The Constitution, chapter summary

Codification:

• When a constituion can be found in one single document and so has one single source. UK's constitution is not codified.

Entrenchment:

• With an entrenched constitution, there are special procedures which make it more difficult to amend constitutional laws than ordinary laws. E.g. in the USA, approval of 2/3 of Congress and 3/4 of 50 states is necessary to change a law.

Unitary constitution:

• Legal sovereignty lies in one place
• Power can be delegated to subsidiary bodies, but can be returned to the sovereign body
• The UK is a prominent example of this.

• Parliamentary statutes: laws passed by Parliament. E.g. HRA-1998, Constitutional Reform Act 2005
• Constitutional conventions: Unwritten rules which are considered to be binding on all members of the political community. E.g. Salisbury Convention, Collective Ministerial responsibility
• Common Law and tradition: Rules that have been passed down through various judgements in court cases. E.g. The rules of parliamentary procuderue and discipline, various rights such as freedom of expression 

 Constitutional reform 1997,2010:

• Devolution, 1997-98
• HRA,1998
• HofL Act, 1999: Removed hundreds of hereditary peers, only 92 remained
• Greater London Authority Act, 1999: Intro of an elected mayor of London
• Freedom of information Act, 2000:
• Constiutional Act, 2005: Took 12 most senior judges out of HoL and created Supreme Court
• Backbench Business Committee, 2010:  A new backbench committee was given control of 35 days for debate chosen by backbenchers not the govt
• The increased use of referendums

• Fixed-term Parliament Act 2011: Elections are to take place every 5 years
• Wales Act 2014: A limited extension of devolution to Wales
• Recall of MPs Act 2015: Gave constituents the power to order their MP to face a by-election if he or she has been guilty of serious misconduct
• Order allowing Wales to take control over income tax revenue, 2015
• Scotland Act 2016: Increased the devolved powers of the Scottish govt and Parliament. Also granted power to set the rates of income tax.
• The election ofMayors in various cities and regions, 2017
• English Votes for English Laws 2017

Devolution in England:

• In 2004 a referendum was held in Northeast England for regional devolution of powers. 77% said no
• Powers were devloved to a London mayor and assembly in 1999. 
• Considerable powers to Manchester mayor
• Also in 2017 powers were devolved to a number of cities and regions, admnistered by an elected mayor. 

Arguments in favour of codifying the constitution:

• It would prevent the creeping increase in executive power. It is argued, Parliament needs to have more codified powers to enable it to control government on behalf of the people.
• It would help to improve safeguarding of rights. E.g. ECHR remains weak against Parliament's sovereginty 
• It would educate the people about the way in which govt and the political system work, this might cure the problem of political ignorance and apathy that prevails today.
• It would safeguard the devolution of power to the national regions

Arguments against:

• The UK would lose flexibility in its constituional arrangements, will be outdated eventually
• Excessive protection of rights might reduce the government’s ability to protect national security. E.g. US govt can't act decisively due to the constitution 
• It would be difficult and time consuming to organise the codifying of a constitution and to organise public approval, it has served Britain well for centuries, no uprising against it.
• A codified constitution like that of the USA might thrust the Supreme Court into political issues and so threaten its neutrality and independence.