Since 1997 there have been reforms made by both Conservative and Labour governments which have changed the UK constitution. The changes have in some cases been quite radical and in others more minor and have not had much of an impact.
One function of a constitution is to define the relationship between the state and the individual, since 1997 there have been a few changes to the way in which this is done. An example of this reform is the introduction of the Freedom of information Act (2000) and the Human Right Act (1998). These are fairly radical changes as they restrict the power of the state and strengthen the rights of citizens. The increased use of referendums is an example of decentralisation and is giving more power to the people, giving a more direct democracy, this is quite a radical change. There have been referendums on congestion charges, like in Manchester in 2008 and also there is the AV referendum for electoral reform in May this year. This referendum proposed by the Liberal Democrats was a key part to the coalition deal and could mean a change in the voting system, bringing further constitutional change and democratisation.
Devolution since 1997 has also been a major part in transforming the constitution as it is parliament giving away power, there have been amendments to devolution over the years defining and redefining relationship between the different institutions. Acts such as the Government of Wales Act (2006) gave away more powers to the Welsh government and allowed for yet more decentralisation of decision making. The creation of the devolved assemblies is also important for the transformation of the constitution, again giving away power and changing the constitution. Also there was electoral reform in Wales and Scotland, using AMS, this is democratic and a more fair system, however this is only minor electoral reform which is not that important overall. Devolution means that now Westminster no longer makes law on policies that have been devolved, also UK government ministers at Westminster can no longer answer matters on devolved issues. These are major changes to decision making at Westminster so have transformed the constitution radically.
The reform of the House of Lords in 1999 was very important in transforming the constitution as it allowed for the Upper Chamber to be more assertive in the legislative process and it also modernised the constitution. As the constitution is not codified it is important for it to be modernised and updated in order to help establish key principles. All but 92 hereditary peers have been removed from the House of Lords this has helped the Upper Chamber to overrule the government on over 400 occasions. By reforming the House of Lords this has helped to redefine the powers and functions of institutions. Now no party has a majority in the House of Lords, so there must be cross party support for the legislation, and also there is now enhanced legitimacy as there are fewer hereditary peers. This reform is important in changing the constitution as it has increased scrutiny in the House and has had radical changes to the way government works. This has all lead to further empowerment of the House of Lords, so increasing scrutiny of government decisions.
The reformation of the House of Commons is another important factor in the transformation of the constitution, this is again an example of modernisation of the constitution. This included changing Prime Ministers Questions to one half an hour sitting on Wednesday at noon, also additional Westminster Hall sittings to deal with non-controversial issues and select committee reports. Also the Liaison committee was introduced in 2002 which had all of the heads of the select committees scrutinising the Prime Minister and his decisions. . By adding this to the constitution duties and powers of different institutions are scrutinised and clarified. Now there is pre-legislative scrutiny where there is greater scrutiny of draft Bills.
The coalition government between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have introduced further constitutional reform including fixed term parliaments, this is modernising the constitution. Also due to the expenses scandal the government has introduced the ability for the public to recall MPs, this is a more democratic system which has also lead to increased transparency of expenses. Also the expenses scandals lead to the creation of an independent Parliamentary standards Committee. The Coalition has also established a Committee for the West Lothian question in order to deal with this issue. There have also been proposals for the way select committee leaders are chosen, this is called the Wright proposals and they say that chairs for the select committees should be elected by backbenchers.
There was also reform under Gordon Brown that led to fairly radical changes to the constitution including further reforming the House of Commons and the Governance of Britain’ Green paper. This proposed that parliament would be given more to say over the exercise of prerogative powers by the executive. Parliament would have the right to vote before going to war and vote for the dissolution of Parliament. Also through the establishment of the Supreme Court and the reform of the Judiciary in 2005 has led to some more minor changes to the constitution but has helped to define relationships between institutions.
So over the years since 1997 there have been more minor changes to the UK constitution and also some which have more radically changed the way the UK government works. There has been modernisation such as only 92 hereditary peers left in the House of Lords, democratisation with new voting systems in Wales and Scotland, Decentralisation with the increased use of referendums and devolution and also improvements in defining relationships and clarifying rights and responsibilities.
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