1. Government and Politics
Lesson 1:
Constitution

2. Homework tasks: Weeks 2 and 3
• Set up blog
• Read at least two broadsheet newspapers per
week. Keep cuttings relevant to course in file.
• Listen to radio 4
• Watch Newsnight
• Research media platforms. How is the political
sphere presented across a variety of media
platforms?
• Read the textbook when set specific pages

3. Classwork term 1
• Group presentations
• Seminars
• Campaigns
• Comparative studies: USA and Europe
• Exam techniques

4. Unit 2:1 The UK Constitution
• Main features:
– The constitution is a SET OF PRINCIPLES. In the UK
it is unwritten
• Function of the Constitution:
– Determines HOW political power is distributed
– Can be either FEDERAL as in the USA ie shared
between the centre and the regions
– Can be UNITARY as in the UK when all the real
power is with central government
– Also determines the balance of power between the
PM / President, Government and Parliament and the
bicameral chambers

5. Other Functions Of The
Constitution
• Determines the work of other institutions
• Determines the limits of Govt power (in the
UK govt power= total, in the USA govt
power= limited)
• Assesses the rights of the citizen against
the state
• Establishes rules of nationality
(citizenship)
• Amendments: formal (USA) evolved (UK)

6. Codification
• Codification (or the formalising of a
constitution/ amendment of it) often occurs
at a critical time in a country’s history.
• UK: two tier legal system; higher laws and
ordinary laws

7. Un Codified Constitutions
• Entrenchment: protects the constitution
from long and short-term amendment
– eg human rights (most recently an issue since
became a part of EU law)
When a new amendment is required to an un
codified constitution, special arrangements
are established
– A referendum( putting the issue to the vote of
the general public) or
– Special parliamentary procedures

8. Question:
• To what extent do you agree that the current
system of government in the UK undermines the
constitution
Or
• Compare the constitutions of the UK and one
other country from the table on p153. In what
ways does codification affect the autonomy of
the government and parliament?

9. Case study
• Compare the functions of the US Supreme
Court with the UK House of Lords

10. Homework: For 16/9/10
• Read Evaluating Codification (p155)
Extension:
Student activity (p159) case study

11. Glossary terms from this lesson
• Constitution= set of principles by which a
country is governed
• Bicameral= two chambers (in UK House of
Commons and House of Lords)
• Sovereignty= ultimate political power
• Evolved amendments= changes to the
constitution that occur over time
• Codification= the formal recording of the
constitution of a country
• Entrenchment= the adherence of a country to
aspects of the constitution over time

12. Some key points about the UK
constitution
• UK- Parliament is SOVEREIGN
• Constitution is UNWRITTEN