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Summary A-Level Edexcel Politics Paper 2 UK Constitution
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A-Level Edexcel Politics UK Constitution revision notes with examples
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THE UK CONSTITUTION1.1 THE NATURE AND SOURCES OF THE UK CONSTITUTION
The Development of the Constitution through key historical documents
Magna Carta 1215: though little has survived to the modern day, the Magna Carta was a key moment in
history. It established that the rule of law should apply, and the monarch should operate within the framework
of law
The Bill of Rights 1689: this stated that Parliament was sovereign and would have the final word on
legislation and the government’s finances
The Act of Settlement 1701: established the legal riles governing the succession to the throne. It also stated
that the monarch should be a member of the CofE. Its main significance was that it established the monarch’s
position as the ruler of the whole of the UK (e.g., England, Scotland and Wales – and the NI after 1921)
The Acts of Union 1707: these two acts abolished the separate Scotland Parliament and so established the
modern nation of GB – of course in 1998, devolution of power to Scotland brought back Scottish Parliament,
although it is still not the sovereign body in that country
Reform Act 1832: this modified the franchise (who is entitled to vote). This was during the Industrial
Revolution and this act effectively stopped a revolution. Lots of cities prior to 1832 were not included – i.e.,
Leeds did not have an MP before this date
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949: these settled the relationship between the House of Commons and the
House of Lords. Before 1911 the two houses were, in theory, of equal status, but in 1911 the House of Lords lost
its power to regulate public finances and could only delay legislation for two years; it could no longer veto
proposed legislation for good. The 1949 Act reduced the delaying period to one year. The HoC is now very
much the senior house (they both limited the power of the HoL)
The European Communities Act 1972: this brought the UK into the European Community, which later
become the EU. The UK joined in 1973. This Act is now consigned to history, as the UK voted to leave the EU in
2016, however it was, for nearly 50 years, a key feature of the UK Constitution
The European (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017: this gave parliamentary consent to the UK’s exist
from the EU
The nature of the UK Constitution
Unentrenched:
o Constitutional laws are no different from statute laws
o Parliament is sovereign so can change the Constitution by passing statute law
The sovereignty of Parliament asserts that each individual Parliament cannot be bound by its
predecessors, nor can it be bound its successors
o Constitutional laws do not have a higher legal. Status than ordinary laws, so laws which modify the
Constitution are passed by a simple majority in Parliament as and when they wish to
o As the government in the UK is normally able to dominate Parliament using its majority in the HoC, this
means it can effectively control the Constitution.
An example of this executive power was demonstrated when the UK Parliament passed the
Human Rights Act in 1998. This incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into
UK law. It became binding on all political bodies other than Parliament itself
No special procedures were needed – a fundamental change to the British Constitution was
made through a simple Act of Parliament. It could occur un this way because the UK
Constitution is not entrenched
, o The problem of the UK’s failure to adopt any system of entrenchment was illustrated by the case of the
Fixed Parliaments Act 2011, described in the case study
Fixed-term parliaments
o After 2010 the new coalition government wished to change the constitution to introduce fixed-term
parliaments.
o It proposed a law stating that each new Parliament should sit for a fixed term of 5 years before the next
general election
o The Fixed Term Parliaments Act, 2011, would take away the unwritten convention that the PM could
name the date of the next general election.
o It was intended that t this law should be permanent, in other words even new Parliament would have a
life of 5 years
o However, it is not possible to entrench laws in the UK. In practice, this means that a future Parliament
could simply repeal or amend the Fixed Terms Parliament Act and either shorten or lengthen its life, or
perhaps give back to the PM the right to choose the date of the next general election
o This means we cannot say that the idea of fixed-terms Parliaments is a permanent feature of the
Constitution. It may, however, become a convention (an unwritten long-term arrangement that is
binding) that each new Parliament will set the date of the next general election at 6 years into the
future. It could, in other words, become part of the Constitution without entrenchment.
o Of course, the fact that we have had elections in 2017 and 2019 suggests that the Act has not had much
of a lasting impact. This highlights the way in which any attempt at entrenchment by one Parliament
can easily be overcome by the next Parliament
Use of referendums
o Despite the inability to entrench constitutional laws in the UK, it is becoming common practice to hold a
referendum when constitution change is proposed
o This was done for the devolution of power to Scotland and Wales in 1997, the introduction oof election
mays in London and a number of other locations, the approve the Good Friday Agreement in NI in 1998
and on UK membership of the EU in 2016
o Where a referendum has produced a ‘no’ result, as was the case with the vote on a change to the
electoral system in 2011, or on Scottish independence in 2014, a constitutional change cannot
realistically take place
o The effect of such referendums is to entrench constitutional developments
o It is inconceivable that the changes would be reversed without another referendum to approve such a
reversal. Thus, the UK is gradually moving towards a system of entrenchment through referendum
Uncodified
o This refers to a constitution where parts are written down, but there is no one single document
outlining the constitution of the state
o The constitution draws on a variety of sources: royal prerogative, conventions, works of authority, case
law/common law, statute law, EU directives, constitutional documents
o There are, of course, advantages to ‘uncodification’: the greater degree of flexibility allows the political
system to be more responsive to changing attitudes and ideas and the constitution can be updated
much more easily than a codified one
o As such, uncodified constitutions tend to evolve and release the build-up of public pressure without the
need for a major uprising
o On the downside, they are often less effective at protecting rights and this can lead to major upheavals
based on short-term populist ideas
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