There is no convincing case for a written constitution in Britain. Discuss

"There is no convincing case for a written constitution in Britain." Discuss The statement that 'there is no convincing case for a written constitution' appears to be relatively incorrect in nature, as when in regard to the constitution there are many pros and cons surrounding each of the alternatives to what is currently in place. Using Britain as an example of an unwritten constitution, I hope to establish what is wrong with it currently, and how it could be improved if a written system was used, in the eyes of the electorate and benefit for the nation. Ultimately concluding on whether the negative or positive factors balance or outweigh each other in providing the foundations for a 'convincing case' in favour of a written constitution. An unwritten or uncodified constitution is that which is in no single referable format, an unwritten constitution is comprised of the body of the constituent country's law. Enacted over time, coupled with an emphasis on political precedent and enshrined parliamentary procedure to create a framework in which a limited government operates. Although these principles are not codified in a single law, they are still recognized by courts, legislators, and executives as binding upon government, limiting its powers. Thus, a court might cite 'the constitution' in forbidding an exercise of power, even though no document exists. A written or codified

  • Word count: 1394
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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In light of some judicial decisions since 1960 should the power of judges in relation to the Irish Constitution of 1937 be re-assessed

Constitutions are important in all countries for they affirm the basic principals according to which they should be governed. There are many definitions of a constitution, such as that provided by the Collins English Dictionary: 'the system or body of fundamental principles according to which a nation state or body politic is constituted and governed' (Collins, 1995). For the purposes of this paper a working definition will be; a document, or documents, in which the basic legal rules of the constitution are authoritatively declared (Doolan, 1988). In the overwhelming majority of cases, they are written documents, although even where this is not the case the country can still be regarded as having a constitution. They are legally supreme, often difficult to amend and sometimes short-lived (Watts, 2003). A synopsis of the 1937 Irish Constitution will be provided while the remainder of this paper will explore the degree of power the judiciary have in relation to the constitution in Ireland and should this be re-assessed through a process of constitutional reform. In every modern state there exists a readily identifiable document or collection of documents which embodies a selection of the most fundamental rules about the government of that state (Doolan, 1988). The law of the constitution is readily and easily ascertained by reference to one or a few documents which by some

  • Word count: 1455
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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There are two main types of electoral system in the UK:First Past the Post (FPTP) Proportional Representation (PR)

Electoral systems There are two main types of electoral system in the UK: * First Past the Post (FPTP) * Proportional Representation (PR) First Past the Post (FPTP) FPTP is the voting system used for the election of MPs to 'seats' in the UK Parliament. It is a system in which the 'winner takes all' and usually gives a clear majority both at constituency and national level. This means that a candidate in a constituency only needs one more vote than the nearest rival to win the seat. Similarly, political parties only need to win one more seat in the House of Commons to have a majority. Advantages of FPTP There is very little chance of extremist parties being elected to Parliament under FPTP because they are unlikely to gain enough votes in any one constituency. Generally the results of elections using FPTP can be calculated quickly. When necessary, this makes the transfer of power from one party to another much easier. The 1997 and 2001 elections were clear evidence of this. Disadvantages of FPTP The main criticism of FPTP is that the number of votes cast for a party in general elections is not accurately reflected in the number of seats won. An example of this was the 1997 election when the Conservatives gained 18% of the vote in Scotland but not one seat. This is mirrored at constituency level, where the winning candidate may have received only one third of the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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To what extent did “The longest suicide note in history” contribute to Conservative victory in the 1983 General Election?

To what extent did "The longest suicide note in history" contribute to Conservative victory in the 1983 General Election? For the Conservative Party, the 1983 General Election victory would have seemed to be another political triumph. However, many argue that this particular victory was aided by many factors which the 'Tories could not have controlled. I will look at and analyse the General Election results as well as other major factors such as the battle in the South Atlantic, the state of the Labour Party, the public opinion of Thatcher, and other personal triumphs for the Conservatives as a whole. By looking at election results and the other factors mentioned I will show that uncontrollable factors were as much to hold responsible for the Conservative victory as the 'Tories were themselves. There were many successes to the Conservative Party during the late 1970's and mid- 1980's. Under Margaret Thatcher, the Conservatives had achieved three general election victories on the trot, in 1979 and 1983 then again in 1987. During this period, the Conservative Party had achieved successes in the form of the Housing Act 1980, which was a major piece of legislation which enabled people to buy their council houses- consequently emphasising the New-Right ideology of independence and self-reliance. Another major factor, which brought success to both the Conservative Party

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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How effective is Parliament in checking Executive Power?

How effective is Parliament in checking Executive Power? Parliament scrutinises the Government through many different mediums. These mediums include but are not limited to select committees, Question Time and debates in both Houses. Despite the many different ways in which power can be checked the effectiveness of this scrutiny is often criticised. These criticism include select committees having a majority of the governing party's MPs, the Government sitting in the House of Commons and therefore influencing decision made and the lack off information for opposition parties. Some may say that the number of ways in which the Government can be scrutinised provides adequate effectiveness. One way is during debates every Member of Parliament, whether that be a member of the Government itself or the single representative of the Green Party, may voice their opinion or suggest changes to a bill. Despite this, many backbenchers and independent MPs have little voice and the majority of major issues are contested between the frontbenchers. The official opposition party, the party with the second most seats, has a larger voice than other opposition parties. This is partly due to them having more MPs and partly due to the leader of the official opposition being allowed more questions during Prime Ministers Question Time. This allows more specific and in depth scrutiny that if every

