History of the constitution of the United Kingdom

Initially, the constitutional systems of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom developed separately under English domination. The Kingdom of England conquered Wales in 1283, but it was only later through the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 that the country was brought completely under English law. While technically a separate state, the Kingdom of Ireland was ruled by the English monarchy.

From 1603 to 1707, England and the Kingdom of Scotland shared the same monarch as part of the Union of the Crowns; however, each nation maintained separate governments. In 1707, England and Scotland were joined in the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1801, Great Britain and Ireland were joined in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. While the United Kingdom remains a unitary state in which Parliament is sovereign, a process of devolution began in the 20th and 21st centuries that saw Parliament restore self-government to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Aspects of the British constitution were adopted in the constitutions and legal systems of other countries around the world, particularly those that were part of, or formerly part of, the

The king was advised by a group of councilors or "wise men" called a witan, composed of lords and church leaders.^[5] The witan was consulted when creating law and was the highest court in the land where the king gave final judgment in person.^[6] In times of crisis or when a king was too young to rule, the witan may have assumed greater role over government.^[7]

While a capital existed at Winchester (where the royal treasury was located), the king and his itinerant court moved constantly throughout the kingdom.^[8] Priests attached to the king's chapel acted as royal secretaries—writing letters, charters, and other official documents. Under Edward the Confessor (r. 1042–1066), the office of chancellor appears for the first time. Regenbald, the first chancellor, kept the king's seal and oversaw the writing of charters and writs. The treasury had probably developed into a permanent institution by the time of King Cnut (r. 1016–1035). During the Confessor's reign, supervision of the treasury was one of the responsibilities of the king's burthegns or chamberlains.^[9]

By the tenth century, England was divided into shires and subdivided into hundreds. The hundred was the basic unit of government and overseen by a reeve. The shire was presided over by the "shire reeve" or sheriff.^[10] Sheriffs enforced royal justice, maintained the king's peace, collected royal revenue, and commanded the shire's military forces.^[8]

Besides

After the

Sheriffs remained in charge of royal administration in the counties (formerly shires), presiding over a hierarchy of bailiffs.^[18] Hundred and county courts, presided over by the sheriff or his bailiff, continued to meet as they had before the Conquest. Most disputes in these courts concerned land claims, violence, or theft. Certain cases called pleas of the Crown^{[note 1]} could only be heard by the king or his representative. So that royal pleas could be heard across the kingdom, the chief justiciar sent itinerant judges out to the counties; however, these royal judges did not decide cases as that was still the responsibility of the suitors to the court (those persons required to attend), who were overwhelmingly landowners.^[20]

The laws concerned with

Henry II (r. 1154–1189), England's first Angevin king, introduced a new form of legislation, the assize. An assize was an agreement between the king and his feudal tenants to clarify or alter existing custom. Examples of such legislation include the Assize of Arms of 1181 and the Assize of Bread and Ale.^[24]

Henry's legal reforms mark the origins of the

Traditionally, the great council was not involved in levying taxes. But this changed due to the levying of extraordinary taxation to finance the Third Crusade, ransom Richard I, and pay for the series of Anglo-French wars fought between the Plantagenet and Capetian dynasties.^[31] The burden imposed by extraordinary taxation and the likelihood of resistance made consent politically necessary. It was convenient for kings to present the great council of magnates as a representative body capable of consenting on behalf of all within the kingdom. Increasingly, the kingdom was described as the communitas regni (Latin for "community of the realm") and the barons as their natural representatives. But this development also created more conflict between kings and the baronage as the latter attempted to defend what they considered the rights belonging to the king's subjects.^[32]

Magna Carta

King John needed large amounts of money to recover the lost continental possessions of the Angevin Empire, and his extortionate use of scutage, fines and amercements provoked baronial opposition. In 1215, about forty barons rose in revolt. A larger group of barons—around one hundred—worked with Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, to mediate a compromise that ultimately became the Magna Carta. This was a charter of liberties that expressed what the barons believed to be their customary feudal rights.^[33] Magna Carta was based on three assumptions important to later constitutional development:^[34]

1. the king was subject to the law (see Rule of law in the United Kingdom)
2. the king could only make law and raise taxation (except customary feudal dues) with the consent of the community of the realm
3. that the obedience owed by subjects to the king was conditional and not absolute

While the clause stipulating no taxation "without the common counsel" was deleted from later reissues, it was nevertheless adhered to by later kings. Magna Carta transformed the magnates' feudal obligation to advise the king into a right to consent. While it was the barons who made the charter, the liberties guaranteed within it were granted to "all the free men of our realm".

