Government and Politics of the UK - examples and case studies

3 examples of conventions (sources of the UK constitution 1)

1. Salisbury convention = HoL does not block legislation from government’s manifesto e.g. the Con. dominated Lords didn’t block Atlee govt. from creating the NHS (1945)
   

2. Collective ministerial responsibility = all government ministers publicly support policy e.g. Anneliese Dobbs (international development minister) resigned over cuts to international aid (2025)
   

3. Appointment of the PM = the monarch asks the leader of the party with a majority to form a government e.g. Q. Elizabeth II asked Liz Truss to form a govt. after she won leadership elec. (2022)

Not legally binding but politically binding and facilitate smooth running of government

3 examples of Statute Law (sources of the UK constitution 2)

1. Human Rights Act (1998) incorporated ECHR into UK law

2. Equality Act (2010) protected certain characteristics

3. Fixed Term Parliaments Act (2011; repealed 2022) removed the PM’s prerogative power to call early elections without parliament

Often define rights and are central to the political system, supersedes common law, but can be overturned by governments due to uncodified constitution

3 examples of Works of Authority (sources of the UK constitution 3)

1. A.V. Dicey’s Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution inc. twin pillars and identified some conventions (e.g. monarch must give royal assent)

2. Erskine May’s Parliamentary Practice inc. key rulings by the speaker and is regularly referred to (March 2019 Bercow cited 1604 convention to prevent May bringing back her Brexit deal for a third time)

3. The Cabinet Manual (2010) created at the start of the coalition and inc. ministerial conduct

Crucial in shaping constitutional understanding, particularly in cases of dispute, but other sources (e.g. statute law) take precedence; a guideline

3 examples of the modernisation of political institutions

1. House of Lords Act 1999 - removed all but 92 hereditary peers and allowed for the introduction of nominated life peers

2. Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - created a separate Supreme Court and removed law lords

3. House of Lords Reform Act 2014 - gave existing peers the right to resign and enabled the removal of peers for non-attendance or serious crime

   • March 2025:

     • 195 peers resigned

     • 16 removed for non-attendance

3 examples of greater democracy in the political system

1. Scotland and Wales Acts 1997 - allowed referendums to held in S and W over the creation of devolved assemblies. yes in both cases

2. Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011 - required the PM to secure the support of at least 2/3rds of MPs to call an early GE

   • secured 5 year term for coalition

   • overridden by May 2 yrs into govt.

   • repealed 2022

3. Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 - allowed for the direct election of Police and Crime Commissioners, the first ones took place in 2012

3 parts of the nature of the UK constitution

1. uncodified

2. parliamentary sovereignty

3. unitary (power with Westminster)

4 Milestones in the history of the British Constitution

1. 1215 Magna Carta - 63 clauses, some still in use today inc. that all ‘free men’ have a right to a fair trial

2. 1689 Bill of Rights - parliament has met every year since 1689, established parliamentary privilege and free elections etc.

3. 1701 Act of Settlement - ensured a protestant successor to the throne but nothing to do with democracy

4. Parliaments Acts 1911 and 1949 - severely reduced the power of the HoL. 1911 - removed right to absolute veto and restricted delay to 2 years and could not delay money bills. 1949 - delay reduced to 1 year

3 examples of devolved legislative bodies in constituent countries of the UK

1. Scotland Act 1998

2. Wales Act 1998

3. Northern Ireland Act 1998

3 examples of human rights in the British constitution

1. Human Rights Act 1998 - ECHR into UK law so human rights cases could be heard in domestic courts

2. Freedom of Information Act 2000 - greater access to information held by public bodies

   • 11,000 requests July-Sept. 2020

     • 86% responded in time

     • only 40% answered in full and 35% denied

3. Equality Act 2010 - to combat discrimination and promote a fairer society

4. Data Protection Act 2018 - implemented the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). All EU member states required to implement regulations inc. control on govt. handling/saving of personal data

3 ways the British constitution could be reformed further

1. lowering the voting age to 16 across the UK (as in S & W)

2. Introduce elected component to the HoL

3. Extend devolution to England

3 arguments that the British Constitution protects rights well

1. there is formal support for human rights by the govt. and every act of parliament has to comply with the HRA 1998

2. current legislation provides a strong legal protection for core rights via the HRA and ECHR mechanisms

3. The UK has a relatively strong institutional framework for protecting rights, which extends beyond the courts inc. the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which often brings cases under the Equality Act 2010

3 arguments that the British Constitution does not protect rights well

1. there is little political consensus between parties as to the actual substance of human rights guarantees and the existing framework can be attacked (uncodified)

2. Brexit removed safety net for certain non-discrimination, migrant, and labour rights formerly provided under EU law

3. social and economic rights are seen by some as poorly established and weakly protected

3 arguments that the British Constitution should be codified

1. would provide greater clarity

2. could reduce concentration of power in the executive

3. conventions can be broken

   • Johnson prorogue of parliament for 5 weeks in 2019

4 arguments that the British Constitution should NOT be codified

1. flexibility and adaptability

2. parliament would struggle to come to a consensus

3. marked lack of popular support

4. would give unaccountable judges greater power (USA)

2 case studies where individual and collective rights have come into conflict

1. religious faith and LGBTQ+ rights - Ashers Baking Company Ltd’s owners were prosecuted for refusing to bake a cake for a gay rights activist who had asked them to incorporate the slogan ‘support gay marriage’. In 2018 the SC overturned the lower courts judgement on the grounds that the bakery did not discriminate against the customer, but the message on the cake, which they would have refused to bake regardless of the customer

2. Uber drivers - in 2016 two Uber drivers sued the firm claiming they were employees and not self-employed. This would give them benefits such as holiday pay and minimum wage (collective rights of all Uber drivers). Uber lost the case and the collective rights of its workers were protected at the expense of some individual drivers who preferred to be self-employed

4 ‘milestones’ in parliamentary representation

1. 1928 = full female suffrage

2. 1919 = first female MP (Nancy Astor)

3. 1987 = 3 black MPs

4. 2010 = first Chinese MP

4 facts about the makeup of parliament 2024

1. 40% female

2. 14% ethnic minorities (17% population)

3. 64 LGBTQ MPs

4. 92% of the cabinet are state educated

the journey of a bill into law (9 stages)

1. green paper

2. white paper

3. first reading (no vote or debate)

4. second reading (main debate - last time a govt. was defeated here was in 1986 w/ Sunday Trading Bill)

5. committee stage (public bill committees)

   • govt. majority = unlikely to change

   • lasts for the lifetime of the bill

   • 2000-2010: 0.5% of non-govt. amendments were made

6. Report stage

7. Third reading

8. House of Lords stages (ping pong)

   • Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 went to the Lords 5 times and the Commons 4 times over a 30-hour period

9. Royal assent