paper 2 evidence

statue law example

European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act (2020) which saw the UK leave the EU

common law example

rulings issued by the courts, including the Supreme Court, e.g. R (Miller) v, the Prime Minister (2019), when Boris Johnson’s attempt to prorogue Parliament was ruled null and void

authoritative works example

Erskine May’s Parliamentary Practice and the Ministerial Code

treaties example

Paris Climate Agreement

conventions example

Salisbury Convention, Sewel Convention

what did the Bill of Rights (1689) do

set out basic liberties for all citizens, established parliamentary sovereignty, introduced the constitutional monarchy, established the principles of frequent parliaments, free elections and freedom of speech within Parliament

what did the Act of Settlement (1701) do

reaffirmed parliamentary sovereignty and constitutional monarchy, decided only Protestants could succeed to the throne

what did the Acts of Union (1707) do

formally united political systems of England and Scotland, creating Great Britain and introduced the unitary state

what did the Parliament Acts do

gave the House of Commons more power than the House of Lords, entrenching asymmetircal bicameralism in the UK

what did the House of Lords lose in 1911

its financial privilege (its ability to amend, block or delay money bills) and could only delay other legislation for up to two years

what did the Parliament Act 1949 do

reduced the House of Lord’s ability to delay legislation to one year

Firearms (Amendment) Act (1997)

introduced after the Dunblane school shooting in 1996, statute law passed under a year later

Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act (2013)

passed by David Cameron with support from the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the SNP

Coronavirus Act (2020)

introduced when COVID-19 spread to the UK and emergency powers were transferred to the executive, meaning public health and economic policies could be implemented without holding votes in the Commons or the Lords

use of deploying troops prerogative power - votes held

Tony Blair held a vote in the House of Commons before invading Iraq in 2003, David Cameron held votes before taking military action in Libya and Syria - many then believed it became convention to do so

use of deploying troops prerogative power - vote not held

Theresa May ordered air strikes in Syria without a parliamentary vote in 2018, creating confusion over the limits of Prime Ministerial power

what does the Sewel Convention state

Parliament should not legislate on devolved responsibiities such as healthcare and education

what did the United Kingdom Internal Market Act (2020) include

several UK-wide provisions that directly affected devolved policy areas e.g. agriculture

what did the Public Order Act (2023) challenge

freedom of assembly guaranteed under the HRA (1998), as it allowed police to arrest protesters on suspicion that they might cause too much disruption

Terrorist Asset-Freezing Act (2010)

followed a case called HM Treasury v. Ahmed (2010) when the Supreme Court ruled that the government didn’t have the power to freeze the financial assets of terror suspects. Within a month, the House of Commons and the House of Lords passed a law that gave the government the power to do so

Fixed-Term Parliaments Act (2011)

amended the convention that prime ministers could choose to call an election at a time that suited them politically, as elections had to be held every five years - the act was repealed in 2022

four major reforms to the UK Constitution pledged by Tony Blair

democratisation, modernisation, de-centralisation, maintaining the unity of the UK

Scotland Act (1998)

primary legislative authority over areas of policy like education, health, transport and agriculture was transferred to the newly-created Scottish Parliament

Northern Ireland Act (1998)

primary legislative authority over areas of policy like education, health, transport and agriculture was transferred to the re-instated Northern Ireland Assembly

what did devolution in Northern Ireland do

carried out the power-sharing principles agreed in the Good Friday Agreement, which aimed to end decades of political violence as the executive was formed of republican and unionist parties

average turnout in Northern Irish devolved elections

62%

average turnout in Scottish devolved elections

55%

what policies have been implemented across the UK following successful trials at devolved level

public smoking ban (Scotland) and charges for plastic carrier bags (Wales)

average turnout of devolved elections in Wales

below 50%

what do Wales and Northern Ireland have

low economic activity and productivity rankings

how long has the Northern Ireland Assembly been suspended for

40% of the time between 1998 and 2024

what did the Human Rights Act (1998) do

incorporated the ECHR into UK law and enabled courts to issue declarations of incompatibility if they think a law is incompatible with the HRA, but these are non-binding recommendations

how many declarations of incompatability have been made and how many laws have been amended as a result

