argue HRA has become pseudo-entrenched, meaning it is essentially untouchable, and any threat of it being repealed is overstated as it would be replaced with a BBOR, simply just wants to take ECtHr out of question.
Further, HRA allows any piece of legislation to be declared incompatible, old or new, and likely also changes the thought behind new legislations, checking it is compatible before making it an act.
Further, the Ewuakity Act 2010 has successfully protected minorities against discrimination e.g. Asda Stores Ltd v Briesley

Question 3

2A: devolution

Answer 3

1. West Minister still holds reserved powers such as immigration, most tax control, foreign affairs etc, so Westminster still has most of control
2. SC ruled in 2022 that devolved parliaments could not hold independent referendums after attempts at indyref 2 in Scotland, this proves that deolvition has not solved Scottish nationalism and reserved powers like Brexit create problems
3. Democratic deficit as English cannot vote on laws of Scottish, Welsh or northern Irish, but there is no way of English making laws in for English, EVEL has been abandoned so it is unfair

Question 4

2B: devolution

Answer 4

All devolved parliaments/assemblies now have primary legislative powers, Scotland has full control on income tax and 1/2 on VAT, wales has some control.
Scotland has essentially reached ‘devomax’, as far as possible without being independent, and Wales has always voted less enthusiastically for devolution, so naturally it has less devolved powers

Question 5

3A: parliamentary reform

Answer 5

Phase 2 of House of Lords reform was never implemented, still 92 hereditary peers remain, contradicting Blair’s idea of modernisation, and the idea of making a fully elected house has not been implemented either, so has not been democratised
Furthermore epetitions as a part of Wrifght Reforns are ignored by commons, such as 620,000 signed petition not to ban XL Bully dogs

Question 6

3B: parliamentary reform

Answer 6

Modernised as the best hereditary peers were kept by the process of a ballot amongst the lords, allowing a compromise that kept the lords as effective as possible
Life peer introduction was succcesful as they are experts and more proffesional, improving legislation through their scrutiny.
Select committees being elected by secret ballot also increased scrutiny as non partisan so more constructive,
Petitions also allow more political participation and pluralism and modernise politics