The Constitution

Definition of a constitution

• Framework of rules and principles upon which laws and gov’t structures are built

• Defines how a state/society is run

6 functions of a constitution

1. Provide legitimacy to those in power

2. Protect freedoms by limiting power of those in office and setting out gov'ts rights and responsibilities

3. Make gov't ordered and predictable

4. Set out primary goals and values of a state

5. Define spheres of influence of parts of gov’t

6. Set out civil liberties

2 types of constitution

1. Codified

2. Uncodified

Defining feature of a codified constitution

• All major parts enclosed in a single document

2024 — number of countries with codified constitutions

190

Example of codified constitution

• Revolutionary constitution, e.g. 🇺🇸

Oldest codified constitution

🇺🇸 (1788)

Youngest codified constitution

🇸🇾 (2025)

Defining feature of an uncodified constitution

• Elements are not enclosed in a single document and therefore draws on a wide range of sources

• Often evolutionary, in that they evolve organically over time

2025 — number of countries with an uncodified constitution

6

Structure of a codified constitution

1. Preamble — opening statement of principle and aims

2. Organisational section — explains organisation and duties of gov’t institutions

3. Bill of rights

4. Constitutional amendments

5 differences between constitutions

1. Flexible v entrenched

2. Federal v unitary

3. Separate v fused powers

4. Plmtary v presidential

5. Monarchical v republican

How change is made in a flexible constitution

• Enacting statute laws

3 impacts of a flexible constitution

1. No fundamental laws

2. Constitutional laws = ordinary laws

3. No formal process for changing constitution

Number of changes made to 🇺🇸 Constitution since its ratification

27

Constitutional sovereignty

• 🇺🇸

• All power flows from the constitution

2 ways 🇺🇸 constitution can be amended

1. Supermajority of 2/3 of both Houses voted to change and then ratified by ¾ of all state legislatures

2. Constitutional convention called by 2/3 of state legislatures and changes approved by ¾ of states

4 strengths of flexible constitution

1. Easily amendable and thus can change with political attitude

2. Enables necessary changes, like those made after Dunblane Massacre

3. Keeps up with societal change like issues like right to privacy during digital age (codified ones and gun rights 🤨)

4. Prevents revolution as citizens feel clear democratic method to amend laws and there’s no need for political violence

3 weaknesses of a flexible constitution

1. Creates instability when each party changes, like with the 2022 Elections Act and voter ID that was voted without opposition support

2. Doesn’t entrench rights and therefore COVID Act could take them away and C/RUK can threaten to replace them with other rights

3. Relies on convention

Unitary constitution

• All power concentrated in single central gov’t

Federal constitution

• Powers divided between central and regional gov’ts

UK quasi-federalism

• Traditionally unitary state but devolution has challenged this

  • Because they’re all devolved powers, Westminster retains legal sovereignty because devolution could be reversed by an Act of Plmt

USA federalism

• Powers split between national gov’t and states

  • Different states can have different laws on e.g. capital punishment and cannabis

4 strengths of a unitary state

1. Makes decision-making and policy implementation quicker and more efficient

2. Coordinates different areas better which improves consistency

3. Creates sense of national unity and ID as all citizens subject to the same laws

4. Less risk of secession (independence) as devolution can lead to increased calls for independence

4 strengths of a federal state

1. Advances localism

2. Limits gov’t power by diffusing it and thus acting as a check on it

3. Increases participation by allowing voters to be involved in different layers of gov’t

4. Allows dual identities (region and nation-state)

Separated powers

• Executive, legislative and judicial branches distinct bodies and operate independently

  • System of checks and balances to prevent abuse of power

Fused powers

• Executive drawn from legislature

  • Executive accountable to legislature and must maintain its confidence to remain in power

Example of separated powers

• President is not member of 🇺🇸 legislature

• Obama stepped down as Senator to become President

• President cannot fire a judge

Example of fused powers

• Starmer both head of Executive (PM) and member of legislature (MP)

  • Also appoints judges on behalf of the King even though this is done on advice of JAC

Presidential constitution

• Separation of legislative/executive powers

Plmtary constitution

• Fusion of legislative/executive powers

4 strengths of a Presidential constitution

1. Strong leadership

2. Clearly separated powers with checks and balances

3. Provides stability due to fixed terms of office (only removed via convention)

4. Greater accountability as President directly elected by pop

4 strengths of Plmtary constitution

1. Executive is accountable to Plmt, which is accountable to the people

2. Ensures gov’t has legitimacy

3. Allows flexible formation of gov’t, like coalitions or minority gov’ts

4. Efficient decision-making as executive comes from legislature

Election of last 3 C British PMs

• By less than 150,000 people…

Number of current monarchies

43

3 types of monarchy

1. Absolute — monarch has absolute control over state (🇸🇦)

2. Constitutional — monarch is a symbolic figurehead (🇯🇵)

3. Semi-constitution — monarch has political power but w/in a constitutional framework

2 types of republic

1. Presidential — President is both head of State and Gov’t (🇫🇷)

2. Plmtary — president is ceremonially head of state and political power is vested in Plmt (🇩🇪)

4 strengths of 🇬🇧 monarchy

1. Allows head of state to focus completely on governing country by doing some ceremonial roles like distributing awards and meeting foreign dignitaries

