Make out a case against the adoption of a codified constitution for the UK

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Make out a case against the adoption of a codified constitution for the UK

A constitution is a system of rules which describes the structure and powers of the government, the relationship between different parts of government and the relationship between government and citizens. It can further be separated into codified and uncodified. An uncodified constitution is a constitution which has not been written down in a single document in an organised form. An uncodified constitution is partly written and unwritten but cannot be found in a single form.  The UK has an uncodified constitution, the constitution cannot be found in a single form. Uncodified constitutions tend not to be entrenched therefore short term amendments can be made.

The fact that the UK constitution is neither codified nor entrenched allows it to evolve and develop according to circumstances. For example in 1997 the labour party devolved power to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and a London assembly. This was done because the power was too concentrated in parliament. In order to this a referendum was held to make sure that it had popular support. This is evident that amendments to the constitution can be quickly and efficiently done as the other countries wanted individual power rather than just England. The fact the codified constitution is more rigid than an uncodified constitution would mean that the constitution could easily become outdated as overtime society changes, therefore some laws may need to be changed to adapt to the current changes in society, like it was easy to enforce anti-terrorist laws whereas that would have been difficult if is was an entrenched constitution. If it had been a codified constitution it would have been a very long process. As society changes, changes will need to be made which proves that the UK constitution is strong in this sense but this may create instability with the constitution.

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As codified constitutions are written one time it would mean that one set of ideologies and values would be implemented therefore it would be bias and unrepresentative. If a codified constitution was to be made now it consist on strong Conservative principle however would be different compared to when Labour are in power. This mean that codified constitutions would cause political bias which would result in a negative affect on the UK and its citizens.

However one major advantage of adapting a codified constitution is that it protects rights. Individual liberties are better protected as the relationship between ...

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