In this blog post, we will be looking at the UK’s constitution and what the advantages of it are. We will also look at some of the disadvantages in my next blog post. However, we will start by reviewing what the UK constitution is and how it works, then examine the benefits that this system gives.
Constitutions are what set out the structure of a particular country or state, the main powers within that state and the principles by which they relate to each other. They organise, regulate and distribute the power within a state. The UK is quite unusual in that it doesn’t have any sort of written constitution and there is no way that a law can be entrenched. There is no document setting out the original distribution of power, just a series of rules that have formed over the years.
You can find the reason for this by looking at history and how constitutions are formed. In most cases, constitutions are created when a new state is created. This is frequently after a revolution, renegotiating of borders or after a significant change is made to the governing structure. However, the UK’s constitution has never needed a major overhaul, so it has simply developed over time.
Instead, the UK has a number of different statutes, conventions and judicial precedents which can be taken together to be the UK constitution. Statutes are the highest source of law and are made by Parliament. Conventions are practices which have developed over time and become part of the rules and principles for governing. Judicial precedents are created by judges and can be about any topic heard in court.
Parliamentary supremacy is one of the key principles of the UK’s uncodified constitution. This makes law that comes from Parliament supreme to law from any other source, as Parliament is a democratically elected body that represents the people. Effectively, this means that no law can be entrenched, as no Parliament can bind future ones.
In practice, however, many of the fundamental points of law are unlikely to change. For example, human rights legislation is not entrenched and might be reviewed to add new things, but will not be removed.
Adaptable
One major advantage of the UK constitution being uncodified and unwritten is that it is flexible and able to change as necessary. This allows it to evolve over the years and adapt to whatever form best fits the values and views of the time. This prevents the constitution from being stuck with elements that made sense and matched the values of the time when it was first created, but no longer apply or fit with the current situation.
It also means that the process for change is a lot smoother. Parliament can simply create a new Act, passed by a majority in both houses, which will come into effect as any other Act of Parliament would. If the UK had a codified constitution, the procedure for changing it would be more complicated. For example, it might require a supermajority in Parliament to be passed, or even a referendum. This means that any change would take a lot longer to achieve and be harder to make.
This flexibility has allowed the constitution to move with the times rather than remaining static, which prevents it from becoming irrelevant. It also avoids the constitution becoming ambiguous, as every Act of Parliament can change it, rather than contradicting it, which would make the law harder to interpret and introduce uncertainty.
Strong Government
Another advantage of the constitution being uncodified is that it makes the government strong. As the government is elected by the people, it is right that they should have the power to change the constitution as necessary. Provided that they have a simple majority in the House of Commons, they should be able to pass Acts of Parliaments without too much trouble. This allows strong and effective power to reside with the government for both major and day-to-day decisions.
As no Parliament can bind the next one, each one should be as strong as the last. This also means that some change can happen as a result of different political parties being in power. They can change laws made by the last government if they no longer reflect the needs and views of the electorate.
Accountability
In addition, although the UK constitution creates a strong government, it should also be held accountable. As Parliament is the body that actually passes laws, not all power resides with the government. The government has to answer questions from Parliament and there is the possibility of a vote of no confidence in the government. Finally, citizens hold the government accountable at election time.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you understand the benefits of the UK constitution. In my next blog post, we will consider some of the disadvantages of the UK constitution, so come back in two weeks for that!
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