A-level Politics

• Human Rights Act

  1998 - incorporated ECHR into UK law
• Magna Carta


  1215 - established everyone (including the king) was subject to law
• Bill of Rights


  1689 - gave parliamentary privilege to MPs and free speech
• Act of Settlement


  1701 - parliament is dominant - monarchy existed on parliament's terms
• Parliament Acts


  1911 and 1949 - Reduced rights and powers of house of Lords eventually resulting in lords only being able to delay legislation for one year.
• European Communities Act


  1972 - Uk joined European economic Community - ( EU )
• Wales Act


  2014 - created and expanded devolved powers
• Scotland Act


  2016 - created and expanded powers of devolved assembly
• House of Lords Act


  1999 - removed most hereditary peers
• Data Protection Act


  1998 - protects against misuse of personal details.
• Freedom of Information Act

  2000 - required public bodies to publish and make requested non sensitive information public
• General Data Protection Regulation

  2018 - EU on privacy of data and protection of data for all individuals in the EU
• European Withdrawal Act


  2018 - repealing the European Communities Act 1972 and parliamentary approval for BREXIT negotiations between government and EU to take place
• Fixed - Term Parliament Act

  2011 - parliament needed a vote of 2/3 majority to call another (snap) general election.
• 2017 ( Theresa May undermines Fixed Term Parliament Act)


  Calls a snap election
• Health Select Committee recommends a number of measures to reduce child obesity - in 1 month the government acted

  May 2018
• 2016 report by work and pensions committee

  caused collapse of BHS and company owners were reported to the pensions regulator
• example of cabinet reshuffle

  April 2019 - sacking of gavin Williamson led to penny mordaunt to become defence secretary after a reshuffle.
• reduction of cabinet committees

  2017 - to 5 cabinet committees with 4 chaired by PM
• manifesto pledge confidence and supply deal

  2017 election - Theresa May struck a deal with DUP promising additional funding for northern Ireland in return for confidence votes
• 2013 avoid resignation for IMR

  Ian Duncan Smith blamed civil servants for IT failings following a bad national Audit office report on the introduction of universal credit
• Priti Patel - Breaking ministerial Code

  2017 - sacked as international development secretary - as she held secret meetings with Israeli ministers while on holiday in Israel and did not inform the PM
• collective cabinet responsibility suspended e.g

  2016- Cameron did before EU referendum as there was a large divide in cabinet over the matter
• public breach of CCR e.g

  Ken Clarke and Theresa May breached this in 2010 about the future of the HRA
• resignation over IMR


  1954 - Dugdale - Agriculture Minister - resigned over flaws by civil servants purchasing farmland for a military airfield. Dugdale assumed IMR even though he had nothing to do with the issue and resigned
• minister resignation over CCR

  2016 - Ian Duncan Smith - Work and Pensions Secretary - resigned as he could not support policy to cut disability benefits.
• minister resignation over ill health

  January 2018 - James Brokenshire resigned due to cancer treatment
• Minister resigns over personal scandal

  2017 - Michael Fallon as defense secretary - sexual misconduct
• Resignations since Theresa May 2017 snap election

  50 ministerial resignations - 33 over BREXIT
• Tax policy Under Thatcher

  1990 Poll tax - decreased support for thatcher
• Margeret Thatcher Resignation


  Nov 1990 - failed to secure enough votes against Michael Hesseltine
• Invasion of Iraq

  2003 - Bush told Blair that Saddam Hussein had weapons of Mass Destruction - British and US troops went to fight, but there was a civil war after and troops had to remain in iraq
• Britain withdraws troops from Iraq

  2011
• Blair Resignation


  2007
• all judges from this point are appointed by the JAC

  Since 2006
• mid 2018 number of BAME judges in UK Supreme Court


  0
• Supreme Court Set up

  2009 following constitutional Reform act of 2005
• Constitutional Reform Act


  2005 - Reformed Lord Chancellor, Appointment of Judges, and introduced framework for Supreme Court
• Horncastle Case


  2009 - use of statements from witnesses not present in the court - Supreme Court sent this case back to Strasbourg as they said it was unfair - This influenced the EU ct of HR
• Miller V. Secretary of State for exiting the EU

  2017 - Article 50 case - ruling was parliament must have a vote on triggering Article 50 - reinforced p. sovereignty