1
Q
Voters in Wales have been less inclined towards devolution. The
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2
Q
Welsh Assembly was created based on 50.3% of a referendum
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3
Q
vote
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on a turnout of only 50.2%. In recent years
4
Q
Wales has been extended following a referendum in 2011 and
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5
Q
Wales Acts in 2014 and 2017. Wales now has more financial
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6
Q
powers
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control over its own elections and the right to rename
7
Q
its legislature
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which it did in 2020 – to the Welsh Parliament.
8
Q
Plaid Cymru
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the 2nd largest party in Wales
9
Q
Devolution in Northern Ireland
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10
Q
Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly use the Single
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11
Q
Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system in order to ensure a
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12
Q
proportional outcome
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particularly between unionists and
13
Q
nationalists. The power-sharing requirement of the Good Friday
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14
Q
Agreement means that the government must be formed by both
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15
Q
unionist and nationalist representatives
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so that neither
16
Q
community feels marginalised. This aims to keep the peace in
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17
Q
Northern Ireland after decades of hostility and terrorism.
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18
Q
Currently the leading unionist party is the DUP
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and the leading
19
Q
nationalist party is Sinn Fein. Disagreements between both sides
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20
Q
led the Northern Ireland Executive to collapse between 2002-07
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21
Q
and 2017-20
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during which time the country was ruled from
22
Q
Westminster. ‘Direct rule’ happened again from May 2022
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as
23
Q
after Sinn Fein became the largest party in NI for the first time
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24
Q
the DUP refused to form a government until the UK government
A
25
had resolved Brexit trade issues. 56% of Northern Irish voters
26
opted to Remain in the EU
and Brexit has now complicated their
27
relationship with the Republic of Ireland. Irish nationalists have
28
seen increased support in Northern Ireland
and there is
29
increasing uncertainty over whether a referendum on Irish unity
30
may be called for.
31
Devolution and England
32
Some claim that devolution has been unfair to England. The
33
‘West Lothian Question’ asks why Scottish
Welsh or Northern
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Irish MPs can vote in Parliament on issues that only affect
35
England
but English MPs cannot vote on matters that are
36
decided in the devolved Parliaments and Assembly. After 2015
37
English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) was introduced. This added
38
an extra stage to the legislative process for England-only matters.
39
However
this does not prevent non-English MPs from casting a
40
vote
and was abolished in 2021. The Barnett formula
41
determines how much money each of the devolved nations
42
receives. Per person
England receives the least of all the UK
43
nations. This has been criticised by some as an English subsidy for
44
the rest of the UK.
45
Consequences of Devolution
46
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
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It has created more
48
representation in Scotland
49
Wales
Northern Ireland
50
and regions of England.
51
It is a piecemeal approach
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with some devolved bodies
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having more power than
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others.
55
Devolution is supported by
56
voters.
57
The Barnett formula may
58
disadvantage England.
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It has seen few major
60
disputes between devolved
61
bodies & Westminster.
62
This is less true now due to
63
calls for Scottish
64
independence.
65
Peace has been maintained
66
in Northern Ireland.
67
Northern Irish devolution
68
has been unstable.
69
It allows nations to trial
70
policies for rest of the UK.
71
Policy divergence (tuition
72
fees) between nations.
73
It has been a success
so in
74
recent years further powers
75
have been devolved.
76
The West Lothian Question
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has not been sufficiently
78
resolved by EVEL.
79
More proportional systems
80
make outcomes fairer than
81
in general elections.
82
Post-Brexit
arguments
83
grow that devolution is not
84
keeping the UK together.
85
Should the UK have a Codified Constitution?
86
A codified constitution would provide greater clarity by setting
87
out rules. It would also limit the power of the executive
which at
88
present can pass a law to retrospectively legalise any actions it
89
takes. Codification would better protect the rights of citizens
as
90
these could then not easily be set aside by an Act of Parliament.
91
However
codification would remove the flexibility that is the UK
92
constitution’s strength as by nature codified constitutions are
93
extremely difficult to change. It would also put too much power
94
in the hands of unelected judges
who could overturn a law
95
passed by the democratically-elected Parliament if that law came
96
into conflict with the codified constitution. This also means that it
97
would remove Parliamentary sovereignty. There is no consensus
98
on what a codified constitution should include
and as a
99
document it would only reflect the mood of the time.
100
Strengths and Weaknesses
101
of the UK Constitution
102
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
103
It has evolved gradually over
104
time and has been adaptable
105
and stable.
106
Changes can be undone by
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future Parliaments
creating
108
instability.
109
The use of more
110
referendums recently has
111
brought legitimacy.
112
Referendums compromise
113
Parliamentary sovereignty
114
and do not solve disputes.
115
The Lords and monarch are
116
important advisory voices
117
but do not block legislation.
118
The monarchy and Lords are
119
unelected and so by nature
120
are undemocratic.
121
The introduction of
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devolution has improved
123
representation.
124
Devolution has destabilised
125
the Union and risks calls for
126
national independence.
127
The two-party system allows
128
easy removal of government
129
as it provides an alternative.
130
Devolution is potentially
131
unfair to England
which
132
does not have a Parliament.
133
The electoral system
134
normally gives strong
135
majority governments.
136
The electoral system is
137
unfair and creates distorted
138
outcomes and wasted votes.
139
Since 2009 there has been an
140
independent and neutral
141
Supreme Court.
142
Unelected judges need to
143
rule on issues unclear due to
144
the uncodified constitution.
145
The executive has the power
146
to fulfil manifesto pledges
147
working through Parliament.
148
Power is too concentrated
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and this can lead to an
150
elective dictatorship.
151
Parliamentary sovereignty
152
places power in the hands of
153
elected representatives.