Magna Carta was a paradox, as highlighted by constitutional scholar Ann Lyon:[37]

that although the king was subject to the law, only the king could make law, so that King John could subordinate himself to the law which he and his predecessors had made, but he could amend that law. . . . Not for many years after 1215 did a power to make laws independently of the king develop. Magna Carta marked the beginning of this development, but power to make law remained firmly in the hands of the king, so that it represents terms conceded by John, not a democratic structure which circumscribed his powers and those of his heirs.

Later kings would reconfirm Magna Carta, and later versions were enshrined in law. Overtime, Magna Carta gained the status of "fundamental statute".^[38] The first three clauses have never been repealed:^[39]

1. the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired;
2. the city of London shall enjoy all its ancient liberties and free customs … all other cities, boroughs, towns and ports shall enjoy all their liberties and free customs;
3. to no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

Parliamentary monarchy (1216–1399)

By 1237, the curia regis had formally split into two separate councils; though, they had long been separate in practice. The king's council was "permanent, advisory, and executive".^[40] It managed day to day government and included the king's ministers and closest advisers. Parliament was the larger assembly of magnates that evolved out of the magnum concilium or great council. It met occasionally when summoned by the king.^[41] Parliament differed from the older magnate council by being "an institution of the community rather than the crown". For the community of the realm, "it acts as representative, approaching the government from without, and 'parleying' with the king and his council".^[42]

Before 1258, legislation was not a major part of parliamentary business. The two major forms of legislation were enacted outside of Parliament. The first form, legislative acta, were administrative orders drafted by the king's council and issued as letters patent or letters close. The second form, writs, were drafted by the chancery and issued in response to particular court cases. Technically, new writs needed consent from Parliament as much as other forms of legislation, but this was not always sought.^[43]

Parliament successfully asserted for itself the right to consent to taxation, and a pattern developed in which the king would make concessions (such as reaffirming Magna Carta) in return for grants of taxation.^[44] This was its main tool in disputes with the king. Nevertheless, this proved ineffective at restraining the king as he was still able to raise lesser amounts of revenue from sources that did not require parliamentary consent:^[45][46]

• county farms (the fixed sum paid annually by sheriffs for the privilege of administering and profiting from royal lands in their counties)
• profits from the eyre
• tallage on the royal demesne, the towns, foreign merchants, and most importantly English Jews
• scutage
• feudal dues and fines
• profits from
  wardship, escheat, and vacant episcopal sees

The government of Henry III (r. 1216–1272) was led by a succession of chief ministers who alienated the baronage by their accumulation of power and wealth for themselves and their families. After 1240, the king's closest counselors were foreigners—Queen Eleanor's Savoyard relatives and Henry's Lusignan half-brothers. Among the barons, an opposition party formed to oppose a royal government controlled by foreigners.^[48]

At the Oxford Parliament of 1258, reform-minded barons forced a reluctant king to accept a constitutional framework known as the Provisions of Oxford.^[49] The reformers hoped that the provisions would ensure parliamentary approval for all major government acts. Under the provisions, Parliament was "established formally (and no longer merely by custom) as the voice of the community".^[50]

The king defeated the reform party in the Second Barons' War, and the Provisions of Oxford were overturned. But the reign of Henry III was "the beginnings of the transition from the king as an absolute and in a sense dictatorial ruler, to the concept of the king ruling through institutions, and of his ruling only while he retained the trust and confidence of his people."^[41]

Edwardian government

The reign of Edward I (r. 1272–1307) saw the continued development of Parliament as an institution. Edward summoned parliaments regularly, generally twice a year at Easter in the spring and after Michaelmas in the autumn.^[52] As feudalism declined, the political community expanded. The shires and boroughs were recognised as communes (Latin communitas) with a unified constituency capable of being represented by knights of the shire and burgesses in Parliament.^[53]

In this period, law-making was still largely the prerogative of the monarch, and there was no difference between laws made in Parliament and laws made by the monarch alone.^[54] Outside of Parliament, the king could issue ordinances and writs that had the force of law. Furthermore, laws made in Parliament "were not made by the King in Parliament, but simply announced by the king or his ministers in a parliament."^[55]

The first major statutes amending the common law were passed, beginning with the

The Ordinances of 1311 were a series of regulations imposed on King Edward II by the Lords and higher clergy to restrict the power of the king.

