What are the nature and sources of the British constitution?
Definition:
A constitution is a body of laws rules and principles of how a country should be governed.
- The UK has an un-codified constitution (the laws, rules and principles of how a state
should be governed are not gathered in a single document).
- Our constitution can be summarised in major works of authority, eg; Erskine Mays,
‘’Parliamentary Practice’’ or more recently, ‘’The Cabinet Manual’’ (2010)
Some conventions date back as far as the Anglo Saxons (Witan= Cabinet) or under Norman
Rule (‘’chancellor of the exchequer’’), however most people regard the 1214 signing of the
Magna Carta as the definitive start to our constitutional development.
The sources of our constitution can be divided into 6 main groups; SCCREW
Statute law
Common law
Conventions
Royal prerogative
European Law
Works of authority
Statute law- acts of parliament that effect and alter the British constitution or laws that
impact on civil liberties. (Key acts of parliament)
1. Legislation on individual rights and involvement of the monarch
The Bill of Rights (1689)
- sets out basic civil rights and clarifies who will next inherit the crown
- Removed royal interference in elections
- Placed limits on the use of the royal prerogative
- Formally established the principle of parliamentary sovereignty (this is paramount to
forming a key part of our constitution, a unitary state, where all power derives from
central government)
- Basic human rights (the right to freedom from cruel or unusual punishment)
The Act of Settlement 1701
- Established the principle of judicial independence (judges could not be removed
without the consent of parliament)
- The monarch could not make decisions alone and had to consult the full privy council
- Extended parliamentary sovereignty (granting parliament the power to choose the
monarch)
- Established the rule of law (where everyone is subject to the same laws), identifying Britain as a
modern liberal democracy (A.V Dicey described this as one of the ‘’twin pillars’’ of the
constitution.
, 2. The composition and structure of parliament
1911 parliament act (reduced HoL power)
- Gave the commons exclusive powers over money bills
- Only allowed the lords to delay a bill for two years
- Reduced the duration of a parliament from 7 to 5 years
1949 parliament act (reduced the time the HoL could delay bills from 2-1 years)
3. The electoral process
The representation of the people’s act (1918)
- Extended the franchise to all men over 21 and women over 30 with property
qualifications
Representation of the people’s act (1928)
- Extended the franchise to women over 21
4. Recent major statute laws
- The Human Rights Act 1998
- HoL act 1999 (removal of all but 92 hereditary peers)
- Devolution eg; Wales Act 2014 and the Scotland Act 2016
Common law (is law that derives from judicial decisions of courts, arising as precedent)
Murder and manslaughter are both common law (they are crimes because judges have
always said they are un-lawful, not because parliament said it was)
Works of authority/ historical milestones:
Magna Carta, 1214 (reduced the monarchs power)
Eg; The King could not raise taxes without the consent of the people, the nobles could select
a committee of 25 to scrutinise the actions of the king + ensured the right to trial by jury
was guaranteed as well as justice having to be free and fair
Parliamentary sovereignty under Henry the 8th (This is a principle not a source)
- Henry made parliament sovereign in order to justify his break from Rome, claiming
the break was justified as it was supported by ‘’the will of the people’’
,Conventions (un-written traditions):
The Salisbury convention (created between 1945-1951)- ensures the HoL will not oppose
the 2nd/3rd reading of any government legislation promised in its manifesto. (Developed by
Lord Salisbury in 1945 to prevent the conservative majority in the HoL preventing
democracy from the huge Labour majority in the commons)
The granting of royal assent to all bills passed through both houses (developed due to
George I speaking no English and relying hugely on political advisors)
EU law:
The European Communities Act (1972):
- Allowed EEC law to automatically become domestic law
- No UK law could conflict with EU law (meaning it had priority)
- We joined three institutions (The European Economic Community (the common
market), The European Coal and Steel Community, The European Atomic Energy
Community)
, Have recent constitutional changes been a success?
Freedom of information act (2000):
Requires public bodies (eg; gov departments, the NHS etc) to
- Publish and make publicly available certain information about their activities
- Allow members of the public to request information from these public authorities via
a freedom of information request (FOI)
It aims to promote transparency among public bodies from tax payer’s money. Also aiming
to boost public trust in the organisations. Its workings are overlooked by the independent
Information Commissioners Office (ICO)
Strengths-
- FOI are used frequently (45,000 made in 2016)
- Allows identification of inefficiency and corruption. Eg; the 2009 identification of the
expenses scandal. Other examples include, the Manchester Evening News revealing
that the BBC Manchester office spent £110,000 on free tea and coffee every year.
This enables scrutiny of policy initiatives.
Weaknesses-
- Public bodies can and often do refuse requests for public information, if it’s in the
interest of national security
- Conflicts are often also denied due to the release of private/ personal information.
Therefore, the act leads to a conflict between an individual’s rights to privacy and
the right of the public to gain access to information about public officials
- In 2016 37% of all requests were denied and for 14% of the requests only part of the
information was revealed
Fixed term parliaments act (2011):
Fixed parliament terms to 5 years. Reduced the power of the PM to call a snap election, as
parliament now needs to vote by a 2/3rds majority to call an early general election.
Strengths-
- It is aimed to enhance the stability of a potentially fragile coalition gov by reducing
the power of the PM to call a snap election when his parties polls are high
- This makes it fairer on the junior member of the coalition (eg; the 2010 liberal
democrats) as they would not have to face an early election with no say in timing
Weaknesses-
- If the PM calls a snap election, it is un-likely not to pass
- Theresa May did exactly what the act was designed not to do by calling a snap
election in 2017 (when polls showed a 20% Tory lead). The vote to have won passed
522 to 13
Definition:
A constitution is a body of laws rules and principles of how a country should be governed.
