1. Constitutional Reform
Miss Christian 12E F9 Lesson #2
Wednesday 14th September 2011
Constitutional Reform

2. Learning Objectives
To define and explain the concept and processes of constitutional reform
To describe the constitutional reforms made since 1997
To evaluate the extent and impact of constitutional reform

3. Traffic Light Question Challenge
Miss Christian 12E F9 Lesson #2
Traffic Light Question Challenge
Wednesday 14th September 2011
Brainstorm in your groups! What is constitutional reform? Why reform the constitution? How is the constitution reformed?
MERIT
128
PRAISE SLIP

4. Traffic Light Question Challenge
Miss Christian 12E F9 Lesson #2
Traffic Light Question Challenge
Wednesday 14th September 2011
What is constitutional reform?
Definition: the act of modernising the way a country is run
Why reform the constitution?
Fears about parliamentary sovereignty and the impact of EU membership
Corruption and sleaze associated with the House of Commons
Fairness of the electoral system
Future of the House of Lords
Erosion of civil liberties
Increasing number of unelected quangos
MERIT
128
PRAISE SLIP

5. Constitutional Reform
How is the constitution reformed?
Cabinet and Parliamentary Committees
Referendums
Investigatory Commission
Act of Parliament
European Law

6. What would be reformed?
Think about what you already know about the strengths and weaknesses of the UK Constitution?
Your group is the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and has been given the task of examining where the constitution may need to be reformed.
Make a list of ways in which the government might seek to reform the constitution.

7. Key Areas of Constitutional Reform
Devolution - Scotland - Northern Ireland - Wales
Electoral Reform
London and Local Government
Freedom of Information
Human Rights
The Judiciary
Parliamentary Reform

8. Constitutional Reform under Blair 1997-2007
Scotland
DEVOLUTION
Referendums took place in majority (74.3%) voted yes on 60% turnout
Scotland Act 1998 – ability to raise/lower UK income tax by 1% (nicknamed ‘tartan tax’)
Scottish Parliament established 1999
Wales
Referendums took place in  in Wales the turnout was only just over 50% and of those who turned out to vote - only 50.3% of them voted yes
Government of Wales Act 1998
Welsh National Assembly established 1999
Northern Ireland
Under the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) - a Northern Ireland Assembly (NIA) was established with powers of primary legislation, education, health etc [however defence and foreign policy, relations with Irish Republic, economic policy, social policy and taxation = all still with Westminster]
Electoral Reform
Single Transferable Vote (STV) introduced for local elections in Scotland (1997) and elections to Northern Ireland Assembly (1999)
Additional Member System (AMS) introduced for elections to Scottish Parliament (1999), Welsh Assembly (1999) and Greater London Assembly (2000)
Regional list system introduced for elections to EU parliament (1999)

9. Constitutional Reform under Blair 1997-2007
Freedom Of Information
Freedom of Information Act (2000) - right for citizens to see information about themselves held by public bodies [actually only came into force in 2005]
Human Rights
HUMAN RIGHTS ACT (1998) - made the ECHR part of British law = binding on virtually all public bodies, in virtually all circumstances and can be enforced by any British court of law [came into force in 2000]
London and Local Government
Greater London Authority Act 1999
Greater London Assembly established in 2000 (including position of elected Mayor of London)
Parliamentary Reform
House of Lords Act (1999) removed all but 92 hereditary peers in the House of Lords
Replaced the two 15-minute sessions with a single 30-minute session. The allocated number of questions in each session for the Leader of the Opposition was doubled from three to six, and the leader of the third-largest party was given two questions.
The Judiciary
The position of the Lord Chancellor was retained but its holder no longer presides over the House of Lords and is no longer head of the courts system
Lord Chief Justice (a  non-political post) became head of the judicial system
The post of Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs was created in the cabinet (to advise the cabinet on constitutional issues)
A new Judicial Appointments Commission was set up to propose candidates for promotion to senior judicial

10. Constitutional Reform under Brown 2007-2010
Wales
DEVOLUTION
February 2010  the WA voted in favour of holding a referendum on the issue of enabling the Assembly to pass primary legislation
Northern Ireland
St Andrew’s Agreement (2007) new NI Executive takes office
Further breakthrough in February 2010  all parties agreed to transfer of law and order and security issues to the Northern Ireland Executive = highly significant event
Parliamentary Reform
MP Expenses Scandal (2009) prompted a new system whereby the issue of expenses and MPs pay was placed in the hands of an independent commission
The Judiciary
Supreme Court replaces the House of Lords as the final court of appeal and constitutional court of the UK (2009)

11. EXAM FOCUS
To what extent have constitutional reforms introduced since 1997 made the UK more democratic? To what extent have constitutional reforms since 1997 reduced the powers of UK governments? ‘Constitutional reform since 1997 has not gone far enough.’