Throughout the

As sheep farming became more profitable than agricultural work, enclosures of common land dispossessed more people, who turned into paupers and were punished.[64]

Tudor dynasty

Under

William Laud and Thomas Wentworth were appointed to fill the void that the Duke of Buckingham left. On top of the wars England had with France and with Spain (both caused by the Duke of Buckingham), Charles I and William Laud (the Archbishop of Canterbury) began a war with Scotland in an attempt to convert Scotland to the Church of England (the Anglican Church). This was called the Bishops' War (1639–1640) and it had two major parts: The first Bishops' War (1639) ended in a truce. The second Bishops' War, the following year, began with the a Scottish invasion of England in which the Scottish defeated the English and remained stationed in England until their issues were solved. To get the Scottish out, Charles I signed the Treaty of Ripon (1640), which required England to pay an indemnity of £850 for each day that the Scottish were stationed in England.

During the second part of the Bishops' War, Charles I had run very low on money (since he was also fighting France and Spain), so he was forced to call a Parliament to make new taxes. He and the Parliament could not agree on anything, so after three weeks, Charles I dissolved the Parliament. Then he desperately needed new taxes, so Charles I called a Parliament again and it would only help him if he agreed to some terms, which ultimately made Charles I a

• That Charles I had to impeach Thomas Wentworth and William Laud. He reluctantly placed them under arrest and put them in The Tower, executing Wentworth in 1641 (for which Charles I never forgave himself since he was close to Thomas Wentworth) and William Laud in 1645.
• Charles I had to agree to the
  Triennial Act
  (1641), which required the Parliament to meet every three years with or without the king's consent.
• Charles I had to abolish the Court of the
  judicial" façade
  . It was considered an "extralegal" court. It dealt with odd cases and punishments.
• Charles I had to abolish the High Court, which was the same as the Court of the Star Chamber, though it dealt with religious heresy. It was considered an "extralegal" court.
• Charles I had to accept the Grand Remonstrance and allow the circulation of its copies, and it was a document that outlined (hyperbolically) the crimes that officials had accused Charles of committing since the beginning of his reign. Charles I was also never to do any of those crimes again.
• Charles I, most importantly, had to agree never to dissolve a Parliament without the consent of the Parliament.

Most of England believed that Parliament had done enough to curb the power of King Charles I, but the radicals in Parliament (the extremist Puritans) and the radicals around the country (again, extremist Puritans) wanted to reform the Church of England by getting rid of the bishops (and all other things with the semblance of Catholicism) and by establishing the Puritans' method of worship as the standard. This caused a political division in Parliament, so Charles I took advantage of it. He then sent 500 soldiers into the House of Commons to arrest five of the Puritans' ringleaders (John Hampden included). The five ringleaders had been tipped off, so they had left Parliament and Charles I was left with only shame for storming Parliament.

King Charles I left London and went to Oxford, and the English Civil War began (1642). The North and West of England were on Charles I's side (along with most of the Nobles and country gentry). They were known as the Cavaliers. Charles I created an army illegally (since he needed the Parliament's consent).

The South and East of England were on Parliament's side and were known as Roundheads, for their haircuts. In response to Charles I raising an army, they did so as well. Yet, they didn't have the military might that King Charles I (and his nobles) had, so they solicited the help of the Scottish with the Solemn League and Covenant that promised to impose the Presbyterian religion on the Church of England. They called their army the New Model Army and they made its commander Oliver Cromwell, who was also a member of Parliament. The New Model Army was composed mostly of Presbyterians.

Cromwell and Commonwealth

Though Parliament won, it was clear to the Scots that it was not going to uphold the Solemn League and Covenant by imposing Presbyterianism on England (Puritanism wasn't quite Presbyterian), so the New Model Army, Parliament and the Scots began falling apart. The Scots were paid for their help and sent back to Scotland.

The Presbyterian Roundheads were interested in freedom to practice their religion and not in making the Presbyterian religion the state religion.

Cromwell proposed that Parliament reinstate the bishops of the Church of England and King Charles I as a constitutional monarch, but allow for the toleration of other religions. Though at the end of the war, the people of England could accept Charles I back in office but not religious toleration. They also wanted the New Model Army dissolved since it was a provocative factor. Thus Parliament disallowed religious toleration and voted to disband the New Model Army, but the New Model Army refused the order.

Charles I then made the same deal that the Roundheads had made with the Scottish and Parliamentary Presbyterians. He solicited the help of Scotland (and the Presbyterians) and in return he promised to impose Presbyterianism on England. The New Model Army would not allow this deal to be made (because it would give Charles I military power once more). Thus a "new" civil war broke out in 1648.

