Reform to the UK constitution hasn’t gone far enough. Discuss (40m)
The UK’s constitution is uncodified, meaning it is not found in one single document and can thus constantly be modified and changed. It is this evolutionary aspect of our constitution that allows it to remain modern and representative of the electorate and public opinion. As a result, the constitution is rather “temporary”, generally in a good way, and many reforms to it over the years have lead to greater liberties and an increased sense of democracy throughout the country. However there are still those who argue that constitutional reform in fact has not gone far enough, being both limited and “sugar-coated” to make it look more dramatic than it really is. This essay will explore both sides to the argument and come to a rounded judgemental conclusion on the issue.
Probably the first point to make is that many people think that there is no real need for major constitutional change. The current system works well and the popular phrase “if it aint broken, don’t fix it” is often cited. For example one of the major calls for constitutional change is for the fully electable nature of the House of Lords, but in reality the current Lords system acts as a efficient check on the executive, having defeated it on certain issues nearly 300 times since the vast majority of hereditary peers were ejected, including plans to curtail civil liberties. Another advantage of an unelected upper house is that it creates a system where people can be appointed based on their practical experience and suitability to the job, not just on the back of political personality successes, such as Charles Kennedy who was elected as an MP at the age of only 23. Despite this there has still been a wave of constitution reforms over the last decade. Devolution was handed out to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 1998 as well as to the Greater London Assembly in 1999 which marks perhaps the biggest constitution change in recent history. Such decisions directly challenged the rule of parliamentary sovereignty, the corner stone of our current constitutional system, indicating that reform has actually been fairly dramatic. Other significant examples include the Human rights act of 1998, in which European convention was incorporated into the UK system, and the freedom of information act of 2000 which provided greater access to information held by public authorities. Electoral reform is another key aspect of change to the constitution system over the last few decades. The First past the post system of voting was the core system used in the UK, yet in recent years, especially in the devolved assemblies, newer systems such as that of proportional representation have been introduced, arguably increasing the democratic nature of elections in such areas.
