UK Government

• referendum


  an example of direct democracy, where a question that is decided by putting it to a public vote
• parliamentary sovereignty

  a principle of the UK Constitution, making Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK that creates or ends any laws
• house of commons

  the democratically elected house of the UK parliament, responsible for making any laws and checking the work of government
• house of lords

  the upper house/second chamber of parliament
• life peer


  a member of the house of lords, nominated by the Prime Minister, who cannot pass down their title
• Constitution


  the laws, rules and practices that set out the way in which a state is organised
• Codified constitution

  the constitution is all recorded within one document, like the USA
• Uncodified constitution


  the constitution is recorded in several documents, like the UK
• Unitary Constitution


  most of the power lies within the centre, mainly the Westminster parliament

  • the development of devolution in the UK has weakened the unitary formation
• Federal Constitution

  considerable power lies in individual states like the USA and Germany
• The Rule Of Law


  the law applies to everyone equally, including those who make them

  • Indeed AV Dicey referred to parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law as the ’Twin Pillars‘ of the GB Constitution