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British Constitution
Constitution: rules of the political game • how the game should be played • are created by
consensus • determining how their political systems are allowed to operate

Britain have had a constitution of a peculiar kind. It has been political rather than legal constitution,
shaped and reshaped by changing political circumstances and so forever on the move. → difficult to
pin down. Usually constitutions are created by consensus. However, Britain’s system of government,
originating long before rules were formally written down, was created more out of conflict than
agreement. Parliament is at the peak of the constitution and, as the House of Commons is the
dominant element of it, elections to that body determine which party leader forms the government
and controls the destiny of the country.

What Britain lacks is a complete codified document, like the US constitution. Many countries have
entrenched constitutions: that is, they are amendable only through some extraordinary process,
such as a two-thirds majority in the legislature and/or approval by the people in a referendum.

There are two basic types of parliamentary government: the Westminster parliamentary system and
the continental.

The Westminster model stresses single-party government, elected normally through a first-past-the-
post electoral system, with two major parties competing for the all-or-nothing spoils of electoral
victory.

The continental parliamentary system places stress on consensus politics, with Coalition
Government derived from elections under electoral systems of proportional representation.

There are also various hybrid presidential– parliamentary systems, where the president is directly
elected but a government, under a Prime Minister, is formed through elections to the legislature.

Unlike many other countries, the United Kingdom does not have a single written constitution.
Instead, the UK constitution is comprised of a combination of laws, statutes, conventions, and
practices. It's important to note that the UK constitution is highly flexible and can be modified or
adapted through constitutional conventions, Acts of Parliament, or ordinary legislative procedures

Sources of the UK constitution:

four principal sources: Statute law is created by Parliament. Legislative proposals (bills) become Acts
of Parliament and enter into law once they have been passed by both Houses of Parliament and have
received the Royal Assent (which they do automatically, since the UK is a constitutional monarchy).
They are implemented by the executive and enforced by the courts. law derived from Acts of
Parliament and subordinate legislation.

Common law:In legal cases where there is no clear statute law, the courts interpret and clarify the
legal position. Such rulings become part of the common law, and take precedence over previous
judicial rulings. However, Parliament retains the right to supersede common law through further Acts
of Parliament. o law derived from decisions in court cases and from general legal custom.
The common law also includes customs and precedents that have been accepted over time. The
most important of these are the Crown’s prerogative powers, including the right to declare war and
negotiate treaties, to dissolve Parliament, and to appoint government ministers and judges. These
powers remained in the hands of the monarchy despite two revolutions in the seventeenth century.

Prerogative powers: discretionary powers of the Crown that are exercised by ministers

Conventions are rules or norms that are considered to be binding. One important convention is that
the prime minister should be a member of the House of Commons.

The best known of these is Erskine May’s Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of
Parliament (first published in 1844 but regularly updated). It is regarded as the ‘Bible’ of
parliamentary practice and is used by the Speaker of the House of Commons and other senior
officials. Before the ‘Brexit’ referendum of 2016, EU law was considered to be a fifth constitutional
source.

MAIN PRINCIPLES OF THE UK CONSTITUTION: 1. Parliamentary sovereignty 2. The rule

of law 3. A unitary state 4. A parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy

The United Kingdom enjoyed a centralised system of government. That system of government,
made possible by the essential features of the constitution, was variously described as the
Westminster system of government. At the heart of the system was the Cabinet, sustained by a party
majority in the House of Commons.

There were no other forms of government below the national enjoying autonomous powers (the
consequence of a unitary state). • No other actors at national level were able to countermand the
elected House of Commons, be it the crown or the House of Lords (the consequence of the growth of
parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy) • or the courts (the consequence of the
doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty).

The traditional constitution was in place from 1911 to 1972. Since 1970, the traditional constitution
has faced four major challenges. Each has had significant consequences for the nation’s
constitutional arrangements.

FOUR CHALLENGES 1. The first was membership of the European Community, now the
European Union. 2. The second was the constitutional changes introduced by the Labour
Government elected in May 1997. 3. The third comprised constitutional reforms pursued by the
Coalition Government formed in May 2010. 4. The fourth took place under the Cameron Government
returned in May 2015, encompassing but not confined to, a referendum that resulted in a vote for
the UK to withdraw from the European Union.