Summary A* Grade Edexcel Politics A-Level Paper 2 Essay Plans
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Course
Unit 2 - Governing the UK
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
This document contains various essay plans answering past politics paper 2 questions. Each essay plan entails 3 points that could be covered and a broad range of evidence from the news as well. Please note that all the evidence that can be used discusses all the events that occurred until May 2022 ...
Evaluate the view that the UK constitution should be codified
- Executive too powerful
- HRA- entrenched?? - better protects rights
- Power of judiciary vs unitary and parliamentary sovereignty
Executive too powerful with uncodified Executive not too powerful with uncodified
- Johnson repealed the Fixed Term - Highly democratic as parliament can
Parliaments Act in 2022 so can call then respond to the will of the
an early action to his advantage people more efficiently
- Blair - got maj - changed house of
lords - got rid of all but 93 hereditary
peers
- In USA, with a codified constitution,
despite Obama promising gun
reform and to stop detention camps
in Guantanamo Bay, this did not
happen
- Trapped by codified constitution -
US only 27 times since 1787
Codified with help Human Rights Uncodified has been fine for human rights
- Andrew Barnett 'In Britain today the - Flexibility means uncodified has
government can alter the laws helped rights
affecting your freedom of speech in - Gay marriage legalised in 2014
the same way it amends laws about - 1996 Dunblane Massacre = ban on
dog licensing. ' handguns
- Statute law can easily be changed - Same for other countries with
via a majority in parliament inc HR uncodified like New Zealand where
- Conservative manifesto pledged to after the 2019 Christchurch
get rid of HRA massacre there was a ban on
semiautomatic weapons
- Double jeopardy has been permitted
since 2003 and helpful for cases like
the Stephen Lawrence case
Judiciary can hold gov to account efficiently No need for this benefit
- Supreme Court has held the gov to - Judiciary are an unelected body
account via 2019 proroguing case - A key principle of UK constitution is
- Supreme Court has held gov parliamentary sovereignty which is
account via 2017 Gina Miller case overrode if judiciary gains more
- More legitimacy in political process power
- Judiciary out of touch as explain by
1960s Griffith Thesis
- Judiciary in USA have lots of power
but now to do with controversies like
Roe v Wade being overturned to
illegalise abortion in the USA - under
scrutiny by general public - is it fair
for an unelected to declare this?
, Evaluate the view that the principles of the UK constitution have changed beyond recognition
- Rule of Law: all citizens under the law are all equal and everybody must obey the law
- Parliamentary sovereignty - have absolute and unlimited power and can make or
unmake any law
- Upholding Human Rights
Rule of Law has been upheld Rule of law has not been upheld
- MPs can be held to account - - Dominic Cummings breached
Parliamentary Expenses Scandal lockdown rules in 2020 but did not
2009 face tough fines contrary to what he
- Freedom of Informations Act was known to push for
- Partygate exposed 2022 - Johnson
only got 1 fine
- 2021 -Johnson’s plans to restrict
judicial review means that rule of
law is restricted as well
Parliamentary sovereignty is upheld Parliamentary sovereignty is not upheld
- In practise, as laws were created by - In reality if the UK restricted
parliament, they can also be rid of devolution, that would lead to a
by parliament rebellion because of how popular it
- Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is (especially in Scotland as they
- Nothing is above that continuously vote in SNP who want
to leave the UK)
- Supreme Court are very powerful -
stopped proroguing of parliament in
2019
- Sovereignty especially eroded when
gov is a minority (2017 Gina Miller
case and Supreme Court ruling)
- Policy diversions in devolved areas -
Scotland have free uni fees - if
devolved areas make own laws
above Westminster - sovereignty is
eroded
Rights are protected Rights are not protected
- Same Sex - Surveillance state - ⅕ of world’s CCTV in the UK (as of
Marriage 2014 2019 - 2nd most in Europe)
- HRA = protection - Edward Snowden uncovered that UK were monitoring
of rights phone calls
- Secret Trials since 2014
- Johnson in 2019 manifesto pledged to get rid of HRA
- Are some rights more important than others? - Ashers
Bakery Case 2018 - Supreme Court ruled in favour of
the baker who refused to write ‘Support Gay Rights’
for a gay wedding
- Question of whether collective rights or individual
rights take precedence
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