This time, Scotland, the Parliamentary Presbyterians and the royalists were on the side of Charles I. The New Model Army and the rest of Parliament were against him.

In the Battle of Preston (1648) Cromwell and his New Model Army defeated Charles I.

Then one of Cromwell's officers,

• Abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords in Parliament (it then executed Charles I after publicly trying him for crimes).
• Created a republic called the "Commonwealth" that was really just a dictatorship run by Cromwell.

Scotland was against Cromwell's "Commonwealth" (Republic) and declared Charles I's son king at Edinburgh as King Charles II, but Cromwell and the New Model Army defeated him (1650) and he fled to France where he stayed until 1660.

Cromwell then went to Ireland to govern it, but was "disgusted" with the Catholics, so he massacred many of them (in battle) and so the Irish rebelled against him as well. Cromwell then dissolved the Rump Parliament and declared himself to be the Lord Protector (dictator).

Cromwell died (1658) and was succeeded by his son

Popular political movements

The idea of a political party with

In 1649 Diggers, a small people's political reform movement, published The True Levellers Standard Advanced: or, The State of Community opened, and Presented to the Sons of Men.^[83] This is another important document in the history of British constitutionalism^{[citation needed]}, though different from the others listed here because the Diggers' declaration comes from the people instead of from the state. They are some times called "True Levellers" to distinguish themselves from the larger political group called the Levellers, which had supported the republicans during the civil war. The Diggers were not satisfied with what had been gained by the war against the king and wanted instead a dismantling of the state. They can be best understood through such philosophies as libertarianism, anarchism, and religious communism.

Also at this time, the

Both the Bill of Rights and the Claim of Right contributed a great deal to the establishment of the concept of parliamentary sovereignty and the curtailment of the powers of the monarch.^[85][86] Leading, ultimately, to the establishment of constitutional monarchy. They furthered the protection of the rule of law, which had started to become a principle of the way the country is governed.^[87][88]

Wales

Further information:

Laws in Wales Acts between 1535 and 1542

. The Laws in Wales Acts formally incorporated all of Wales within the Kingdom of England.

The

Restoration

before being finally abolished in 1689.

From 1689 to 1948 there was no differentiation between the government of England and government in Wales. All laws relating to England included Wales and Wales was considered by the British Government as an indivisible part of England within the United Kingdom. The first piece of legislation to relate specifically to Wales was the Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881. A further exception was the Welsh Church Act 1914, which disestablished the Church in Wales (which had formerly been part of the Church of England) in 1920.

In 1948 the practice was established that all laws passed in the

National Assembly for Wales

in 1998.

Kingdom of Scotland

Further information: Kingdom of Scotland

From the fifth century AD, north Britain was divided into a series of petty kingdoms. Ferocious Viking raids beginning in AD 793 may have speeded up a long-term process of gaelicisation of the Pictish kingdoms, which adopted Gaelic language and customs. There was also a merger of the

Cínaed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) as "king of the Picts" in the 840s (traditionally dated to 843),^[89] which brought to power the House of Alpin.^[90] When he died as king of the combined kingdom in 900 one of his successors, Domnall II (Donald II), was the first man to be called rí Alban (King of Alba).^[91]

The term Scotia was increasingly used to describe the heartland of these kings, north of the River Forth. Eventually the entire area controlled by its kings was referred to as Scotland.^[92] The long reign (900–942/3) of Donald's successor Causantín (Constantine II) is often regarded as the key to formation of the Kingdom of Alba/Scotland. He was later credited with bringing Scottish Christianity into conformity with the Catholic Church.^[93]

Máel Coluim I (Malcolm I) (reigned c. 943–954) annexed Strathclyde, over which the kings of Alba had probably exercised some authority since the later ninth century.^[94] The reign of David I has been characterised as a "Davidian Revolution",^[95][96] in which he introduced a system of feudal land tenure, established the first royal burghs in Scotland and the first recorded Scottish coinage, and continued a process of religious and legal reforms.^[97]

Government

Further information:

Government in Medieval Scotland and Government in early modern Scotland

The unified kingdom of Alba retained some of the ritual aspects of Pictish and Scottish kingship. These can be seen in the elaborate ritual coronation at the Stone of Scone at Scone Abbey.^[98]

While the Scottish monarchy in the Middle Ages was a largely itinerant institution, Scone remained one of its most important locations, with royal castles at Stirling and Perth becoming significant in the later Middle Ages before Edinburgh developed as a capital city in the second half of the fifteenth century.^[99][100]

