1 The British Constitution

1.1.1 Development of the British Constitution.

The Magna Carta (1215)
Is generally thought to be the beginnings of the UK constitution. It was an agreement between King John and his barons that restricted
the abuse of royal power. It set out the principles that no one is above the law, including the King, and everyone is allowed a fair trial.

The Bill of Rights (1689)

William II and Mary II took the throne in 1689. It established the idea that the monarchs power is reliant on the consent of parliament
and there is a set up of frequent parliaments, freedom of speech and free elections.

Acts of settlement (1701)

Stated that only a protestant could become the monarch and gave control over the line of succession to parliament.

Acts of Union (1707)

This joined, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This created the basis of the UK’s devolution reforms in 1997.

1911 and 1949 Parliament Acts

In 1909 in response Lloyd Georges “people budget” which included substantial tax rises. The house of Lords delayed the bill from
passing. In response the 1911 Parliament act prevented the Lords from delaying money bills for 2 years. In 1949 this was reduced down
to only 1 year.

1972 European Communities Act

This was a piece of legislation that introduced Britain into the European Economic Community which later became known as the EU.
This have the EEC/EU law precedence over UK law in the case of a conflict. The Brexit proposal involved repealing this act.

1.1.2 Nature of the British Constitution

Unentrenched
The UK constitution is not entrenched meaning that it can be easily changed - by a simple act of parliament.

Uncodified
It is not written in a single document which outlines the different laws and constitution rights,

Unitary
It is unitary meaning that it is centralised in the parliament in Westminster. These principles have been diluted in recent years with the
introduction of devolution.

Parliamentary sovereignty
The rule of law is that everyone, including the government, is subject to the law and can be held accountable. In reality this means
everyone is equal to a fair trial and all citizens, including public officials, are equal under the law and must obey it. This therefore
means the judicial branch must be independent and not involved in parliament
 1.1.3 Sources of the British Constitution
Statute law
Statute law is all legislation which is created by parliament. Not all laws are considered constitutional. Only those that deal with the
nature of politics and government or the rights of citizens. Statute law is the most important source of the constitution due to the
principle of parliamentary sovereignty. All other sources can be overridden by statute law.

Common Law
It is made up of customs and judicial precedent. A lot of constitutional principles, such as the Royal Prerogative are a part of common
law. Common law refers to a body of unwritten laws based on legal precedents established by courts. It is developed through
decisions made by judges in individual cases, rather than being enacted through statutes or written legislation. Over time, these
decisions form a body of law that guides future rulings.

Conventions
These are the customs and practices that are accepted as the way of doing things. An example of a convention is that the Prime
Minister is the leader of the largest party. Conventions are made permanent by statute law.

Authoritative Works
“The English Constitution” are books or written guides to the working of the UK constitution. Although they are widely respected, they
are not legally binding.

Treaties
These are agreements between the UK and other countries. One of the most important treaties was the one that accepted the UK into
the EEC or the EU in 1972. The UK government negotiated a treaty with the EU in order to leave the EU.

Questions
1. What were the key principles established by the Magna Carta (1215), and why is it considered a cornerstone of the British
Constitution?
2. How did the Bill of Rights (1689) change the relationship between the monarchy and Parliament?
3. What was the significance of the Act of Settlement (1701) in shaping the British Constitution?
4. How did the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 reduce the power of the House of Lords?
5. What role did the Glorious Revolution (1688) play in the development of the British Constitution?
6. How did the Reform Acts of the 19th century contribute to the evolution of the British political system?
7. What constitutional significance did the European Communities Act (1972) hold for the UK, and how did Brexit reverse it?
8. How did the creation of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009 alter the judicial role in constitutional matters?
9. What was the impact of the Human Rights Act (1998) on the British legal system and constitutional development?
10. How has devolution impacted the structure and nature of the British Constitution since the late 1990s?
11. What are the main characteristics of the British Constitution that differentiate it from a written constitution?
12. How is parliamentary sovereignty a central principle of the British Constitution?
13. Explain the concept of the rule of law and its significance in the context of the British Constitution.
14. Why is the British Constitution described as being “unwritten” or “uncodified”?
15. How does the principle of constitutional monarchy shape the UK political system?
16. What is the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, and how does it affect the nature of British governance?
17. How does the flexibility of the British Constitution compare to the rigidity of written constitutions, such as the US Constitution?
18. What role do statutes play as a source of the British Constitution? Can you give examples of key statutes?
19. How do judicial decisions (common law) contribute to the British Constitution as a source of law?
20. What is the significance of conventions in the British Constitution, and can you provide examples of important constitutional
conventions?

1.1.4 Rights in the UK

Magna Carta (1215) - restrictions imposed on the monarchy to stop the monarchy from abusing its power.
Bill of Rights (1689) - Limits the power of the monarchy to the consent of parliament. It also introduced free speech and free elections.