34, 17

examples of laws that have been amended following declarations of incompatability

the Mental Health Act (1983), the Civil Partnerships Act (2004)

what has the HRA been used to do

improve protection for victims of domestic abuse and modern slavery

when is the HRA often referenced, example

by politicians when new laws are being considered e.g. the government explained how the Domestic Abuse Bill was compatible with its provisions when it was debated in Parliament in 2020

influence of rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and UK Courts, example

they are often ignored, e.g. when the ruling in Smith v. Scott (2007) that denying prisoners to vote was incompatible with the HRA

what does the nature of the UK’s constiution mean for the HRA

as it is unentrenched, the HRA can be repealed as easily as any other piece of statue law

what did the House of Lords Act (1999) do

reduced the number of hereditary peers from over 700 to 92, promoted a more even split between Conservative and Labour members in the House of Lords a more effective check on the executive

what proposal was made in Keir Starmer’s King’s Speech in 2024

to remove all remaining hereditary peers

what is the UK the only democracy in the world still to do

allocate seats in its Parliament based on birthright

evidence that hereditary peers add little value to the House of Lords

they spoke on average 48 times in the Lords from 2019-2024, compared with 70 times among Life Peers

evidence that the presence of hereditary peers harms Parliament’s descriptive representation

as of 2021, over half had attended Eton, and all were white and male

evidence to suggest that the Act has given rise to cronyism

the appointments by Tony Blair, David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss

what did the Constitutional Reform Act (2005) do

abolished the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (law lords) and replaced them with a new, independent Supreme Court and reduced the executive’s influence over the judicial appointments process

how are Supreme Court judges appointed

by ad hoc selection panels

how are other judges appointed

by an independent Judicial Appointments Commission

what did Liz Truss do as Lord Chancellor in 2017

caused controversy when she changed the age limit for the post of Lord Chief Justice, which ruled out the favourite for the job - a government critic called Sir Brian Leveson

what can the Lord Chancellor still do

veto Supreme Court nominations, although this power has never been used

success of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act (2011)

provided stability during the coalition government by ensuring that the government lasted its full five-year term

failures of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act (2011)

there were 2 general elections between 2015 and 2022 (2017 and 2019), the Act was repealed in 2022 as it could be bypassed by Parliament passing a separate Act which would allow a general election to be called

what did the Scotland Act (2016) do

transferred full control over income tax to the Scottish Parliament, gave it additional powers over welfare, made the powers of the Scottish Parliament a permanent part of the UK Constitution, which could not be reduced without approval from a referendum

success of the Scotland Act (2016)

fulfilled David Cameron’s promises of increased powers for Scotland during the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum

failure of the Scotland Act (2016)

controversy over the UK’s government block of the Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill in 2023 suggested that there’s still a lack of clarity over the relationship between Westminster and the devolved bodies

what did the Wales Act (2017) do

gave the Welsh Assembly the power to increase or decrease income tax by up to 10% and began the process of upgrading the Welsh Assembly to a Parliament

success of the Wales Act (2017)

polls suggest that the Senedd has become more popular among Welsh voters since it gained power

failure of the Wales Act (2017)

it granted significant powers to the Senedd without the consent of the Welsh people

European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act (2020)

the Act through which the UK left the European Union and the European Common Market

European Union (Future Relationship) Act (2020)

means that the UK and EU must maintain a ‘level playing field,’ in terms of trade - they can’t seek to gain a competitive advantage through tariffs or trade barriers

successes of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act (2020) and the European Union (Future Relationship) Act (2020)

the UK Parliament now has more control over the laws that it can pass governing the economy, boosting perception of parliamentary sovereignty, the UK can now sign trade deals on its own, rather than part of the EU

Northern Ireland Protocol (since revised and re-named as the Windsor Framework)

means that Northern Ireland maintains free trade with the Republic of Ireland (and therefore the EU), while there are checks on goods moving between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK

failures of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act (2020) and the European Union (Future Relationship) Act (2020)

some argue that Brexit hasn’t achieved its aims as UK law still contains thousands of EU regulations and directives, parliamentary sovereignty is limited in practice by the ‘level playing field’

calls for the abolition of the House of Lords

small changes aren’t enough to improve an inherently undemocratic chamber

opposition to the abolition of the House of Lords

a unicameral system would give the exeuctive huge amounts of power, especially as it tends to have a majority in the Commons

basis for calls for a reduction in size of the House of Lords

it would become less expensive and more efficient if it was smaller, the number of ‘absentee peers' would be reduced e.g. between 2014 and 2022, 14% of peers rarely or never attended the chamber

