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UK constitution
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| magna carta date | june 1215 |
| magna carta aims | -equality of all including the king - redifine relationship between monarch and subject - underlines right of liberty in the uk - lawful judgment |
| magna carta today | clauses has been repealed and reframed on many occasions, some still remain |
| magna carta criticisms | the importance may be only symbolic becuase it says nbothing about free spech , personal privacy, religious freedom, peaceful protests, and offers no redress when rights are infringed |
| bill of rights date | 1689 |
| bill of rights aims | - binds monarch to the rule of law and respect the statutes - clariflies role of parliament - free election - free speech in parliament - regular parliament |
| act of settlement year | 1701 |
| act of settlement aims | - lays down terms of line of succession - states you cannot marry a catholic - parliament decides judges - monarch cant reverse subject of impeachment - no crownholder or official can sit in the commons |
| act of settlement tosay | you can now marry a catholic if you are a royual, changed in 2013 |
| acts of union date | 1706-7 |
| act of union aims | - form one aprliament between scotland and england -- tries to expand british empire |
| acts of union today | - there are 2 seperate parliaments 1997 - Sns want refferenum] |
| parliament act 1 date | 1911 |
| parliament act 1 aims | - - stops house of lords delaying for too long- form 7 years to 5 years, stops them vetoing money bills (after delaying peoples budget for 2 yrs) |
| parliament act 2 date | 1949 |
| parliament act 2 aims | - a more harsh version of the first parliament act which cut down the lords delay powers from 2 to 1 years. This was due to seeking to protect its plans to nationalise iron and steel industries |
| european communities act date | 1972 |
| european communities act aims | - uks accession to the european economic commuity established by treaty of rme (1958) membership conffered on new years day 1973 |
| codified constitution | us, written one time in one document, very hard to change |
| uncodified constitution | uk, added on since c13, constantly changing |
| what is a constitution | a supreme law that establishes, organizes and empoowers the government and determines how other laws are made and implimented- harder to change so those in power casnr jus change it as the go along |
| why do we need a constitution | it sets out rules for the government to prevent corruption |
| how does a constitution organize power | - splits into exectutive, legislative and judiciary - difines power of each institution and regulate relationship between them - ensures power is rotated (by elections) - also sets up neutral institutions (e.g. police and military) |
| FUNCTION 1 | - set out rules and guidelines for conducting elections,where its held, what time, division of seasts, etc. |
| FUNCTION 2 | - the relationships between key institutions |
| FUNCTION 3 | - location of sovreignty |
| FUNCTION 4 | -ways in which constitution can be ammended |
| FUNCTION 5 | - a statement of rights of citizens and how redress can be gained |
| FUNCTION 6 | - overall type of government |
| FUNCTION 7 | - what the nation stands for |
| entrenched | where laws or constitutional provisions are afforded greater protection from arbitrary change than regular statutes. |
| unentrenched | where the constitution does not hold a higher value than a statute and can be easily ammended e.g. in an act of parliament |
| uncodified | - where the constitution is not set out in a single authoritative document |
| codified | - a single authoritative document setting out the rules that govern the state |
| unitary state | a state where the ultimate power of sovreignty resides within the central government- contrasts fedralism |
| twin pillars | rule of law parliamentary sovreignty |
| rule of law | the priciple that no one is above the law |
| parliamentary sovreignty | the principle that all power is held in parliament |
| 4 featues of the uk constitution | -uncodified -union/ unitary state -twin pillars -unentrenched |
| the sources of the uk constitution | -parliamentary statutes -constitutional conventions -historic principles and authoritative wrfitings -customs and traditions -treaties including eu law |
| what are constitutional statutes | -act of patliament that establish constitutional principals -dont look different to other statutes and doesnt include constitutional statute in wording |
| scotlans and wales acts 1998 | (gave these countries more powers |
| equal franchise act 1928 | full and equal right for women to vote |