The Crown remained the most important element of government, despite the many royal minorities. In the late Middle Ages, it saw much of the aggrandisement associated with the New Monarchs elsewhere in Europe.^[101] Theories of constitutional monarchy and resistance were articulated by Scots, particularly George Buchanan, in the sixteenth century, but James VI of Scotland advanced the theory of the divine right of kings, and these debates were restated in subsequent reigns and crises. The court remained at the centre of political life, and in the sixteenth century emerged as a major centre of display and artistic patronage, until it was effectively dissolved with the Union of the Crowns in 1603.^[102]

The Scottish Crown adopted the conventional offices of western European courts, including

Chamberlain, Lord High Constable, Earl Marischal and Lord Chancellor.^[103] The King's Council emerged as a full-time body in the fifteenth century, increasingly dominated by laymen and critical to the administration of justice.^[104] The Privy Council, which developed in the mid-sixteenth century,^[105] and the great offices of state, including the chancellor, secretary and treasurer, remained central to the administration of the government, even after the departure of the Stuart monarchs to rule in England from 1603.^[106] However, it was often sidelined and was abolished after the Acts of Union 1707, with rule direct from London.^[107]

The Parliament of Scotland also emerged as a major legal institution, gaining an oversight of taxation and policy.^[108] By the end of the Middle Ages it was sitting almost every year, partly because of the frequent royal minorities and regencies of the period, which may have prevented it from being sidelined by the monarchy.^[109] In the early modern era, Parliament was also vital to the running of the country, providing laws and taxation, but it had fluctuating fortunes and was never as central to the national life as its counterpart in England.^[110]

In the early period the kings of the Scots depended on the great lords of the mormaers (later earls) and toísechs (later thanes), but from the reign of David I, sheriffdoms were introduced, which allowed more direct control and gradually limited the power of the major lordships.^[111] In the seventeenth century the creation of justices of the peace and the Commissioner of Supply helped to increase the effectiveness of local government.^[112] The continued existence of courts baron and introduction of kirk sessions helped consolidate the power of local lairds.^[113]

United Kingdom development

Main articles:

Act of Union 1800, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

With Parliamentary sovereignty as the cornerstone of the new constitution, Parliament created a system of finance in the Bank of England Act 1694.

The Act of Settlement 1701 made several important reforms.

• Judges' commissions were for life (during "good behavior"), and a judge could be removed only by vote of both Houses of Parliament. (Previously, a judge served at the discretion of the Crown.)
• No person holding a paid office under the Crown or receiving a pension from the Crown could serve in the House of Commons.
• No Catholic, or spouse of a Catholic, could ever succeed to the Crown of England.
• The King or Queen of England must practice the Anglican religion.
• The succession to the Crown of England was settled on the nearest Protestant relatives of King William III and his expected successor Anne, who were childless. These were Electress Sophia of Hanover, and her son, who in 1714 succeeded as King George I.^[114]

In 1703,

right to vote was a constitutional right.^[115]

In April 1706, Scottish and English representatives began negotiations for union at Whitehall. The English proposed a combined parliament, to which Scotland would send 38 MPs and 16 peers, elected by Scottish peers at every new parliament. After the Scottish successfully negotiated an extra seven MPs, the proposals were brought before Queen Anne. The vote passed the Scottish Parliament 110 votes to 69 on 16 January 1707.[116] The Acts of Union 1707 were passed by the English and Scottish Parliaments separately and on 1 May 1707, the two countries became formally united as Great Britain^[117] (though one view holds that as a matter of international law, Great Britain was a successor state of England). This created a new parliament called the Parliament of Great Britain.^[117]

The Acts of Union also established a full economic union between England and Scotland. Scotland's separate currency, taxes, and trade regulations were effectively abolished, while Scottish merchants gained complete access to England and its colonies.^[118] Scotland retain a separate legal system and judiciary.^[117]

The new union was soon faced with disaster as in the

national debt as an alternative financier to the government over the Whig dominated Bank of England.^[120][121]

The result of the crash was that the

Prime Minister".^[124] Walpole chaired cabinet meetings, appointed all other ministers, and developed the doctrine of cabinet solidarity.^[125][126]

In 1765, the first teacher of English law,

Lord Mansfield ruled in Somerset v Stewart that slavery was unlawful at common law,^[127] this set off a wave of outrage in southern, plantation colonies of America. Together with northern colonies grievances over taxation without representation, this led to the American Revolution and Declaration of Independence in 1776.^[128] The British military failed to hold control. Instead, it began settling Australia from 1788.^[129]

In 1789, the

Act of Union 1800,^[133]

liberty, freedom and democracy were scarcely protected in the new "United Kingdom".