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Analyse the circumstances in which ministers resign

Analyse the circumstances in which ministers resign Abbas Ameli The scene of UK politics has been witness to many ministerial resignations in recent decades, some more controversial than others, some more sought than others, and some more high profile than others. Whilst some resignations such as that of Estelle Morris's seem to have been the minister's own preference, many other ministers have practically been forced to resign under conventions of ministerial responsibility. One of these conventions states that ministers whose departments are seen as incompetent and commit serious errors and/or if the individual minister is proven to have committed unacceptable acts should resign. This is the Individual ministerial responsibility, which also asserts that ministers should regularly attend parliament and answer questions and be prepared to be held accountable. David Blunkett, former Home Secretary, has already resigned twice under this convention from Tony Blair's cabinet. Another convention which has, on occasions, forced ministers to resign from cabinet is the Collective Ministerial Responsibility. Under this convention, individual ministers should not, at least in public, disagree with govt policies. Ministers who wish otherwise should resign from cabinet. Robin Cook and Claire Short resigned in 2003 from cabinet in oppose to the government's decision to go to Iraq. In

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Explain the arguments for and against introducing a codified constitution

Explain the arguments for and against introducing a codified constitution. Discuss. Ursula Oliver 12RJ At present, the UK's constitution is uncodified or de facto; there is no single document though the majority of Britain's constitution lies in written form of acts, court judgments and treaties. The foundation of British constitution is the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty where acts passed by Parliament are the UK's supreme and final source of law. Therefore, simply by passing an Act, Parliament has power to change the constitution. This has caused debate over whether this uncodified constitution is seen as flexible or a liability to the UK. Some people wish to recover the constitution by introducing a codified constitution which is entrenched, whereas others such as Conservative leader David Cameron believe a British Bill of Rights alongside or instead of the Human Rights Act is best whilst maintaining an uncodified constitution. Arguments for introducing a codified constitution usually suggest that the introduction would help to correct imbalances in the current political system. This refers mainly to the second chamber and considering the constitutional status the House of Lords holds, whilst also allowing a discussion over the relation between the executive and legislature. A constitution which is codified provides a counter-balance to the power of the executive,

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Discuss the view that there is nothing to be gained in writing a constitution down

Discuss the view that there is nothing to be gained in writing a constitution down. The United Kingdom has an uncodified constitution. This means that there is not one single document outlining the laws and customs of the land, but a number of different articles, acts and judicial decisions that have been made throughout English history. There are advantages of having a system like this, most obviously is the flexibility and adaptable nature of this method, allowing parliament to modernise or adjust previous laws in our uncodified constitution. This is contrasted to another practise by which the constitution is enshrined in a single document, this is known as having a codified constitution, such as in the USA. The fact that the laws and customs of the land have been written down to the finest detail (even dates that elections should be held on) makes it clear and sets out exactly what you can do, rather than what you can't do. Often the case between countries with codified and uncodified constitutions have two main differences in the execution of the rule of law. Having an uncodified constitution in Britain allows the electorate freedom to do anything unless it is prohibited by law, this can be seen as an advantage for a British government because it is easier to change laws and pass acts prohibiting anything that might occur. Whereas it is the opposite in America, making it

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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What Factors Enabled Mussolini to come to Power in 1922

What Factors Enabled Mussolini to come to Power in 1922 In the early 1920's Benito Mussolini, leader of the Fascist Party, became prime minister of Italy, even though just 1 year previously in a democratic election, the party only got 7% of the votes. I am going to try to explain why the leader of the relatively unpopular Fascist Party became leader of Italy. Italy had joined the Great War of 1914-18 on the 'Allied' side, under the belief that if the allies one, then Italy would gain territory along the Balkan coast and a small part of what was the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However when the war was over Italy were given a fraction of what they had been promised. This infuriated the Italians who had lost hundreds-of-thousands Italian men and had had their economy plummet to an awful state. Italy felt that the liberal government had failed, and many Italians felt that democracy would not work. This sparked up the growth of Nationalist ideals such as Socialism and Fascism. The middle classes of Italy were concerned by the sudden popularity of Socialism among the lower classes, as they campaigned for workers rights and removal of businesses from owners. This would mean that the owners would lose lots of money. However the Fascist party were a forceful party more concerned with Italy and the destruction of Socialism. This appealed to them. The leader of the Fascist party was a

  • Word count: 777
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister 1958-1966

Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister 1958-1966 Verwoerd wanted: * An all white South Africa by 1978. * The complete and permanent division of races in South Africa. * The National Party now controlled the South African police, courts, media, civil services, all levels of government and the army. This meant Verwoerd could introduce even more radical changes. 959: Bantu Self-Government Act: * Verwoerd recommended that 8 (later 10) self-governing homelands for non-whites. These homelands were known as 'Bantustans'. * He hoped to 'cleanse' the rest of South Africa of non-whites and force them into these reserves. * Verwoerd planned to monitor the economy and government of these new Bantustans and prepare them for self-rule. * He was assassinated before his plans were achieved. John Vorster, Prime Minister 1966-1978 Vorster intended on completing Verwoerd vision of Bantustans across South Africa. * Between 1976 and 1981, four Bantustans were created (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei). * They were too overcrowded and financially weak to stand any chance of prosperity. * Each Bantustan had its own leader. Each leader was approved by the National party and was little more than a puppet leader. * The movement of blacks in and out of Bantustans was theoretically banned but many blacks survived by illegally commuting into white

  • Word count: 201
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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