| LIFE PEERAGES act 1958 | introduced appointment of life peers to add to heriditary peerage |
| house of lords act 1999 | cut hereditary peers down to 92 |
| freedom of information act 2000 | introduced rights of citizerns to see all official documents not excluded on grounds of national security |
| fixed term parliament act 2011 | have to be every five years except for if parliament has a vote of no confidence in gov, |
| what are constitutional conventions | an unwritten rule that is considered binding on all members of the political community- could be challenged in law but rarely are because of strong moral force |
| the silsbury convention | states house of lords should not block legislation that appeared in party's recent manifesto |
| collective responsibility | means all members of government must support official policy in public or resign or face dismissal (can be suspended in natuional debates e.g. brexit) |
| government formation | -following the election the queen must invite the leader of the largest party to commons to form gov. |
| military convention | mp must cionsulot parliament before taking serious militery action-started with david cameron in 2013 |
| main historics principles and authoritative writings | -sovreignity of parliament (blackstone) -rule of law (a.v. dicey) -rules of how to draw up coilition (gus o'donell) |
| common law | legal principles layed down by judges in their rulings in court cases which provide precedents for future cases |
| examples of common law | innocent until proven guilty human rights (before act)7 |
| treaties` | an agreement made between 2 or more countries main = treaties of rome |
| stage 1 of the house of lords reform | -removal of heriditary peers- this didnt work, however 1999 HoL acts reduced heriditary peers to only 92, many of which gaining right to stay not because of birth but because of merit |
| stage 2 of the house of lords reform | -be an elected or partly elected chamber- didnt get political consensus so didnt happen |
| reform of the commons | -2004- chairs of select committees got additional salary to raise their staus -2010- elected members (by other mps) of select committees |
| why did they incorperate ECHR into british law | -desire for uk constitution to be in line with other people in europe7 -wanted special arrangements to protect individual rights -increase of powers of police and judiciary in 80s and 90s seen as major threat to our rights |
| other reasons for ECHR in brit law | -uk gov in ECHR (court) 50+ times since '66 and lost most times- embarrass -gov. wanted act. citizen. (look after their community and country) so expect rights understood and safe guarded in return -devolution bound by convention- no threat to countries |
| 3 main ways of electoral reform | -franchise - right to vote- wanted to reduce to 16] (didnt get enough support) -way in which people vote and rules- wanted. compols. voting (not enough support) -electoral system- wanted proportional rep. (got in local elections and in devolved states) |
| who first wanted proportinal representation | - liberal party (former to lib dems) in 1974 |
| when did the issue remmerge | -in 1997 when devolution was being considered- wales, scotland and NI now hav this system |
| when was the issue recently brought up | 2010- lib dems wanted it again- 2011 ref. for alternative vote - v decisive` |
| what happened to the greatyer london council in 1985 | they were abolished |
| what did the people of london vote for in 2000 | the introduction of an elected ,ayor and assembly |
| how the mayor and assembly works | -mayor controls allocation of funds to different uses in london - funds distributed and administered by elected assembly of 25 - assembly has power to veto proposals if ⅔ of majority want to - AMS no possibility of single party having overall majority |
| which act reformed the judiciary | the constitutional reforms act 2005 |
| 3 main effects of act | -seperation of judiciary and gov. -supreme court -appointmrnt of senior judges |
| 2 parts of freedom of information | -right to see data held about you by public bodies (under data protection act 1998 didnt come int oforce until 2005) -ability to see information that is held by government and its agencies- limited. (freedom of information act 2000) |
| constitutional reforms | - fixed term parliament - elected mayors - elected police commisioners - city devolution outside london -recall of mps -uk and eu |
| fixed term parliament | - 2010 act removed primw ministers power to determine the date of general elections. eaxh parliament should, except under exceptional circumstances, last for 5 years |
