rebecca- nature of the UK constitution

• Uncodified constitution


  • The laws, rules, and principles of how a state is to be governed are NOT gathered in a single document
  • Found in a variety of sources, some written and some unwritten
  • UK, Israel, and New Zealand are the only 3 countries in the world to have an uncodified constitution
• UK unentrenchment

  • Not possible to entrench constitutional principles because the UK parliament is sovereign
  • Sovereignty of Parliament allows each individual parliament to change the constitution as it wishes
  • Majority government can effectively control the constitution by dominating Parliament
• Fixed Term Parliaments Act, 2011


  There were 2 provisions that allowed for an early election:

  1. A vote of no confidence

  2. ⅔ of the HoC call for one
• Repeal of the Fixed Term Parliament Act, 2022

  1. Revived the prerogative powers that allow the government to call an election at a time of their choosing

  2. Ensured that Parliament would automatically dissolve 5 years after it first met
• Unitary Government in the UK

  • In a unitary constitution, sovereignty lies in one single place
  • The UK has a unitary constitution but sovereignty is not located in an entrenched constitution
  • Easy to change the distribution of power among individuals and bodies