Political and industrial revolution

See also:

Industrial revolution

Chartists met on Kennington Common during the Revolutions of 1848

.

During this time, with the invention of the

Unlawful Oaths Act 1797,^[135]

triggering mass protests.

A movement called

Communist Manifesto was drafted by German revolutionary Karl Marx and Manchester factory owner Friedrich Engels. While the Crimean War distracted from social reform and Viscount Palmerston opposed anything,^[136] the American Civil War

of 1860 to 1865 ended slavery in the US, and the UK gradually enabled greater political freedom.

In the

Second Reform Act 1867 more middle class property owners were enfranchised, the Elementary Education Act 1870 provided free primary school, and the Trade Union Act 1871 enabled free association without criminal penalty.^[137] William Ewart Gladstone's UK Midlothian campaign between 1878-80 began the move towards modern political campaigning. The Representation of the People Act 1884

reduced the property qualification further, so that around one third of men could vote.

Outside the UK liberty and the right to vote were violently repressed across the vast British Empire, in Africa, India, Asia and the Caribbean.^[138]

Social reform and war

See also:

People's budget and Labour Party (UK)

From the start of the 20th century, the UK underwent vast social and constitutional change, beginning with an attempt by the House of Lords to suppress trade union freedom.^[139] In response, the labour movement organised to support representatives in Parliament, and in the 1906 general election won 29 seats and supported the Liberal Party's programme of reform. This included a legal guarantee of the right of unions to collectively bargain and strike for fair wages,^[140] an old age pension,^[141] a system of minimum wages,^[142] a People's Budget with higher taxes on the wealthy to fund spending. After a further election brought by the House of Lords blocking reform, Parliament pass a National Insurance system for welfare,^[143] and the Parliament Act 1911 prevented the House of Lords blocking legislation for more than two years, and removed the right to delay any money bills.^[144]

Despite this, the Liberal government, against the opposition of Labour, armed for and entered

Hitler.^[145]

Irish independence and partition

Further information:

Irish Home Rule bills, Partition of Ireland, and Irish War of Independence

In 1912, the House of Lords managed to delay a Home Rule bill passed by the House of Commons. It was enacted as the

Unionist Ulster Volunteers opposed to the Act and their nationalist counterparts, the Irish Volunteers supporting the Act. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 put the crisis on political hold. A disorganized Easter Rising in 1916 was brutally suppressed by the British, which had the effect of galvanizing Catholic demands for independence. Prime Minister David Lloyd George failed to introduce Home Rule in 1918 and in the December 1918 General Election Sinn Féin won a majority of Irish seats.^[146]

Its MPs refused to take their seats at Westminster, instead choosing to sit in the

Irish Republican Army between January 1919 and June 1921. The war ended with the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921 that established the Irish Free State.^[147] Six northern, predominantly Protestant counties became Northern Ireland and have remained part of the United Kingdom ever since, despite demands of the Catholic minority to unite with the Republic of Ireland.^[148] Britain officially adopted the name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" by the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927

.

Post-war

See also: European Convention on Human Rights and European Union

The failed international law system, after

Holocaust and war, the Council of Europe was established to draft the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950. Further it was seen that the only way to prevent conflict was through economic integration. The European Economic Community, which became the European Union in 1992, was supported by Winston Churchill with the UK to be "at the centre",^[150] although it did not enter until the European Communities Act 1972

.

Under

armed conflict in Northern Ireland, the Good Friday Agreement

of 1998 brought peace.

The Life Peerages Act 1958 had allowed the creation of life peers which gave the Prime Minister the ability to change the composition of the House of Lords. The House of Lords Act 1999 reduced but did not fully eliminate hereditary peers.

An important change in constitutional law came about with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, which significantly altered the way in which parliament can be dissolved. Then, following a referendum on EU membership in 2016 that resulted in 52.89 per cent of people favouring to leave, the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the European Union on 31 January 2020. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act, which had impeded resolution of the Brexit controversy in Parliament, was subsequently repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, reverting the constitutional situation to the status quo ante.

Devolution

In the First Blair ministry (1997–2001), Labour introduced a large package of constitutional reforms, which the party had promised in its 1997 manifesto. The most significant were:

• The creation of a
  Wales and Northern Ireland
  , with their own direct elections.
• The creation of a devolved assembly in London and the associated post of a directly elected mayor.
• The beginning of a process of reform of the House of Lords, including the removal of all but 92 hereditary peers.
• The incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law by passing the Human Rights Act 1998.
• The passing of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
• The passing of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, creating the Electoral Commission to regulate elections and referendums and party spending to an extent.
• The granting of independence over decisions about monetary policy including interest rates to the Bank of England.