2. Provide continuity and stability

3. Provide a national ID and source of soft power

4. Independent arbitrator in event of hung Plmt, for example

Number of PMs under Queen Lizzie

15

Value of royal family/year to British tourism industry

£500m

Queen in 1974

• Prepared to intervene if Heath refused to resign

4 weaknesses of a monarchy

1. Undemocratic as hereditary

2. Reinforces classism

3. Slows down decision making, e.g. need for royal assent or consultation with monarch

4. Very expensive!

2021-22 official expenditure on Royal family + cost per 🇬🇧 citizen

• £102.44m

• £1.29 per citizen

2021 number of bills given ‘Queen’s Consent’ instead of ‘Royal Assent’

1,062 (those that impacted the Crown Estate)

3 rights of a sovereign under a constitutional monarchy

1. Right to be consulted

2. Right to encourage

3. Right to warn

PM’s weekly audience with Monarch

• Meetings confidential

• Monarch can be briefed of any issue and has to remain politically neutral

4 important elements of 🇬🇧 Constitution

1. 1215 Magna Carta to limit power of monarch (habeas corpus and limits on King’s powers over taxation)

2. Bill of Rights 1689 further limited monarch’s powers and ensured Plot’s powers, e.g. plmtary privilege

3. Act of Settlement 1701 that cleared up who could take the throne

4. Act of Union 1707 merged 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 into a political union (formerly personal union with same monarch)

Act of Union 1800

• Joined 🇮🇪 to become 🇬🇧

Laws in Wales Act 1542

• Incorporated 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 into 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 legal system

Plmt Acts of 1911 and 1949

• Limited HoL to delaying legislation for 2 years, and then just 1

4 times the Plmt Act has been used since 1949

1. War Crimes Act 1991, retrospective trying of criminals who committed crimes in Nazi Germany

2. European Plmtary Elections Act 1999 changed EU elections voting system to D’Hondt (PR)

3. Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 that equalised age of consent

4. Hunting Act 2004 prohibited use of dogs in hunting

Importance of Plmt Act

• Lords don’t want it to be used and know that the Commons will force something through anyway

  • Thus ensures Lords back down in any disagreement with Commons

Representation of the People Act 1918

• Enfranchised all men over 21

• Enfranchised some women over 30 with educational and property qualifications

• Thus tripled electorate

Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928

• Enfranchised all women and men over 21

Representation of the People Act 1969

• Lowered voting age from 21 to 18

Life Peerages Act 1958

• Created Life Peers to modernise Lords and increase its specialism

First Life Peer

• Sir Ian Fraser

Important impact of Life Peerages Act 1958

• Women couldn’t inherit peerages so ensured there were actually women represented in HoL

4 fundamental principles of 🇬🇧 Constitution

1. Plmtary soverengity

2. Rule of law

3. Fusion of powers

4. Constitutional monarchy

3 key elements of Plmtary sovereignty

1. Law on any matter

2. Legislative supremacy, i.e. laws cannot be found unconstitutional

3. Equality of legislation, i.e. no fundamental, constitutional or normal laws

Important factor in Plmtary sovereignty

• Elective dictatorship means it’s actually sovereignty of the executive

A.V. Dicey — 3 elements if rule of law

1. Everyone is equal

2. Gov’t is limited by established laws

3. Law must be administered by independent judiciary

Example of rule of law in action

• Partygate — no one is above the law!

• Plmt scrutinised those involved and Privileges Committee found BoJo had misled Plmt over it

  • Recommended BoJo should be suspended from Commons but had resigned as MP and PM at that point

2 key roles of monarch in 🇬🇧

1. Head of State — chief rep of country

2. Head of Nation — source of ID and sense of stability and community

5 key aspects of monarch’s constitutional role

1. Representing 🇬🇧 as Head of state

2. Royal Assent to legislation

3. Appointment and dismissal of PM

4. Prorogation and summoning of Plmt (but acts on advice of gov’t)

5. Honorary appointments — life and hereditary peerages, and other honours

Walter Bagehot quote

“If the PM sent the Queen a bill properly passed by both Houses of Plmt calling for her own death warrant, the Queen would realistically have to sign it”

Example of Queen acting outside of constitutional expectations

• Appointed Alec Douglas-Home as PM after Macmillan resigned due to ill health

• Expected that Rab Butler would be appointed as had most MP support (hated by Macmillan) but Douglas-Home was a family friend of the royals…