12. ‘Constitutional reform since 1997 has not gone far enough.’ Discuss.
Model Exam Question
‘Constitutional reform since 1997 has not gone far enough.’ Discuss.
The main examples of post 1997 reforms have been;
Devolution
The Human Rights Act
House of Lords Reform
Freedom of Information
Elected mayors and local government cabinets
Electoral reform in devolved systems
Reform of the Judiciary
Wider use of referendum
Use of PR electoral systems

13. ‘Constitutional reform since 1997 has not gone far enough.’ Discuss.
Arguments for suggesting they have not gone far enough include:
the Lords reform is incomplete, the Human Rights Act does not bind the UK Parliament, Freedom of Information is too weak, electoral reform is limited and does not include the Westminster Parliament, there are very few elected mayors
not clear principles or long term goals
reform does not include a codified constitution
too much power still rests with the executive
problem of ‘elective dictatorship’ not addressed
unelected elements – the Lords and the Monarchy remain important but are undemocratic
lack of full electoral reform means representation is distorted.

14. ‘Constitutional reform since 1997 has not gone far enough.’ Discuss.
On the other hand supporters do praise some aspects:
reforms have generally structured checks and balance by decentralising power
the House of Lords has more legitimacy
the Freedom of Information act has had an impact, eg MPs’ expenses
the HRA has led to many successful rights and liberties legal victories
the judiciary is more independent.
REMEMBER:
Marks are awarded for more than just knowledge in a 40 mark question. You need to use this knowledge to build a coherent argument!

15. Mark Scheme Key knowledge and understanding in this question includes:
A good range of reforms described
The arguments in favour of suggesting the reforms have been inadequate
The arguments for suggesting a good deal of progress has been made in reform.
Knowledge of which political movements present arguments on either side of the case.
Intellectual skills relevant to this question:
Ability to analyse and explain the nature of reform and the degree to which it is perceived to have succeeded
Ability to analyse the arguments suggesting reform has not gone far enough
Ability to evaluate the extent to which the reforms have not gone far enough.
Communication and coherence
Appropriate vocabulary in this question may include:
Codified constitution
Devolution
Human Rights Act
Freedom of Information
Democracy
Independence of the Judiciary

16. Group Exam Question What do you need to do?
‘Constitutional reforms by the coalition have not lived up to expectations.’ Discuss.
What do you need to do?
Identify the constitutional reforms promised in the Coalition Agreement
Identify the constitutional reforms the Coalition have enacted so far
Look for editorials and opinion pieces praising or criticising the coalition for constitutional reform
Establish what your argument is (i.e. reforms have or have not lived up to expectations)
Support your argument with clear explanation and evidence

17. London and Local Government
Scotland
DEVOLUTION
Referendum on Scottish Independence - although  this would produced a ‘No’ vote - however the new London Govt may change opinion as most Scots are still very anti Conservative
Wales
Referendum on additional law-making powers for Welsh Assembly on 3 March 2011.
The Welsh electorate voted in favour of the proposal that full law-making powers should be devolved to the Welsh government. Following the affirmative result, the Assembly has approved an order which brought the new powers into force on 5 May 2011.
Electoral Reform
The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 speeds up changes to the way people register to vote in Great Britain, moving from a Household Registration system to Individual Electoral Registration.
Referendum to change from the first-past-the-post system to the alternative vote (AV) system for general elections in May Overwhelming No vote to retain old system.
Human Rights
Coalition investigating the repeal of the HRA 1998 and replacing it with a Bill of Rights
London and Local Government
Cities given option of establishing directly elected mayors (some like Liverpool without a referendum, others have voted in favour in a referendum like Bristol and others have rejected the idea in a referendum like Birmingham)
Parliamentary Reform
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act fixes the length of Parliamentary terms to 5 years.
Boundary Commission still looking at reducing the number of MPs and ensuring constituencies are more equal in size.