- The UK has an un-codified constitution (the laws, rules and principles of how a state
should be governed are not gathered in a single document).
- Our constitution can be summarised in major works of authority, eg; Erskine Mays,
‘’Parliamentary Practice’’ or more recently, ‘’The Cabinet Manual’’ (2010)
Some conventions date back as far as the Anglo Saxons (Witan= Cabinet) or under Norman
Rule (‘’chancellor of the exchequer’’), however most people regard the 1214 signing of the
Magna Carta as the definitive start to our constitutional development.
The sources of our constitution can be divided into 6 main groups; SCCREW
Statute law
Common law
Conventions
Royal prerogative
European Law
Works of authority
Statute law- acts of parliament that effect and alter the British constitution or laws that
impact on civil liberties. (Key acts of parliament)
1. Legislation on individual rights and involvement of the monarch
The Bill of Rights (1689)
- sets out basic civil rights and clarifies who will next inherit the crown
- Removed royal interference in elections
- Placed limits on the use of the royal prerogative
- Formally established the principle of parliamentary sovereignty (this is paramount to
forming a key part of our constitution, a unitary state, where all power derives from
central government)
- Basic human rights (the right to freedom from cruel or unusual punishment)
The Act of Settlement 1701
- Established the principle of judicial independence (judges could not be removed
without the consent of parliament)
- The monarch could not make decisions alone and had to consult the full privy council
- Extended parliamentary sovereignty (granting parliament the power to choose the
monarch)
- Established the rule of law (where everyone is subject to the same laws), identifying Britain as a
modern liberal democracy (A.V Dicey described this as one of the ‘’twin pillars’’ of the
constitution.
, 2. The composition and structure of parliament
1911 parliament act (reduced HoL power)
- Gave the commons exclusive powers over money bills
- Only allowed the lords to delay a bill for two years
- Reduced the duration of a parliament from 7 to 5 years
1949 parliament act (reduced the time the HoL could delay bills from 2-1 years)
3. The electoral process
The representation of the people’s act (1918)
- Extended the franchise to all men over 21 and women over 30 with property
qualifications
Representation of the people’s act (1928)
- Extended the franchise to women over 21
4. Recent major statute laws
- The Human Rights Act 1998
- HoL act 1999 (removal of all but 92 hereditary peers)
- Devolution eg; Wales Act 2014 and the Scotland Act 2016
Common law (is law that derives from judicial decisions of courts, arising as precedent)
Murder and manslaughter are both common law (they are crimes because judges have
always said they are un-lawful, not because parliament said it was)
Works of authority/ historical milestones:
Magna Carta, 1214 (reduced the monarchs power)
Eg; The King could not raise taxes without the consent of the people, the nobles could select
a committee of 25 to scrutinise the actions of the king + ensured the right to trial by jury
was guaranteed as well as justice having to be free and fair
Parliamentary sovereignty under Henry the 8th (This is a principle not a source)
- Henry made parliament sovereign in order to justify his break from Rome, claiming
the break was justified as it was supported by ‘’the will of the people’’
,Conventions (un-written traditions):
The Salisbury convention (created between 1945-1951)- ensures the HoL will not oppose
the 2nd/3rd reading of any government legislation promised in its manifesto. (Developed by
Lord Salisbury in 1945 to prevent the conservative majority in the HoL preventing
democracy from the huge Labour majority in the commons)
The granting of royal assent to all bills passed through both houses (developed due to
George I speaking no English and relying hugely on political advisors)
EU law:
The European Communities Act (1972):
- Allowed EEC law to automatically become domestic law
- No UK law could conflict with EU law (meaning it had priority)
- We joined three institutions (The European Economic Community (the common
market), The European Coal and Steel Community, The European Atomic Energy
Community)
, Have recent constitutional changes been a success?
Freedom of information act (2000):
Requires public bodies (eg; gov departments, the NHS etc) to
- Publish and make publicly available certain information about their activities
- Allow members of the public to request information from these public authorities via
a freedom of information request (FOI)
It aims to promote transparency among public bodies from tax payer’s money. Also aiming
to boost public trust in the organisations. Its workings are overlooked by the independent
Information Commissioners Office (ICO)
Strengths-
- FOI are used frequently (45,000 made in 2016)
- Allows identification of inefficiency and corruption. Eg; the 2009 identification of the
expenses scandal. Other examples include, the Manchester Evening News revealing
that the BBC Manchester office spent £110,000 on free tea and coffee every year.
This enables scrutiny of policy initiatives.
Weaknesses-
- Public bodies can and often do refuse requests for public information, if it’s in the
interest of national security
- Conflicts are often also denied due to the release of private/ personal information.
Therefore, the act leads to a conflict between an individual’s rights to privacy and
the right of the public to gain access to information about public officials
- In 2016 37% of all requests were denied and for 14% of the requests only part of the
information was revealed
Fixed term parliaments act (2011):
Fixed parliament terms to 5 years. Reduced the power of the PM to call a snap election, as
parliament now needs to vote by a 2/3rds majority to call an early general election.
Strengths-
- It is aimed to enhance the stability of a potentially fragile coalition gov by reducing
the power of the PM to call a snap election when his parties polls are high
- This makes it fairer on the junior member of the coalition (eg; the 2010 liberal
democrats) as they would not have to face an early election with no say in timing
Weaknesses-
- If the PM calls a snap election, it is un-likely not to pass
- Theresa May did exactly what the act was designed not to do by calling a snap
election in 2017 (when polls showed a 20% Tory lead). The vote to have won passed
522 to 13
