1. L2.10: Strengths of a UK Constitution
 To identify strengths of the UK
Constitution
 To reflect on your learning in this
unit and consider what further
questions you have

2. abcdefghijklm
nopqrstuvwy
You must say one word associated with the British Constitution
starting with the letter chosen on the board. If you fail to do so
within ten seconds you go to the right hand side of the room, if you
do say a correct word then go to the left hand side.
The winning team is the one with the most words
associated with the UK Constitution

3. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/uk-constitution
Constitutions organise, distribute and regulate state power. They set out
the structure of the state, the major state institutions, and the principles
governing their relations with each other and with the state‟s citizens.
Britain is unusual in that it has an „unwritten‟ constitution: unlike the great
majority of countries there is no single legal document which sets out in
one place the fundamental laws outlining how the state works.
Britain‟s lack of a „written‟ constitution can be explained by its history.
The British Constitution has evolved over a long period of time. It has
never been thought necessary to consolidate the basic building blocks of
this order in Britain. In other countries, many of which have experienced
revolution or regime change, it has been necessary to „start from
scratch‟, constructing new state institutions and defining in detail their
relations with each other and their citizens.
Instead, Britain has a mixture of various statutes, conventions, judicial
decisions and treaties which collectively can be referred to as the British
Constitution. It is thus more accurate to refer to Britain‟s constitution
as an „uncodified‟ constitution, rather than an „unwritten‟ one.

4. It has been suggested that the British Constitution can be summed up in eight
words: What the Queen in Parliament enacts is law. This means that Parliament,
using the power of the Crown, enacts law which no other body can challenge.
Parliamentary sovereignty is commonly regarded as the defining principle of the
British Constitution. This is the ultimate lawmaking power vested in a democratically
elected Parliament to create or abolish any law. Other core principles of the British
Constitution are often thought to include the rule of law, the separation of
government into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and the existence of a
unitary state, meaning ultimate power is held by „the centre‟ – the sovereign
Westminster Parliament. However, some of these principles are mythical (the British
constitution may be better understood as involving the fusion of executive and
legislature) or in doubt (Parliamentary sovereignty may now be called in question
given the combined impact of Europe, devolution, the Courts, and human rights).
The British Constitution is derived from a number of sources. Statutes are laws
passed by Parliament and are generally the highest form of law. Conventions are
unwritten practices which have developed over time and regulate the business of
governing. Common law is law developed by the courts and judges through cases.
The UK‟s accession to the European Communities Act 1972 has meant that
European law is increasingly impacting on the British Constitution. The UK is also
subject to international law. Finally, because the British Constitution cannot be
found in any single document, politicians and lawyers have relied on constitutional
authorities to locate and understand the constitution.

5. An uncodified constitution creates two problems. First, it makes it
difficult to know what the state of the constitution actually is. Second, it
suggests that it is easier to make changes to the UK Constitution than
in countries with written constitutions, because the latter have
documents with a „higher law‟ status against which ordinary statute law
and government action can be tested, and are only amendable via
elaborate procedures. The flexibility of the UK constitution is evident
from the large number of constitutional reforms since 1997, including
the abolition of the majority of hereditary peers in the House of Lords,
the introduction of codified rights of individuals for the first time in the
Human Rights Act 1998, and the devolution of power to the regions.
Arguably, however, these recent constitutional reforms may have made
the constitution less flexible in some respects: it is debatable, for
instance, whether the devolution settlements could ever be
repealed.
For an overview of the UK system of government visit Directgov.
For in depth notes on a range of constitutional issues see the House of
Commons Library.

6. Each group will be given one of the
paragraphs
1. Turn the content of the paragraph into a
text aimed more at your age group
(or perhaps years 10 and 11)
2. Include illustrations so that it would be
easier to understand quickly.

7. “My Auntie‟s
- cat likes it”
PRIZE
for the most
relevant/real/
realistic
reasons
will not count!!

8. How many decent questions can you generate
that you could ask a Constitutional expert in one minute from what you know so far.
Choose a question from the questions
(the one you find most interesting) and prepare a response

10. L2.10: Strengths of a UK Constitution
 To identify strengths of the UK
Constitution
 Recap the list of strengths
-Reflect on your learning in this unit
- Consider how your awareness and
thinking has changed since studying this
unit on the Constitution?