Assess the Strengths and Weaknesses of the British Constitution

Changes often occur through democratic pressure, for example the Great Reform Act of 1832 where all middle class men got the vote or the Equal Franchise Act of 1929 where women got the vote. This shows that the constitution has adapted through time and has devolved power to the people which is something it would not be able to do if the constitution was codified. However, the form in which elections takes place (first past the post0 means that in Britain we have elective dictatorship. Moreover, constitutional commentators have suggested that the fundamental principles of the rule of law have been ignored or bypasses by successive governments, for example the 1989 poll tax law which the majority saw as unjust and led to riots. The 1984 criminal justice act significantly curtailed an accused persons right to remain silent and contravened human rights. People see this as a weakness of the constitution and say that if the constitution was entrenched, the principles or the rule of law and other such acts would not be able to be bypassed so easily. On the other hand, all of these laws/ acts mentioned in the argument against the constitution were amended or abandoned which would not be able to have happened without the constitution being uncodified.

The Westminster model of parliamentary government usually means that governments get their own way in parliament. Though a great deal of power has been decentralised through devolution and much sovereignty has been delegated to the European Union, ultimately Parliament has the final say in all political and constitutional matters and could repeal both devolution and EU membership. However, in the Uk power is centralised so that the Prime Minister tends to dominate the cabinet, which takes us back to the argument of elective dictatorship. The executive usually controls the Cabinet meaning that the cabinet is run by one main person, which again, is like a dictatorship. Furthermore, central government controls local government and so central government holds all the power. This is called centralisation and is a weakness of an uncodified constitution.

Britain has not had a violent revolution since the English Civil War. The UK constitution has evolved and developed differently to other codified constitutions. Constitutional rules and principles have been tested by time, for example, the monarchy has adapted as British culture and politics has changed in order to keep the monarchy part of Britain. The rule of Law has worked since 2001; in 2004 the Labour government was forced to amend its anti- terror legislation after the House of Lords ruled that indefinite detention of foreign terror suspects without trial was incompatible with the Human Rights Act and in breach of the most fundamental principles of the rule of Law. This proves that Britain is a stable democracy and furthermore that the UK constitution works without having to be codified. On the other hand, codification would entrench people’s rights, defining the relationship between the state and citizens, possibly through a bill of rights. Rights would therefore be clearly defined and they would be easier to ensure.