opposition to a reduction in size of the House of Lords

deciding which peers should stay in the chamber and which should be expelled would present a large political challenge

basis for calls for the introduction of a completely or partly elected chamber

the Lords would become more democratically legitimate, and therefore more likely to challenge the executive if it was elected

opposition to the introduction of a completely or partly elected chamber

there’s a danger that this could create a US-style gridlock, or threaten the legitimacy of the House of Commons

basis for calls for removing the remaining 92 hereditary peers

this would complete the reform proposed by Blair and further modernise the House

opposition to removing the remaining 92 hereditary peers

some hereditary peers argue that they work harder than many life peers

basis for increased power for the Northern Ireland Assembly

in 2014, the UK Parliament set out plans to devolve control of corporation tax to Northern Ireland, but this still hasn’t happened due to the amount of time that the NI Assembly has been suspended

opposition to increased power for the Northern Ireland Assembly

giving the Assembly more powers is pointless if the major parties can’t agree to sit in a power-sharing government with each other

basis for calls for an enlarged Senedd

increasing the number of seats in the Senedd would increase the likelihood of a multi-party system developing, and offer more localised representation

opposition to an enlarged Senedd

devolved elections in Wales have always seen under 50% turnout, suggesting that there’s little public interest in increasing the Senedd’s size

basis for calls to repeal Section 35 of the Scotland Act (1998)

removing the UK government’s ability to block devolved laws would increase the integrity of the Scottish Parliament

opposition to the repeal of Section 35 of the Scotland Act (1998)

this would challenge the core principles of parliamentary sovereignty and the unitary state

basis for calls for devolving the ability to call referendums

giving the Scottish Parliament and other devolved legislatures the ability to call referendums could reduce the UK’s democratic deficit

opposition to devolving the ability to call referendums

it would threaten the unitary state

basis for calls to replace the HRA with a Bill of Rights

some critics of the HRA argue that it prioritises individual rights over collective rights - an entrenched Bill of Rights is needed as it would be harder to change than ordinary statute law

opposition to replacing the HRA with an entrenched Bill of Rights

could give too much power to the executive and remove the role of the ECHR, it could also lead to the Constitution becoming outdated as it would be harder to change

turnout of 2021 Scottish Parliament election

64%

adoption of AMS in Scotland

has allowed for broadly proportional outcomes and created opportunities for multi-party influence

what has Scotland benefitted from since 1997

higher pay growth (87%) than any other country in the UK

what had Scotland become by 2020

the third-most productive region in the UK after London and the South East

which policies were implemented in the UK following trials in Scotland

the public smoking ban and mandatory mask-wearing in supermarkets during the COVID-19 pandemic

failure of the Scottish education system

despite spending over £800 more per pupil, it performs a lot worse than the English system in international rankings

failure of health services in Scotland

A&E wait times are longer than England, despite higher funding per person

what has devolution failed to stop in Scotland

a sharp rise in the number of drug-related deaths, which was almost 3x higher than the rest of the UK in 2020

when was targeted policy making in Scotland undermined

when the UK government chose to block the Scottish Parliament’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill in 2023

evidence for strong nationalist support in Scotland

support for Scottish independence rose by 10% (from 43% to 53%) between 2018 and 2020

what successful policy has devolution in Wales led to

the banning of single-use plastics in 2023, a policy which the UK government followed suit on

what has devolution in Wales allowed a much greater focus on

preserving and building Welsh culture

what has there been an overall decline of in Wales

Welsh speakers, and by 2020 the number of people who considered themselves fluent had dropped as low as 10%

what has the Welsh NHS been criticised for

providing a poorer service than in England: 25% of Welsh patients waited over a year for treatment in 2022, compared with 5% in England

what was Wales near the bottom of

the UK’s economic productivity rankings, according to a 2021 ONS survey

number of deaths in the 25 years before the Good Friday Agreement, number of deaths after

3500, under 100

by how much and in what sectors did employment grow in Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2022

36% in the financial and insurance sectors

for what is Northern Ireland at the bottom of the regional league table

UK GDP

successful policies of London Mayors

it has introduced schemes such as ‘Boris’ bikes and the congestion charge, which have helped to reduce London’s carbon footprint by 32% since 2001

successful policy of Greater Manchester Mayor

Andy Burnham introduced a £2-single journey fare cap on public transport in 2022 to help with cost-of-living pressures