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The Constitution
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Detailed, thorough notes on The Constitution based on the suggested Edexcel A-Level textbook
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The ConstitutionDefinitions:
Constitution: a set of laws and guidelines setting out how a political system works, and where power is
located within the system, It defines the powers and functions of government and the rights of ordinary
citizens in relation to the government
Codified: a constitution in which laws and practices are set out in a single document
Entrenched: a constitution protected by a higher court and requiring special procedures to amend it
Unitary: a political system where all legal sovereignty is contained in a single place
Parliamentary sovereignty:the principle that parliament can make, amend or unmake any law, and
cannot bind its successors or be bound by its predecessors
The rule of law:the principle that all people and bodies, including government, must follow the law and
can be held to account if they do not
Statute law:laws passed by parliament
Common law:laws made by judges where the law does not cover the issue or is unclear
Conventions:traditions not contained in law but influential in the operation of a political system
Authoritative works:words written by experts describing how a political system is run, which are not
legally binding but are taken as significant guides
Treaties:formal agreements with other countries, usually ratifies by parliament
Devolution:the dispersal of power, but not sovereignty, within a political system
The development, nature and sources of the UK constitution
The UK constitution is different to many (like the US) as the UK, for a long period of time, has not undergone a
fundamental, transforming change, such as a revolution or military defeat. The UK political system has instead
evolved gradually without dramatic breaks in continuity (since the civil wars of the 17th century). This contrasts to
the US whose constitution dates back to 1787 after gaining independence from Britain.
Elements of the UK constitution can be traced back more than a thousand years. In the Middle Ages, power was
concentrated in the hands of the monarch; however, to govern the country, the Crown required the cooperation
of a class of landowning nobility, who gradually gained more rights over time. From the 13 th century, the nobles
and others gained representation in an assembly where they met to advise the monarch, pass laws and give
consent to taxation. This consisted of an upper house of hereditary aristocracy and senior members of the church
(House of Lords) and an elected House of Commons, initially consisting of representatives of landed entry and
merchants. The Commons increasing took on a representative function.
Following civil wars of the mid 17th century, the balance of power shifted from the Crown to parliament. By the
19th century, Britain was governed by a constitutional monarch who acted on the advice of ministers, who were
accountable to parliament as the country’s supreme law making body. Voting rights were progressively extended,
creating a more democratic society by the early 20th century. Within parliament this was reflected in the
emergence of the elected House of Commons as the more powerful of the two chambers.
It was also recognised from the 17th century that the judiciary should be independent of political influence and
control. Judges became increasingly important through their role in upholding the law - the idea that no body
should ever be above the law.
, Whilst there is no single founding document, the UK constitution has important written components. The overall
effect of these developments has been to:
reduce the powers of the monarchy, and to extend those of parliament
increase the rights and freedoms of the ordinary citizen
draw together the component parts of the UK
increase the power of the elected House of Commons at the expense of the unelected House of Lords
define the UK's relationship with the institutions that later evolved into the EU
Document Date Overview Development of constitution
The Magna Cara 1215 Agreement between King John and the Stated the principle that no one
barons, who had rebelled against the should be deprived of liberty or
abuse of royal power; a concession to properly without due process of
specific demands of the nobility. law
The Bill of Rights 1689 Passed by parliament in reaction to the Included provisions for regular
arbitrary rule of King James II, who was parliaments, free elections and
driven from the throne freedom of speech within
parliament
The Act of Settlement 1701 Motivated by a desire to excluded Established the right of
James II and his heirs from the throne parliament to determine the line
of succession to the throne
The Act of Unions 1707 United England and Scotland, which had Basis of the UK until Tony Blair’s
had a shared monarch since 1603 but New Labour government
had retained two separate parliaments.
both countries were now placed under
one parliament based in Westminster.
The Parliament Acts 1911, Reduced the power of the House of 1911: affirmed that the Lords
1949 Lords to interfere with the agenda of could no delay money bills and,
the House of Commons (e.g. the 1919 that for non-financial bills, the
act was provoked by the Lords rejecting power of the veto was replaced
the ‘People’s Budget’ with a two-year delaying power
1949: reduced the delaying
period to one year
The European 1972 The act took Britain into the European Established the principle that EU
Communities Act Economic Community law would take precedence over
UK law where a conflict occurred
The UK construction is distinctive in several respects:
It is uncodified; there is no single legal document where its key principles are gathered together
It is unentrenched; it can be altered relatively easily by a simple majority vote in parliament. There is no
special legal procedure for amending the UK constitution as all laws are equal.
It is unitary; sovereignty has traditionally been located at the centre (London). This has been modified
since the introduction of devolution in the late 1990s. It is now said to be a union state, where the centre
of power remains strong whilst there are individual sub-nation units governed in different ways.
A.V. Dicey identified two key principles of the UK constitution. One of which is parliamentary sovereignty. The
three main ways parliament is sovereign:
No parliament can bind its successor (e.g. in 2003, parliament repealed Section 28 of the 1988 Local
Government Act, making it illegal for local authorities and schools to promo homosexuality intentionally)
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