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UK Politics (the Constitution, ) > The Constitution > Flashcards

The Constitution Flashcards

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1
Q

what is a constitution

A

A set of rules which regulates the system of government and politics of a country

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2
Q

Did the UK constitution develop quickly or slowly

A

Slowly - over many centuries

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3
Q

Give 2 reasons Why the UK constitution develop slowly

A

Organic constitution. Shaped by gradual changes in UK society & politics
Never been imposed by a single event eg revolution

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4
Q

What is the Magna Carta

A

1215
An agreement between nobels and King
Established principle of the rule of law
Ie govt must operate within the law & law applies equally to all citizens

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5
Q

What was Bill of Rights

A

1689
An agreement between King and Parliament
Established idea of the sovereignty of parliament over the king in matters of legislation

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6
Q

What was Act of Settlement

A

1701
Established the monarchs position as ruler of England, scotland, wales & ireland
Established that the rules of succession should be determined by parliament

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7
Q

What was Act of Union

A

1707
Dissolved scottish parliament
Established the union of Great Britain & Northern Ireland

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8
Q

What were parliament acts

A

1911 & 1949
Limited the power of the HoL to delaying legislation for one year
Took about power of HoL over financial matters

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9
Q

What was the European Communities Act

A

1972

Established the UK’s entry into the European Community

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10
Q

What was the European (Notification of Withdrawl) act

A

2017

Gave parliamentary approval to the UK’s decision to leave the EU

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11
Q

What are the 4 different principles / properties of constitutions
Can a constitution have more than one principle/property

A 
Yes a constitution can more than one principle.  They are
Codified 
Entrenched
Uncodified
Unentrenched
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12
Q

What is a codified constitution

A

One which is set out in a single document and has a single source
Eg USA 1787 or France 1791 or 1946 or 1958

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13
Q

What is an entrenched constitution

A

One which has special arrangements to safeguard it from being amended by a temporary government or legislature
Eg in USA changes require approval of 2/3 both houses and 3/4 of the 50 states
In Ireland or france changes can only be made after a referendum

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14
Q

What is an uncodified constitution

A

One which is not contained in a single document and has a number of different sources
Eg UK

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15
Q

What is an unentrenched constitution

A

One that can be amended by an individual government or parliament

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16
Q

Is it correct to describe the UK constitution as unwritten

A

No. It is partly written eg constitutional statutes and partly unwritten (conventions)
It is more accurate to describe it is uncodified

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17
Q

What is parliamentary sovereignty

A

This means that legal sovereignty lies ONLY with the Parliament
Eg UK

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18
Q

Does the regining monarch have sovereignty

A

NO

The possibility that the monarch would ever try to exercise sovereignty only exisits in theory

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19
Q

What is a Unitary constitution

A

One which establishes that legal sovereignty resides in one location
Eg UK parliament

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20
Q

What is a federal constitution

A

One where legal sovereignty is divided equally between the central government and regional governments

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21
Q

What is meant by Rule of Law

A

This is the principle that all citizens are equal under the law and that the government is subject to the same laws.

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22
Q

Is power the same as sovereignty

A

No
Sovereignty referes to ultimate power which cannot be overruled by any individual, institution or constitution
Power is weaker. It is the ability to take certian actions which could in theory be overruled by a higher power eg UK Parliament is sovereign but the Prime Minister has considerable power

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23
Q

What is meant by separation of powers

A

A constitutional principle common to most codified constitutions
The powers of different branches of govt are clearly defined and separated
So different branches control each others power

