Constitutional Reforms since 2010

What are the 3 Constitutional Reforms since 2010

Fixed Term Parliament Act

Devolution

Brexit

When was the Fixed term Parliament Act

2011

What did the FTPA do?

amended the PMs prerogative power to hold a general election when they want to

Act specified that GE will be held every 5 years

If the PM wanted to hold a snap election they had to have 2/3 majority in HOC

What is a strength of the FTPA

provides stability within the political system and during coalition ensuring they lasted full 5 years

What are the Weaknesses of the FTPA after 2015

PM held 2 GEs not within the 5 years 2017 and 2019 so its not really upheld

What happened to the Act in 2022

It was repealed because it could be bypassed by Parliament passing a separate Act which allowed a GE to be called

When were the 2 Devolution Acts

Scotland 2016 and Wales 2017

What did the Scotland Act do?

gave Scottish Parliament full control of income tax and additional powers over welfare

Also made Scottish powers permanent part of the UK constitution which could not be changed without a referendum

What is a strength of the Scotland Act?

Fulfilled David Cameron’s promises of more power to Scotland

What is a weakness of the Act?

UK blocked Scotland’s Gender Recognition reform bill in 2023 which caused controversy over the relationship between Westminster and devolved bodies

What did the Wales Act 2017 do?

Gave them the power to increase or decrease income tax by 10% and began process of upgrading Welsh assembly to Welsh Parliament

Strength of Wales Act

Polls suggested Senedd has become more popular since they gained more powers

What is a weakness of the Wales ACT

granted significant powers to Welsh Senedd without consent from the people

What was Brexit Act formal name?

European Union ( Withdrawal Agreement) 2020

What did Brexit do?

The UK left the EU and the European Common Market

What is the Windsor framework

Northern Ireland can free trade with the Republic of Ireland and therefore the EU

What has the Brexit Act improved for Parliament

Parliamentary sovereignty because Parliament can pass its own laws on economy etc

What is a strength of Brexit on trade deals

They now sign trade deals of their own rather than as part of the EU

Why do some argue Brexit has not achieved its aims?

Because UK law still has loads of EU regulations

Why is Parliamentary sovereignty still limited by Brexit?

it is limited by the ‘level playing field’