UK Facts

• codified - the standardisation and collection of the constitution into a single document (eg the US constitution)
• Uncodified - a constitution that is not contained in a single document (eg UK constitution)
• Constitution - the rules by which parliament and the country must act
• Parliamentary Sovereignty - The idea that parliament (not the PM or Monarch) has power over the running and legislation of a country
• The Rule of Law - the idea that the law is applied fairly and equally across all people including the government. This is controlled by the courts
• The UK constitution is uncodified and comes from several sources including constitutional statute law, common law, royal prerogative, conventions, works of authority, international agreements and authoritative opinions
• Constitutional Statute Law - laws on matters such as who can vote and human rights. eg. Representation of the People Act (1969) allowing all 18 year olds to vote.
• Common law - Laws derived from senior judges to assist in the judicial system
• Royal Prerogative - the remaining powers of the monarch, separate from parliament, that do not require parliamentary permission but can be limited by parliament. All laws that are passed in the UK must be signed off by the reigning monarch
• Conventions - Unwritten agreements, usually within parliament, that allow it to run more smoothly and efficiently eg. the Salisbury - Addison convention, that allowed Labour PM Clement Atlee to go ahead with his campaign promises (including the NHS) despite being in a Tory majority government
• Works of Authority - Books or other texts that direct how a parliament ought to function as well as the duties of ministers eg. "The Cabinet Manual" (2010) which organised how the coalition government ought to function
• International agreements sometimes direct the constitution leading to a decrease in parliamentary sovereignty; this was one of the causes of Brexit
• Authoritative opinions are opinions or beliefs that are believed to be the final authority on certain matters. They do not hold the same amount of power as laws and can easily be overruled
• Scrutiny of the Executive - The executive is accountable to parliament through the scrutiny of the house of commons
• Commons - The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament
• Lords - The upper house of the parliament
• MPs - elected members of parliament, work in the commons, represent a constituency
• Peers - members of the House of Lords, who are appointed by the monarch and are not elected
• Burkean Theory of Representation - The elected should act as a representative of the beliefs of the people, but representatives should use their own expertise and experience to best serve them
• Delegate Theory - elected officials act as a Mouthpiece for their constituents and should accurately represent their views
• Parliament defined select committees role as "To hold Ministers and Departments to account for their policy and decision making and to support the house in its control in the supply of public money and scrutiny of legislation"
• core executive - the cabinet and PM, responsible for making decisions and implementing them
• Prime minister - The head of the government, who is elected by the House of Commons
• primus inter pares - first amongst equals, describes the role of the PM
• Cabinet - A group of 20-25 ministers who advise the Prime Minister on policy and make decisions on behalf of the government. they meet weekly
• Confidence and supply agreement - A formal agreement between a government and a party to ensure that the government can pass legislation where the secondary party agrees to support the government on major issues in return for support on certain issues
• Cabinet committees - specialist subdivisions of the cabinet comprising fewer members who focus on particular policy areas
• Patronage powers - Ability to appoint individuals to key offices
• Inner cabinet - small core of ministers who the PM particularly relies on for advice or support. simplifies things but opens up to a yes men culture
• cabinet reshuffle - when a PM changes the ministers roles in cabinet
• collective responsibility - requires that all members of the cabinet and government support the PM and government in policy to create a united front
• individual responsibility - the requirement that all ministers are responsible for their own actions while in public office, when they fail they are expected to resign
• ministerial accountability - the convention at ministers must explain and justify their actions and decision particularly before parliament and committees
• Accountability - the requirement to explain and respond to any actions that ministers and their departments undertake above all to parliament
• Policy is usually made for one of the following reasons:

  • Political - party promises, manifestoes etc.
  • Personal - ministers' personal convictions
  • Popular - according referenda and changing cultures
  • External - emergency situations and world events
• The Ministerial Code includes: Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty and Leadership
• Separation of powers - This doctrine requires that the three elements of government power be held by separate branches of government in order to prevent tyranny
• Judicial independence - the principle that those in the judiciary should be free from political control
• Judicial impartiality - Judges should operate without personal bias
• Judicial review - the process by which judges review the actions of public officials or bodies in order to determine whether they have acted lawfully