154
Rights and the rule of law can
155
easily be overruled by
156
Parliamentary sovereignty.
157
The government is
158
accountable to Parliament
159
which can remove it.
160
Parliament is not an effective
161
check due to the party whip
162
system.
163
1215: The Magna Carta
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limited the power of the
165
monarch and guaranteed the
166
right to a fair trial.
167
1689: The British Bill of
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Rights guaranteed free
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elections and that
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Parliaments would be held
171
frequently. Only Parliament
172
could pass laws and raise
173
money
and representatives
174
in Parliament were
175
guaranteed the right to free
176
speech through
177
parliamentary privilege.
178
1707: The Act of Union
179
brought Scotland into the
180
country of Great Britain.
181
1800: Another Act of Union
182
added Ireland to the UK (the
183
Republic left the UK in 1921).
184
1911: The Parliament Act
185
removed the power of the
186
Lords to veto legislation. The
187
Lords could only delay laws
188
for two years. Reduced the
189
maximum term for
190
Parliaments from 7 to 5 years.
191
1949: The Parliament Act
192
reduced the delaying power
193
of the House of Lords from
194
two years to one year.
195
1972: The European
196
Communities Act brought the
197
UK into the European
198
Common Market.
199
1998: The Human Rights Act
200
brought the European
201
Convention on Human Rights
202
into UK law so that citizens
203
did not have to go to
204
European courts.
205
1998: The Good Friday
206
Agreement secured peace in
207
Northern Ireland after
208
decades of the Troubles
and
209
established the Northern
210
Ireland Assembly. Part of this
211
agreement required that the
212
leading unionist party and the
213
leading nationalist party
214
govern together in the
215
Northern Ireland Executive in
216
a ‘power-sharing’
217
arrangement. This was
218
approved by referendums on
219
both sides of the Irish border.
220
1998: The Scotland Act and
221
the Government of Wales
222
Act established the devolved
223
governments of the Scottish
224
Parliament and Welsh
225
Assembly
following
226
referendums in these
227
countries in which 74% of
228
Scottish voters and 50.3% of
229
Welsh voters gave support.
230
1999: The Greater London
231
Authority Act established the
232
position of Mayor of London
233
and the London Assembly.
234
1999: The House of Lords Act
235
removed all but 92 hereditary
236
peers from the Lords
so that
237
future peers were appointed.
238
2005: The Constitutional
239
Reform Act (CRA) established
240
the UK Supreme Court
241
separating the executive from
242
the judiciary. Previously
the
243
highest court in the nation
244
had been the Law Lords
245
made up of members of the
246
House of Lords
so this Act
247
also separated the judiciary
248
from the legislature
ensuring
249
an independent judiciary. The
250
Supreme Court began its
251
work in 2009.
252
2011: The Fixed-Term
253
Parliaments Act was passed
254
in order to keep the coalition
255
government together. This
256
Act took away the prime
257
minister’s privilege to call an
258
election at any time
setting
259
Parliamentary terms at 5
260
years. Early elections can only
261
be called with the support of
262
two-thirds of the Commons.
263
This was repealed in 2022.
264
2012: The Protection of
265
Freedoms Act offered citizens
266
protection from the state by
267
regulating security and
268
surveillance powers.
269
2011: Welsh voters chose to
270
give the Welsh Assembly full
271
law-making powers on all
272
devolved areas.
273
2012: The Scotland Act gave
274
the Scottish Parliament
275
further financial powers.
276
2014: The House of Lords
277
Reform Act gave peers the
278
right to retire or resign. It also
279
allowed peers to be removed
280
for non-attendance.
281
2015: The Recall of MPs Act
282
allowed voters to recall their
283
MP in the case of serious
284
misconduct. If an MP receives
285
a prison sentence
is
286
suspended from the House
287
for at least two weeks or
288
makes false expenses claims
289
the Speaker can trigger a
290
petition. If 10% of eligible
291
voters in a constituency sign
292
it
a by-election is called.
293
2016: Another Scotland Act
294
gave the Scottish Parliament
295
control over its electoral
296
system
further devolved
297
powers
and substantial
298
control over Income Tax. The
299
Act also stated the Scottish
300
Parliament was permanent.
301
2017: Another Wales Act
302
gave the Welsh Assembly
303
extra powers
including
304
control over its electoral
305
system and the ability to
306
change its name
which it did
307
in 2020 to the Welsh
308
Parliament.
309
2014: The Wales Act
310
devolved more powers to the
311
Welsh Assembly
including
312
financial powers.
313
2020: The European Union
314
(Withdrawal) Act brought the
315
Withdrawal Agreement into
316
UK law as it formally left the
317
European Union.
318
Sources of the UK Constitution
319
The most important source of the UK Constitution is statute law. Any
320
Act of Parliament can alter or undo any part of the UK system.
321
Not everything is legislated for by Parliament
and so judges need to
322
rule on issues. This source of the constitution is called common law.
323
Where the constitution is unclear
works of constitutional authority
324
written by legal scholars are referred to. The Parliamentary ‘bible’ is
325
called Erskine May.
326
Some elements of the constitution are conventions
traditions that
327
are not written down in law
such as the monarch always giving the
328
Royal Assent to an Act of Parliament.
329
In the past
European Law was also a source of the UK constitution.
330
2022: In 2019
the Supreme
331
Court had declared Boris
332
Johnson’s prorogation of
333
Parliament to be unlawful
in
334
an unprecedented decision.
335
The Dissolution and Calling
336
of Parliament repealed the
337
Fixed-Term Parliaments Act
338
and restored to the prime
339
minister the royal prerogative
340
power to call an election at a
341
time of their choosing. This
342
Act also stated that t
Devolution + constitution
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Decks in class (1)
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