Paper 2 possible essay questions

Should the UK have a codified constitution? - A codified constitution protects the rights of the people which can easily be taken away by the sovereign parliament (in 2015 the ECHR ruled in favour of the 1000 prisoners who appealed their right to vote, however, the UK government refused to comply) /An un-codified constitution is more flexible and can adapt to change, which is vital as the needs of the country are constantly changing, creating competing rights. Plus, rights in the UK are protected by convention and the risk of outcry (the implementation of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act in 2015 did somewhat infringe on freedom of movement, but the un-codified constitution allowed them to prioritise public safety under Article 5) A codified constitution would provide the high courts with greater clarity regarding constitutional laws by removing the need for precedent, which could allow the Rule of Law to be better upheld (Regina V Jogee 2015 brought to light a history of misinterpretation regarding the common law doctrine of Joint Enterprise, which led to Ameen Jogee's sentence being reduced by 8 years)/The dangers of the judiciary - a codified constitution requires the courts, which would mean that unelected judges would be directly involved in political matters (Shown by SCOTUS case: District of Columbia v. Heller 2008 in which the SC decided that people were able to keep firearms in their homes under the 2nd Amendment which was not something implicitly implied by the 'right to bear arms') TWE does the fact of parliamentary sovereignty boost UK democracy? - Parliament can easily infringe upon or remove rights (2015 Counter-terrorism and security act and overturning of ECHR ruling in 2015 regarding voting rights)/parliament is unlikely to remove rights in the short term due to risk of outcry and a focus on convention (Outcry was heard from Manchester after they were placed under strict lockdown measures in 2020 without sufficient economic support, and outcry was heard after the government broke the Sewell Convention in leaving the EU without the consent of any of the three devolved legislatures whom all refused to support the withdrawal agreement) A party with a majority can easily act upon the mandate given to them by the electorate (In 2020, Tory party was able to act upon their manifesto of 'Get Brexit Done', having won 365/650 seats in 2019)/Due to FPTP, parties don't tend to win with a majority, and therefore their mandate's do not hold much legitimacy (no party has won with more than 50% of the vote since 1935, in 2019, it was won with 43.6% and 42.4% in 2017)