| english votes for english law (EVEL) | change in parliamentary procedure that means that MPs from Scottish consticuencies will not be allowed to vote on issues that affect england, or england and wales |
| recall of mps | if an mp is imprisoned or suspended from the house of commons for misbehaviour, a petition signed by 10% of voters in constit. can trigger a by-electiin |
| pros of cities given more power | -local democ= closer to people - local needs vary -UK is too london centred -boost to local democracy |
| cons of cities given more power | -central control (CC)=all places in uk recieve same quality setrvice -CC of finance stops local gov from spending irresponsibly or overspending -turnout of local council and mayoral election v low, not held accountable -might jeopardise uk's unity |
| devolution | the process of delegating power, but not sovreignty, from the parliament through a constitutional statute. therefore a transfer of power without eroding sovreignty of parliament |
| assymetrical | each nation the power is devolved wih a different amount |
| 3 categories of power | -legislative -administrative -financial |
| scotlans powers before 1997 | -had administrative powers since c19, had their own laws but they were made by westminster |
| 1997 refferendum for devolution in scotland | -74% wanted, 60% turnout |
| Scotland Act 1998 gave power over | -nhs -edu -roads + pub transport -crim + civ law -policing -local authorities -vary rate of income tax upor down by 3% -other misc powers |
| scotland act 2016 (followed 2014 ref) | -increased areas in which scott parl can pass laws -reg. of energy industry -range of welfare services including housing and disability -half reciepts from vat -income tax rates and reciepts -air pass duty + revenue -some bis tax |
| what happened after brexit | sxcot wants more power |
| wales ref 1997 | 50.5% for, 50% turnout |
| government of wales act 1998 | -gave wales purely administrative assembly control of -nhs -pub. transport -edu -agriculture -local authorities given grant annualy from uk gov |
| what happened with wales in 2015 | -wales can control up to £3b on income tax per anum |
| act between 2 main ones | gov of wales act 2006 |
| gov of wales act 2014 | -ref to decide control of income tax -control var. tax inc. bis, stamp duty on prop. sales, landfill tax -limited power to borrow money or open markets to invest in major projects + housing |
| what was settlement part of | wider resolution of 30 yrs of conflict between republican (catholic) and loyalist (protesstant) |
| history of devolved gov in NI | -between 1921-72 -controled education, welfare, NHS, policing, crim + civ law, housing, local gov -increasing violence in 70s, dissolved in '72 |
| belfast agreement 1998 | -assembly elected by proprtional rep. -all major parties garunteed place powers: passage of laws, edu admin, NHS, transport, plice, agri, sposorship of arts |
| when and why was this assembly dissolved | -2002-2007 as tensions increased between 2 comms leading to lack of communication |
| is it the lord chancellors job to select suprteme court justicesx | -no |
| what budgetary powers does the mayor of manchester have | -relocate budget into health |
| differences made by devolution in scotland | -dominant party= SNP -personal csare for elderly= free -perscriptions=free -uni=free -greater restrictions onf ox hunting |
| differences made by devolution in wales | -school league tables not published -free perscriptions for u25s -free school milk for under 7s -greater hel0p for homeless -free home care for elderly |
| differences made by devolution in northern irelanfdd | -republic and loyalists have to share power -gay marriage not recognised -greater restrictions to abortion -perscriptions = free -schools based on either catholicism or protestantism |
| Codified constitutions give clarity | Easy and exact to refer to |
| Codified constitutions limit gov | Hold gov accountable, no forcing through unfair laws, takes away parliamentary supremacy |
| Codified constitutions give higher, entrenched law | 2 types of law, better protection of rights, like conservatives proposed bill of rights to replace HRA in 2010 |
| Judicial interpretation and codified constitution | If need change could through precedence |
| Uncodified constitutions are adaptable | Allows huge new changes to happen |
| Uncodified constitutions make gov | More powerful |
| Codified constitutions give judges | Too much power |
| Uk is not facong | Political uproar fpr this change |
| the barnett formula | the way tax spending allocation is worked out to devolved regbion |
| quasi-federalism | when it would be really hard for central power to be regained from devolved reasons |
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