European Convention of Human Rights - This was signed in 1951 and came into force in 1953. Signing this meant all UK government acts
needed to be complicit with the ECHR. This includes articles such as the right to life, the right to freedom and torture.
European Court of Justice 1973 - This protected UK workers.

Data Protection Act (1984) - This protected the personal information that public organisations held.

The Human Rights Act, 1998 - This meant the ECHR became codified within British Law.

Freedom of Information Act - This allowed citizens to have access to some information held by UK public institutions. However, some
of this information, for example relating to national security, cannot be accessed.

Equality Act 2010 - This brought together UK anti-discriminatory measures into a single codified document. It protected workers and
the general public from discrimination and it included age discrimination and disability discrimination.
The Human Rights act of 1998
The Human rights act codified the ECHR into the European Law. For example, the Abu Qatada, a Jordanian national who was deemed to
have connections with terrorist organisations was not able to be deported in 2012 due to the fact that the UK had used torture to gain
information.
Effective Ineffective

It has been enshrined in a clear way in statute. All legislation As the Human Rights act is not entrenched is can be overturned
must be complied with it. It ensures citizens the protection of and some people, specifically conservatives want it to be
rights through courts in the UK. replaced with the “British Bill of Rights”. The legislation can be
“set aside” in times of need, for example 9/11 terrorist attacks.

1.1.5 Individual and Collective Rights

Rights based culture
Some argue that the UK has a “rights based culture” as laws must comply with it. Judges can use the human rights act to declare
existing laws unfit, this promotes human rights in UK society and law making.

Individual vs Collective Rights

It protects individuals rather than UK citizenship collectively. Protecting individual rights is seen as a good thing as it enables a free
and fair society, protecting individuals in the face of oppression.

1.2.1 Changing composition of the House of Lords

Demand for Reform
It came from a broad range of groups who wanted to modernise British institutions and growing distrust in traditional institutions.
There are also demands for more devolution of Scotland and to fix problems with Northern Ireland, In 1997, when Blair came to power
he promised more constitutional reforms. There is still a debate about whether reforms went far enough.

The House of Lords act 1999

- This removed 92 hereditary peers. The lords became a mainly appointed chamber, with peers appointed based on merit and
opposed to by birth with the removal of hereditary titles. No one party has a majority. It is an unelected house and therefore based
off of merit.
- Life peerages mean peers don’t need to worry about election and therefore can focus on the long term interests of the country.
- There are 26 bishops but no representation from other religions. The house of lords remain unelected.

Devolution
In 1998 the Scotland Act, Northern Ireland Act and Welsh Act, gave a Scottish parliament and a Northern Irish and Welsh assembly.
There has been growing demand for Scottish independence. The good Friday agreement and devolution to the Northern Ireland
assembly transformed the situation in Northern Ireland.

1.2.2 Constitutional Reform Act & Electoral Reform

The 2005 constitutional reform Act has three major effects
1. The Act separated the government from the judiciary
2. The Act formed a supreme court which separated parliament from the judiciary
3. The Act reformed the appointment process for senior judicial appointments.

Lord Chancellor - This act split the powers of the Lord Chancellor into 3 different roles. The Lord Chancellor is a senior official in the
UK government who serves as the head of the judiciary, a key member of the executive, and an officer in Parliament. Historically, the
position held substantial judicial authority, but following constitutional reforms, the role has evolved, focusing more on overseeing
judicial independence and managing the court system. Now the Lord Chancellor is simply a government role with the Lord Speaker
presiding over the House of Lords and the Lord Chief Justice as head of the judiciary. These reforms made the Judiciary more
independent.

Appointments - Prior to the reforms, senior judicial appointments were made by the prime minister and Lord Chancellor, who are
political figures. The Act established a judicial appointments commission (JAC) to appoint candidates based solely on their legal
qualifications and ability. The government makes the final decision on appointments but they must be approved by the JAC.
There is a clear separation of the 3 branches of government which prevents abuse of power. The judiciary is physically and
constitutionally separate from the executive and legislature allowing for greater judicial independence, strengthening rule of law.
- Our supreme court is much weaker than its counterparts in most other liberal democracies. It cannot strike down legislation as
that would weaken parliamentary sovereignty. The composition of the supreme court is not very diverse, however neither is the
group of well qualified, experienced judges from which they have to choose their ranks and is a problem in the judiciary as a whole.

Electoral Reform
- New Labour introduced various forms of proportional representation for elections to the European Parliament, Scottish parliament,
Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies. The UK voting age is 18, in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the voting age was
lowered to 16 for the first time. There remains calls for the voting age in England to be lowered from 18 to 16.