The House of Commons voted on seven options in February 2003 on what proportion of elected and appointed members (from 100% elected to 100% appointed) the House of Lords should have. None of the options received a majority.

In 2004, a

Act of Parliament" as overly wide, and that the bill should be modified to preclude changes to the following Acts, which, it suggested, formed "the fundamental parts of constitutional law" of the United Kingdom:^[151]

• Magna Carta 1215
• Bill of Rights 1689
• Crown and Parliament Recognition Act 1689
• Act of Settlement 1701
• Act of Union 1707
• Act of Union 1800
• The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
• Life Peerages Act 1958
• Emergency Powers Act 1964
• European Communities Act 1972
• House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975
• Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975
• British Nationality Act 1981
• Supreme Court Act 1981
• Representation of the People Act 1983
• Government of Wales Act 1998
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Northern Ireland Act 1998
• Scotland Act 1998
• House of Lords Act 1999
• And the bill itself (passed as the Civil Contingencies Act 2004)

This amendment was defeated by the government and the bill was passed without it. However, the government partially one recommendation — the Human Rights Act 1998 may not be amended by emergency regulations.

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 created the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and guarantees judicial independence.

Coalition reforms

The

Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition introduced several reforms including the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, which reformed the Royal Prerogative and made other significant changes; the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011

, which introduced fixed-term parliaments of 5 years.

A key Liberal Democrat policy was that of voting reform, to which a

first-past-the-post

.

In late October 2011, the

prime ministers of the Commonwealth realms voted to grant gender equality in the line of succession to the British throne, ending male-preference primogeniture. The amendment, once enacted, also ended the ban on the monarch marrying a Catholic.^[152] Following the Perth Agreement in 2011, legislation amending the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701 came into effect across the Commonwealth realms on 26 March 2015 which changed the laws of succession to the British throne. In the United Kingdom, it was passed as the Succession to the Crown Act 2013

.

Further devolution

Further information:

Scottish independence referendum, 2014

Further powers were devolved under the

'The Vow'

, a promise of more powers for Scotland in the event of a No vote. The referendum resulted in Scotland voting by 55% to 45% to remain part of the United Kingdom.

The

Queen's Speech.^[154] The bill subsequently became law as the Scotland Act 2016

in March 2016.

Accession to the EU and subsequent withdrawal

Further information: 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum and Brexit

On 20 February 2016, Prime Minister

single market, security, migration and sovereignty. The result of the referendum was in favour of the country leaving the EU with 51.9% of voters wanting to leave.^[155] The UK remains a member for the time being, but is expected to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which would begin negotiations on a withdrawal agreement that will last no more than two years (unless the Council and the UK agree to extend the negotiation period) which will ultimately lead to an exit from the European Union.^[156]

In October 2016 the prime minister,

Great Repeal Bill" which would repeal the 1972 European Communities Act and import its regulations into UK law, with effect from the date of British withdrawal. The regulations could then be amended or repealed on a case-by-case basis.^[157]

The

trigger Article 50 to leave the European Union.^[158]

Worldwide influence

Over its history, the British constitutional system has had widespread influence around the world on the constitutional governance and legal systems of other countries, propagating the spread of the principles of the rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty and judicial independence.^{[159][160][161][162]}

Magna Carta and the Parliament of England influenced the history of democracy in the Middle Ages and the early history of parliamentarism.^{[163][164][165][166]}

In the Thirteen Colonies, the Bill of Rights 1689 was one of the influences on the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, which in turn influenced the United States Declaration of Independence later that year.^[86][167] The Constitution of the United States was adopted in 1789 and the United States Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, both of which were influenced by British constitutional history.^{[168][169][170]}

Although not a comprehensive statement of civil and political liberties, the Bill of Rights 1689 stands as one of the landmark documents in the development of

US Constitution prohibits excessive bail and "cruel and unusual punishment". Similarly, "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" is banned under Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Concepts developed through British constitutional history, such as protection of individual rights and habeas corpus, have influenced the legal and political systems of other nations around the world.^{[159][160][161]}

The modern system of

Acts have created many other parliaments.^[182]

English common law has served as the template for many countries and has been adopted, adapted, and incorporated into their legal systems.^[183] International commercial contracts are often based on English common law.^[184] The British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council still serves as the highest court of appeal for twelve former colonies.^[185]

