The Constitution of the United Kingdom reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Constitution of the United Kingdom

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The United Kingdom has an uncodified constitution, which means it is not all contained in a single document. There are several sources of the constitution, some being written down and some not.

Table of contents

1 Key principles 2 Sources 3 Reform 3.1 The expansion of the electoral franchise 3.2 New Labour's reforms 3.2.1 First Term 3.2.2 Second Term 4 See also

Key principles

The key principles of the constitution are the underlying features of the constitution. The two most important principles have existed for a very long time, since the creation of Parliament. They were identified by the constitutional lawyer, A.V. Dicey as the twin pillars of the constitution.

• Parliamentary sovereignty (Parliament is the supreme law making body)
• Rule of law (everyone is equal before the law)

The most recent key principle is European Union membership, the principle that EU law takes precedence over UK law. This principle was famously identified in the Factortame case in which the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 was overturned. This appears to undermine the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty, but Parliament could still withdraw from the EU by repealing the European Communities Act 1972, so in a way sovereignty is preserved.

The other important principles are:

• Unitary state (power lies at the centre)
• Parliamentary government and constitutional monarchy
• European Union membership (EU law takes precedence over UK law)

Sources

There are several sources of the constitution, shown below. Not all of the sources are written down, some being contained in conventions for example, but is incorrect to say the UK has an "unwritten constitution" because much of it is written down.

The main sources of the constitution are:

• Acts of Parliament (written)
• Conventions (unwritten)
• Common Law (unwritten)
• Royal Prerogative (unwritten)
• EU law (written)
• Treaties (written)
• Works of authority (written)

Among the many key statutes or conventions are:

• Magna Carta
• Habeas Corpus Act 1679
• Bill of Rights 1689
• Act of Settlement 1701
• Act of Union 1707, joining England & Scotland to form Great Britain
• Act of Union 1800, joining Great Britain & Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
• Statute of Westminster 1931
• Parliament Act 1911 (revised 1949)
• Peerage Act 1963
• European Communities Act 1972
• House of Lords Act 1999
• Conventionss:
  • ... that, since the reign of Queen Anne, the monarch will not refuse to grant the Royal Assent to Bills passed by Parliament.
  • ... that the monarch will not dissolve Parliament without the advice of the Prime Minister.
  • ... that the monarch will ask the leader of the dominant party in the House of Commons to form a government.
  • ... that the monarch will ask a member of the House of Commons (rather than the House of Lords or someone outside parliament) to form a government.
  • ... that all ministers be drawn from the House of Commons or the Lords.
  • ... that the House of Lords will accept any legislation that was in the Government's manifesto (the 'Salisbury Convention').

Reform

The expansion of the electoral franchise

Main article: The expansion of the electoral franchise

Between 1832 and 1989, numerous Acts of Parliament increased the number of people from 5% of the adult population to the system of universal suffrage for all people 18 or over that exists today.

New Labour's reforms

First Term

In Labour's first term (1997-2001), it introduced a large package of constitutional reforms, which it promised in its 1997 manifesto. The most major were:

• The creation of the devolved assemblies in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, with their own elections.
• The creation of a devolved assembly in London and the introduction of directly elected mayors.
• The beginning of a process of reform of the House of Lords, including the removal of all hereditary peers except 92.
• The incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law by the passing of the Human Rights Act 1998.
• The passing of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
• The passing of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, creating the Electoral Commission to regulate elections and referendums and party spending to an extent.

Second Term

The House of Commons voted on seven options in February 2003 on what proportion of elected and appointed members (from 100% elected to 100% appointed) the House of Lords should have. None of the options received a majority.

In 2004, the Joint Committee of both the House of Commons and House of Lords, tasked with overseeing the drafting of the proposed Civil Contingencies Bill, published its first report, in which, amongst other things, it suggested amending the bill's clauses that grant Cabinet Ministers the power "to disapply or modify any Act of Parliament" as overly wide, and that the bill should be modified to preclude changes to the following Acts, which, it suggested, formed "the fundamental parts of constitutional law" of the United Kingdom:

(names are shown as they appear in Hansard: [1])

• Magna Carta 1297
• Bill of Rights 1688
• Crown and Parliament Recognition Act 1689
• Act of Settlement 1700
• Union with Scotland Act 1707
• Union with Ireland Act 1800
• The Parliament Acts of 1911 & 1949
• Life Peerages Act 1958
• Emergency Powers Act 1964
• European Communities Act 1972
• House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975
• Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975
• British Nationality Act 1981
• Supreme Court Act 1981
• Representation of the People Act 1983
• Government of Wales Act 1998
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Northern Ireland Act 1998
• Scotland Act 1998
• House of Lords Act 1999
• And the bill itself (presumably to be named the Civil Contingencies Act 2004).

However, this amendment was defeated by the government.

See also

• Commonwealth of Britain Bill
• Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe
• UK topics

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