6 sources of 🇬🇧 Constitution

1. Statue law

2. Common law

3. Conventions

4. Royal Prerogative

5. External Relations

6. Works of authority

Statute law

• Acts of Plmt

• Seen as primary source of constitution as Plmt is sovereign

5 reasons statute law is the most important source of 🇬🇧 constitution

1. Plmtary sovereignty, cannot be overturned

2. Popular legitimacy, Plmt is representative body of the people

3. Legislative equality, all laws are equal

4. Doctrine of Implied Repeal, if any contradict each other the newer one replaces the older one

5. They clarify common law

3 examples of statute laws

1. 1998 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Act

2. 1999 HoL Act

3. 2017 🇪🇺 (Notification of Withdrawal) Act

Common law

• Case/judge-made law

• Customs and practices that have developed through precedents set by judges in their decisions or interpretations of statute law

• Fills gaps by statute law as Plmt cannot legislate on eeeeverything

Example of common law

• Freedom of speech

Example of common law filling in gaps in statue law

• Definition of term ‘likely’ in 1995 Disability and Discrimination Act in relation to employers placing staff in a position ‘likely’ to make their disability work

  • HoL (former SC) defined likely as something that might happen and not something that probably would happen

Example of judges creating common law by interpreting statute law

• Equalities Act 2010 says ‘reasonable adjustments’ should be made to accommodate disabled people

• Ambiguous so each time a judge makes a decision at an employment tribunal, for example, as to if an adjustment was reasonable, this sets a judicial precedent

Example of gov’t passing statue law to clarify common law

• Defined ‘reasonable force’ as use of an appropriate weapon in the Crime and Courts Act 2013 after a farmer shot 2 burglars and was imprisoned for 3 years

Convention

• Practice that is followed, even if not specified or codified

  • Not legally binding

3 examples of convention

1. Monarch acts only on advice of Ministers/PM and should not ignore it

2. Leader of party with absolute majority is invited to form gov’t and become PM

3. Any money bills must come from HoC

5 examples of named conventions

1. Sewell Convention

2. Lascelles Principles

3. Posonby Rule

4. Salisbury Convention

5. Denison Rule

Sewell Convention

• Westminster will not legislate on devolved matters w/out consulting devolved institutions first

Lascelles Principles

• Queen could refuse to dissolve Plmt if a number of certain conditions existed

• Ended after Fixed Terms Plmt Act codified conditions needed for an election

Posonby Rule

• Any international treaty has to be laid before HoC for 21 days before ratification

• Codified into law by Constitutional Reform and Gov’t Act 2010

Salisbury Convention

• Lords doesn’t oppose manifesto legislation from Commons

Denison Rule

• Speaker should always vote for status quo and against any further debate on issue

2 examples of new conventions

1. Carswell Convention — if MP wants to change parties they must fight a by-election

2. Hung Plmt Convention — PM can stay in office until a new PM is found

2 examples of Carswell convention not being followed

1. Reform defections!

2. 11 C and L MPs that defected to Change UK in 2019

Example of Hung Plmt Convention being followed

• Brown remained PM for 4 days whilst C and LD negotiated a Coalition agreement

Early elections

• Before FTPA 2011, elections could be called whenever

  • FTPA said must be called if HoC has no confidence and gov’t doesn’t win a confidence vote w/in 14 days

• 2022 Dissolution and Calling of Plmts Act repealed FTPA and returned electoral power to PM

4 examples of constitutional conventions not being followed

1. HoL voting against ‘People’s Budget’ 1909

2. Farage stood against John Bercow 2010

3. HoL voted against gov’t plans to change tax credits 2015 but then was found to be okay because it was a statutory instrument

4. Cameron was appointed as foreign sec in 2023 despite convention of great offices of state not being held by a Lord

Example of PM ordering military action

• May 2025 British forces bombed Houthi rebels in 🇾🇪

  • Authourised by Starmer but not by Plmt

4 examples of weakening of Royal Prerogative

1. FTPA 2011 restricted PM power to call an election

2. Constitutional Reform and Governance Act means Plmt must scrutinise international treaties (formerly convention)

3. Authorisation for military action convention post-2003, e.g. Cameron and 🇸🇾

4. 2 Miller cases re article 50 and prorogation

6 external relations that impact UK constitution

1. 🇺🇳

2. NATO

3. IMF

4. Commonwealth

5. WB

6. 🇪🇺

Work of authority

• Scholarly works that influence actions of political figures and development of conventions

3 works of authority that set out role of Cabinet, Plmt and PM

1. Bagehot’s ‘the English Constitution’

2. A.V. Dicey, r.e. Plmtary sovereignty and rule of law

3. Erskine May’s ‘bible for how Plmt works’ often referred to by speaker

Cabinet Manual (2010)

• Outlines roles and expectations on gov’t ministers

  • Each PM publishes an updated version

Use of Erskine May

• Bercow in 2019

• Referenced page 297 when he prevented a 3rd vote of May’s Brexit deal