The UK Constitution

It is generally adhered to that a constitution, a manner of law superior to all others, is prior to and altogether separate from a system of government, set in place by a higher authority. However, constitutional laws in the UK are neither entrenched nor supreme, as the basis of the UK constitution is a doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty, thus allowing any government in power with its overwhelming majority to effectively alter the constitution by repealing any past statutes and implementing new legislation. One advantage of having a flexible constitution such as this is that it can be modernised without too much difficulty in tune with an ever-changing society, the most notable of recent times being the Human Rights Act 1998 and the devolution statutes such as the Referendums Act 1997.

Some might argue that with the UK’s Parliament possessing an incomparable measure of power, this is in some way unconstitutional. However there are numerous restraints present in conventions that Parliament is forced to observe. The UK constitution is in no doubt a unitary one, with power ultimately residing with the central government. Yet these powers are fused between three separate branches of the government, each acting as a check on the other ensuring full political and constitutional accountability. Within the various institutions of the government, rules set in place by the prime minister can be found to ensure the constitutional conformity of the cabinet’s ministers within each area of the government. For example the Ministerial Code of Conduct outlines the responsibility of Members of Parliament to “maintain the high standards the British people have a right to expect” of them. The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 also sought to prevent an abuse of power by the Lords in legislature and shifted the base of power to the House of Commons thus establishing a direct line of accountability to the electorate.

Legislation has evolved the UK constitution over several hundred years. A significant change with reference to civil liberties derived from the constitution came about with the introduction of the Magna Carta in 1215 which proposed the idea that each and every individual should be entitled to justice. Another addition and also one of the most notable of the last century was the Bill of Rights in 1689 which, upon the restoration of the monarchy after Cromwell’s revolution, put in place the fundamental grounds for the present constitution. The majority of these ideals can still be seen today. However, in more recent times, the general constitutional philosophy as influenced by A.V Dicey suggests that British citizens are “without benefit of positive and fundamental constitutional rights giving legal protection to the individual against the public authorities of the state”. This can be seen to be a fairly accurate outlook of the modern constitution as there is no “fundamental” constitutional law that takes precedence over legislation.

In conclusion, when taking into account its many diverse components, it is more than apparent that the UK does in fact have a constitution; one that clearly sets out how political power is allocated and contains the vast majority of the fundamental principles found in any formal constitution and a colossal amount of those that are not.

Bibliography

•   Allen, M. & Thompson, B. (2008), Cases and Materials on Constitutional and Administrative Law, 9th Ed., O.U.P

•   Dicey, A.V. (1982), Introduction to The Study of The Law of The Constitution, 8th Ed., Indianapolis

•   Dingle, L. & Miller, B. (2004), UK Constitutional Reform, Squire Law Library,  (18/10/09)

•   Hill, C. (1972), God’s Englishman: Oliver Cromwell and the English revolution, Penguin.

•   Lord Halsbury, (ed. Hetherington, S.) (2007), Halsbury’s Laws of England, Butterworths

•   Loveland, I. (2003), Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Human Rights: A Critical Introduction, 3rd Ed., LexisNexis UK.

•   Mackintosh, J.P. (1977), The British Cabinet, Stevens & Sons

•   Maitland, F.W. (1908), The Constitutional History of England, Cambridge, C.U.P

•   Paine, T. (1999), Rights of Man, Dover Thrift

•   Turpin, C. & Tomkins, A. (2007), British Government and the Constitution, 6th Ed., C.U.P

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