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24
Q

What is the opposite of separation of powers

A

Fusion of powers

Eg UK

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25
What is the difference between the constitutional principles de jure and de facto
De jure means in theory De facto means in practice Devolution grants sovereignty to scotland de facto as it was confirmed by referendum The monach could refuse royal assent to legislation de jure but not de facto
26
Characteristics of uk constitution
``` Uncodified Not entrenched BUT rule of law applies It is unitary Powers of the legislature and executive are fused It is organic and develops naturally ```
27
What are the 5 main sources of the UK constitution
``` Parliamentary statutes Consitutional conventions Foreign treaties and agreements Authoritative works Common law and tradition ```
28
What is a parliamentary statute and give an example
``` Laws passed by parliament Human rights act 1998 Contitutional reform act 2005 Freedom of information act Equality act Parliaments act ```
29
What is a constitutional convention and give an example
Unwritten rules which are considered to be binding on all members of the political community Salisbury convention Collective cabinet responsibility
30
What are foreign treaties or agreements and give an example
Agreements with external bodies that bind the UK in some way Mastrict Treaty with EU (until 2019) European convention on human rights with council of europe NATO
31
What are authoratative works and give an example
The writings of constitutional experts that clarify the meaning of the constitution Blackstone’s commentaries. Also Bagehot or Dicey
32
What is common law or tradition and give an example
Rules that have been passed down through various judgments in court cases The rules of parliamentary procedure and discipline Freedom of expression Freedom of speech Freedom of association
33
Give 2 examples of countries with a codified constitution
``` USA Germany France Spain Russia Japan ```
34
Give 2 examples of countries without a codified constitution
UK New Zealand Israel
35
What were the reasons for the constitutional reform of 1997-2010
The political system needed to be more democratic The political system was too centralised Citizens rights were inadequately protected The political system needed to be modernised
36
Devolution reform 1997-8
The transfer of extensive powers away from westminster and Whitehall to governments and elected assemblies in scotland, wales and NI new electoral systems introduced in the three countries Scotland & Wales -additional member system northern ireland - single transferable vote
37
Human rights act 1998
Brought the european convention on human rights into UK law | Binding on all bodies except the UK parliament
38
House of Lords Act 1999
Removed the voting rights of hundreds of hereditary peers in the HoL 92 hereditary peers kept their rights Rest of HoL now made up of church of england bishops and appointed peers
39
Greater London Authority Act 1999
Introduced an elected mayor for london with extensive powers over policing, planning, social housing, emergency services, tourism etc
40
Freedom of information act 2000
Granted the legal right to individuals and organisations to access official information held by all public bodies except for information concerning national security
41
Constitution reform act 2005
This took the 12 most senior judges out of the HoL and created instead the supreme court , the highest court of of appeal and legal interpretation in the country guaranteed the independence of the judiciary, took the appointment of judges out of the political hands replaced the lord chancellor (a cabinet minister) with lord chief justice (senior judge) as head of the judiciary
42
Backbench business committee 2010
A new backbench committee in the commons given control of 35 days for debate chosen by backbenchers NOT the government
43
Why was increased use of referendums during late 1990’s - 2000’s important
Not a single event but the principle was established that important constitutional changes needed to be approved and entrenched by referendum Although not sure everyone agreed after leave vote of 2016
44
What were the Main points of constitutional reform 2010-2015
Coalition government committed to some reforms Fixed term parliaments act 2011 Wales Act 2014 Recall of MP’s act 2015
45
What was the fixed term parliament act
2011 Date of election taken out of PM’s control Elections every 5 years Early election can be called if 2/3 HoC agrees or if govt loses a vote of no confidence
46
What is Wales Act 2014
Limited extension of devolution in wales | Limited powers to raise ow forms of tax and control that revenue
47
What is recall of MPs act 2015
Gives contituents power to order their mp to face a by election if he/she has been guilty of serious misconduct
48
What has been constitutional reform post 2015
Overshaddowed by UK leaving EU Scotland act 2016 Wales act 2017 European union (notification of withdrawl) act 2017 Election of mayors in various cities and regions 2017 English votes for english laws 2017
49
What was Scotland Act
2016 Increased devolved powers of scottish govt and parliament Granted power to set rates of income tax in scotland and determine how money raised should be spent Act made devolution permanent although subject to the sovereignty of the UK parliament
50
What is Wales act
2017 Wales can determine its own electoral system (not for general elections) Welsh assembly may turn itself into a parliament and take on limited law making functions Increased powers over various public services also devolved
51
What is european union (notification of withdrawal) act 2017
Gives notice of the UK’s intention to leave the EU in march 2019
52
What is english votes for english laws act
2017 | Mp’s sitting for welsh, scottish or NI seats will not debate or vote on issues affecting England only
53
What are the main objectives of constitutional reform since 2010
Decentralise power from london and central govt Make electionsfairer To guarantee the UK’s withdrawl from the EU post 2016 referendum
54
Which govt enacted human rights act
Labour 1997-2001
55
Which government enacted fixed term parliaments act
Conservative led Coalition 2010-215
56
Which government enacted constitutional reform act
Labour 2001-2005
57
Which government enacted house of lords act
Labour 1997-2001
58
Which government enacted freedom of information act
Labour 1997-2001
59
Which government enacted english votes for english laws act
Conservative 2015
60
Definition of devolution
A process whereby power but not legal sovereignty is distributed away from central govt to regional govt
61
Which countries of the uk had power over health care administration in 2017
Scotland, wales and NI
62
Which countries of uk had power over criminal laws in 2017
Scotland and NI
63
Which countries of UK had powers over income tax in 2017
Scotland
64
Which countries in UK had power over education in 2017
Scotland, wales and NI
65
Is devolution a process or an event
Process - long term exercise
66
Give 3 arguments in favour of codifying the UK constitution
Would prevent the creeping increase in executive power Would help to improve the sefeguarding of rights Would educate people about the way in which the government and political system work Would safeguard the devolution of pwer to the national regions
67
Give 3 arguments against codifying the UK constitution
Uk would lose flexibility in its constitutional arrangements Excessive protection of rights might reduce the govts ability to protect national security Would be difficult and time consuming to organise the codifying of a aconstitution and organise public approval A codified constitution like the USA might thrust supreme court into politcal issues and threaten its neutrality and independence
68
What is the Salisbury convention
Constitutional convention under which the OoL will not oppose the second or third reading of any government legislation promised in its election manifesto

UK Politics (the Constitution, ) (5 decks)

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