2. Constitution

• define constitution

  a set of laws and guidelines setting out how a political system works and where power is located within
• define an uncodified constitution

  it is not set out in a single document, it is derrives from many unwritten and written sources.
• define an entrenched constitution

  protected by a higher court and requiring special procedures to ammend it, said to have a higher status
• define a unitary constitution 


  all legal sovereignty is contained in the same place
• describe the nature of the UK constitution

  • uncodified
  • entrenched
  • unitary
• when was the magna carta signed

  1215
• when was the parliament acts created

  1911 and 1949
• when was the acts of union created

  1707
• when was the act of settlement created

  1701
• when was the european communities act created


  1972
• what is parliamentary sovereignty


  ultimate authority rests with parliament, in the absence of a codified constitution it is parliament who defines what the constitution is
• what is the rule of law

  • no one is above the law
  • equality before the law
  • the law is always applied
  • legal redress is only available through the courts
• define political sovereignty 


  the ultimate decision lies on policies to pursue are made by the government as elected by the people
• what are the constraints of parliamentary sovereignty

  • pressure groups
  • public opinion
  • international opinions
  • policies of international bodies
• define popular sovereignty

  the principle that supreme authority is vested in the people directly rather than in a representative institution
• legal sovereignty


  the person or state that holds ultimate legal sovereignty from the constitution which is currently held by parliament
• what are the sources of the UK constitution

  • statute law
  • common law
  • conventions
  • authoritative works
• why was reform to the constitution needed

  • labour had been in opposition for 18 years an so their 1997 campaign was focused on reforming and modernising the old institutions
• Labour's modernisation in 1997

  • sympathetic to constitutional reform as part of their campaign
  • old labour had accepted some reforms such as an expansion of the franchise to 18 year olds
  • New Labour was also more accepting of requests from pressure groups such as unlock democracy who wanted a more open democracy to guarantee citizens right
• what was the conservative rule like pre 1997

  • the government had refused to take constitutional reforms which helped to build up pressure and desire for change
  • in scotland especially people felt ignored due to a distant government and the poll tax was very unpopular
  • a number of scandals led peoples distrust in traditional institutions such as the 'cash for questions scandal'
• new labour reform to the HoL after 1997 was...

  incomplete

  • the reform removed the bias within the house of lords created by hereditary peers who inherited their status and were often conservatives
  • the reform brought an opportunity for labour to take a more equal standing within government
  • no political party had a dominant position in the lords
  • after 2000 a house of lords commission nominated a proportion of peers who were not liked with the party on political grounds
• new labour reform to the electoral voting system was...

  mostly failed

  • reforms introduced into many major governments electoral systems although Westminster failed to change their arrangements.
  • voting reforms were created without showing any real change
  • labour significantly benefit from first past the post system
• new labour reforms to devolution in 1997 were...

  incomplete

  • they aimed to reduce SNP independence but ultimately failed
  • the first stride into devolved power/assembly leaving much room for growth
• new labour reforms to the HRA in 1997 were...

  success

  • it incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK statute law which ensured rights such as that to a fair trial
  • it meant all future legislation had to be compatible with the ECHR, while judges can't strike down incompatible laws they can highlight legislation for parliament to amend
• what demonstrated the limitations of the HRA from 1997-2010

  • governments decision to 'derogate from' Article 5 which gives individuals the right to liberty and security, this was in a case of suspected terrorism
  • in 2005 control orders were introduced which allowed authorities to limit the freedom of movement for such individuals which took advantage of our unentrenched constitution
• what did new labour reform about the creation of the supreme court from 1997-2010

  success

  • 2005 the Constitutional Reform Act led to the establishment (4 years later) of a Supreme Court as the highest court of appeal in the UK for civil and criminal cases
  • Previously senior judges known as the law lords (sitting in the HoL) had performed this function. 
  • This development is an example of the separation of powers - the idea that the different branches of government should be independent of each other
• how did the coalition reform the HoL

  failed

  • it was blocked by a rebellion on 91 conservative backbenchers
  • MP reduction was incomplete as it was blocked by liberal MPs due to it favouring conservatives
  • due to be enforced for the general election in 2020
• how did the coalition reform electoral voting

  failed

  • 68% rejected the lib dems proposal for AV
  • although this result seemed to be more people voting against the party than the actual voting system
• how did the coalition reform devolution

  success

  • Welsh assembly reviewed direct law making ability in all 20 areas
  • scotland has a 55% vote to stay in the UK so cameron pledged to grant scottish parliament more powers
• how did the coalition reform the fixed term parliaments act

  failure

  • theresa may showed it was possible for a PM to get around the act
  • ended historical power of the PM to chose the date of an election
  • it was removed in 2022
• how did the coalition reform the HoC

  success

  • beckbench business committee was created which choses topics for debate including some proposed by petitions with over 10,000 signatures
  • the first such debate was triggered after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 in justice of the 96 liverpool fans who died
• why is there a case to refuse further constitutional reform

  • current settlement protects the rights of citizens and recognises desire for autonomy
  • enables the election of 'strong' governments that are able to act in the nations interest
  • lack of clear agreement on the direction reform should take
• why is there not a case for further constitutional reform

  • the UK is out of step with other western democracies and has an imperfect electoral system
  • a federal solution would be more logical for the problems of devolution
  • citizens need greater clarity on the nature of their rights and to be protected from government actions
• arguments for reform to a codified and entrenched constitution

  • codifying would inform the public about issues promoting a greater respect for the institution
  • constitutional court would exist to judge the actions of government and parliament to assess if they are in line with a clear set of rules
  • an entrenched bill of rights would provide a greater level of protection for individual liberties and also ensure citizens have a greater clarity of their rights and powers
• arguments against reform for a codified constitution

  • there is no current public demand for dramatic change and ours is far more detailed as the written aspects are based on academic works and Acts of Parliament
  • entrenchment would make amending the constitution very difficult but would ensure a more orderly process and reduce the chances of minority governments pushing through changes
  • a high level of power would be put in the hands of unelected judges when interpreting the constitution and it would also directly challenge parliamentary sovereignty binding future parliaments