Evaluate the view that constitutional reforms since 1997 can be viewed as a success.
Since 1997, the UK had a labour government, as well as a Coalition Government, with
both governments attempting to reform the constitution in diverse ways. Constitutional
reform is designed to achieve improvements and address preceding years’ problems
and issues, in a sense, constitutional reform focuses on “pressure release” allowing the
system to evolve and adapt rather than facing a revolutionary crisis among the public. I
strongly believe the constitutional reforms has aided with the UK becoming more
democratic in ways such as the devolution of Scotland and Wales, alongside the
freedom of Information Act of 2000. Contrastingly it can also be argued that reform has
made the UK less democratic due to the voter apathy, leading to a lower legitimacy in
government.
Firstly, devolution was the key aspect of labours post-1997 reforms and is believed to be
the most significant act in terms of the effectiveness it had on the constitution.
Devolution is the act in which power is transferred from Westminster parliament to each
individual body of government in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, excluding
ultimate sovereignty as this always lies with parliament. This act gave those individual
bodies their own rights and powers within their regions, separate from Westminster
parliament. there is also the aspect of regional devolution, providing cities, towns, and
districts within England with the opportunity to elect mayors, this had a positive effect
on the constitutional reforms as it gave smaller areas more help in their own aspects,
such as improving community policing, improved public transport, and growth in the
arts scene in the capital. The impact of a decentralised government has made it easier
for parliament to deal with bigger and more impactful issues, without the need to push
smaller places behind in the “queue” waiting to be heard. This aspect has had a
successful impact of the constitutional reforms. However, with the factor that
government has been divided and decentralised, this may lead to a major difference in
opinions across the UK, especially if acts and laws are put into place creating conflict,
which can further lead to a revolutionary crisis, the crisis the government aims to avoid.
I believe that devolution is a large factor in constitutional reform success as it has
enhanced UK democracy, with issues being more region specific – due to this, citizens
are more likely to vote on issues more sensitive to them and their hometowns than
being flooded with many issues across the country. It has also been successful in the
fact that most devolved bodies crave their nationalism, and with these devolutions, they
can gain that without the entirety of the UK being affected. An example of this stems
from Scottish devolution, in the sense that a referendum was called in 2014 on full
Since 1997, the UK had a labour government, as well as a Coalition Government, with
both governments attempting to reform the constitution in diverse ways. Constitutional
reform is designed to achieve improvements and address preceding years’ problems
and issues, in a sense, constitutional reform focuses on “pressure release” allowing the
system to evolve and adapt rather than facing a revolutionary crisis among the public. I
strongly believe the constitutional reforms has aided with the UK becoming more
democratic in ways such as the devolution of Scotland and Wales, alongside the
freedom of Information Act of 2000. Contrastingly it can also be argued that reform has
made the UK less democratic due to the voter apathy, leading to a lower legitimacy in
government.
Firstly, devolution was the key aspect of labours post-1997 reforms and is believed to be
the most significant act in terms of the effectiveness it had on the constitution.
Devolution is the act in which power is transferred from Westminster parliament to each
individual body of government in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, excluding
ultimate sovereignty as this always lies with parliament. This act gave those individual
bodies their own rights and powers within their regions, separate from Westminster
parliament. there is also the aspect of regional devolution, providing cities, towns, and
districts within England with the opportunity to elect mayors, this had a positive effect
on the constitutional reforms as it gave smaller areas more help in their own aspects,
such as improving community policing, improved public transport, and growth in the
arts scene in the capital. The impact of a decentralised government has made it easier
for parliament to deal with bigger and more impactful issues, without the need to push
smaller places behind in the “queue” waiting to be heard. This aspect has had a
successful impact of the constitutional reforms. However, with the factor that
government has been divided and decentralised, this may lead to a major difference in
opinions across the UK, especially if acts and laws are put into place creating conflict,
which can further lead to a revolutionary crisis, the crisis the government aims to avoid.
I believe that devolution is a large factor in constitutional reform success as it has
enhanced UK democracy, with issues being more region specific – due to this, citizens
are more likely to vote on issues more sensitive to them and their hometowns than
being flooded with many issues across the country. It has also been successful in the
fact that most devolved bodies crave their nationalism, and with these devolutions, they
can gain that without the entirety of the UK being affected. An example of this stems
from Scottish devolution, in the sense that a referendum was called in 2014 on full
