Summary UK Government component 1: The Constitution
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Course
Unit 2 - Governing the UK
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
Detailed summary notes of all of EDEXCEL Politics Unit 2: UK Government, Component 1: The Constitution
Includes picture of the required specification
Included arguments for/against devolution
Included arguments for/against a codified constitution in the UK
Unit 2 UK Government
Component 1: The Constitution
1.1)
• Magna Carta 1215
◦None should be deprived of liberty without
due process of the law
• Bill of Rights 1689
◦Regular parliaments, free elections,
freedom of speech
• Act of Settlement 1701
◦Established the right of Parliament to
determine the line of succession to the
throne
• Acts of Union 1707
◦United England and Scotland under
Westminster parliament
• Parliament Acts 1911, 1949
◦1911 Act declared that lords could not
delay money bills
◦For non nancial bills, veto was replaced by a two year delay
◦1949 reduced the delay to one year
• European Communities Act 1972
◦EU law takes precedence over UK law in the event if con ict
UK Constitution:
• Unentrenched - no speci c procedure for amendment (unlike US entrenched constitution, which
explicitly protects rights through the constitution)
• Uncodi ed - not written in a single document
◦Constitution is exible, can amend out of date aspects of the constitution, governance can
be changed to match the needs of the current society
Twin Pillars:
• Parliamentary sovereignty
◦Parliament legislation cannot be struck down
• Rule of law
◦Right to fair trial, all must obey the law, judiciary must be independent of political interference
Main sources of UK Constitution:
, • Statute laws
◦Laws passed by Parliament, which is sovereign
‣ eg Freedom of Information Act, 1998 Scotland Act, Government of Wales Act, Northern
Ireland Act (which established devolved bodies)
• Authoritative Works
◦Books/resourced written to explain the detailed workings of the UK constitution, which are so
in uential to society they are considered a part of the constitution
‣ eg Parliamentary Practice by Erskine May
• Common law and case law
◦Judges make decisions based on long established practices
‣ eg innocent until proven guilty
• Conventions
◦Traditions and customs developed over centuries
◦Conventions are not laws
‣ eg prime minister expected to resign after losing an election
• EU treaties/law
‣ eg Treaty of Rome 1957, Maastricht Treaty 1992, Lisbon Treaty 2009
1.2)
How the constitution has changed since 1997
Changes under Labour 1997-2010:
• Devolution 1997-98
◦Devolved assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Human Rights Act 1998
• House of Lords Act, 1999
◦Reduced hundreds of hereditary peers to 92
◦The rest of the House of Lords was made up of Church of England bishops and appointed
peers
• Creation of Supreme Court 2005
◦Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in the UK for civil cases and criminal cases
◦Supreme Court took over from previously senior judges (law lords)
Changes under the Coalition 2010-2015
• Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
◦Elections to take place every ve years
◦Elections can be called early if approved by 2/3 majority in the House of Commons
‣ Or if the government loses a vote of no con dence
• Wales Act 2014
◦Gave Welsh government limited powers
‣ Raise new forms of tax and control the revenue from them
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