One of the oldest constitutional systems in the world, dating back to the before the 11th century,^[186] it is characterised by the stability of its governing institutions and its capacity to absorb change.^[187]

Key statutes

See also:

History of the formation of the United Kingdom

Constitutional documents and events relevant to the status of the United Kingdom and its countries
List per year Referendums (Scotland & Wales) Act 1997 Scottish devolution referendum 1997 Welsh devolution referendum 1997 Good Friday Agreement 1998 Northern Ireland Act 1998 Government of Wales Act 1998 Human Rights Act 1998 Scotland Act 1998 House of Lords Act 1999 Representation of the People Act 2000 2000 Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 Constitutional Reform Act 2005 Government of Wales Act 2006 2006 Northern Ireland Act 2009 2009 Lisbon Treaty 2009 Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 Parl. Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 Welsh devolution referendum 2011 Alternative Vote referendum 2011 European Union Act 2011 2011 Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 Scotland Act 2012 2012 Succession to the Crown Act 2013 2013 Scottish independence referendum 2014 House of Lords Reform Act 2014 Wales Act 2014 2014 HL (Expulsion and Suspension) Act 2015 Recall of MPs Act 2015 European Union Referendum Act 2015 EU membership referendum 2016 Scotland Act 2016 2016 Wales Act 2017 2017 EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 Invocation of Article 50 2017 European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 EU Withdrawal Act 2019 2019 EU Withdrawal (No. 2) Act 2019 Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 UK leaves the European Union 2020 EU (Future Relationship) Act 2020 Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022
v t e

Although there is no definitive list of constitutional statutes, there are certain statutes that are significant in the history of the Constitution of the United Kingdom. Some have been repealed, several have been amended and remain in statute, while others are current legislation as originally enacted. None are

obiter dicta in Thoburn v Sunderland City Council) they may be protected from implied repeal

.

Scottish documents and statutes

Further information: History of Scots law and Parliament of Scotland

• Leges inter Brettos et Scottos 1124, Laws of the Brets (Welsh) and Scots
• Declaration of Arbroath 1320, declaration sent to Pope asserting the sovereignty of the people of Scotland^[191]
• Claim of Right Act 1689
  , limiting the power of the Scottish monarch in similar ways to the English Bill of Rights
• Union with England Act 1707, based on the Treaty of Union, abolishing the Scottish Parliament and creating the new Parliament of Great Britain

Welsh statutes

Further information: Cyfraith Hywel

• Statute of Rhuddlan (1284)

English statutes

Further information: Parliament of England

• Magna Carta (1215), a revised version entered statute in 1297 and remains in statute today, although with most articles now repealed
• Provisions of Oxford (1258), an early attempt at replacing absolute monarchy with government by council, and representative parliament
• Provisions of Westminster (1259)
• Statute of Marlborough (1267)
• Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, by which Wales became a full and equal part of the Kingdom of England with a single legal jurisdiction^[192]
• Petition of Right (1628), prohibited taxation without law and quartering of naval personnel in private houses without the owner's consent, and reasserted habeas corpus
• Instrument of Government (1653), first codified constitution of England
• Humble Petition and Advice (1657), second codified constitution of England
• Habeas Corpus Act 1679
• Bill of Rights 1689, declared William and Mary as monarchs and established parliamentary sovereignty
• Act of Settlement 1701,^[193] establishing the Protestant succession to the Crown through Sophia of Hanover
• Union with Scotland Act 1706, based on the Treaty of Union, creating the new Parliament of Great Britain

Statutes of Great Britain

Further information: Parliament of Great Britain

• Wales and Berwick Act 1746, defining "England" legally to include the historically disputed border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed (and, until 1967, Wales)
• Acts of Union 1800, Union with Ireland Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. United the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

Statutes of the United Kingdom

Further information: Parliament of the United Kingdom

• Representation of the People Acts 1832 to 1969, reforming elections to the House of Commons and extending the electoral franchise, effectively establishing parliamentary democracy
• Interpretation Act 1850, Interpretation Act 1889, Interpretation Act 1978, defining the language used in subsequent enactments
• Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, restricting the power of the unelected House of Lords to reject bills, enabling the Commons to pass most laws without their consent after a delay
• Government of Ireland Act 1920, Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922, Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922, Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act 1922, and Ireland Act 1949, granting autonomy to Ireland and subsequently recognising its independence and republicanism
• Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927, changing the name of the British Parliament and state to reflect the independence of most of Ireland, and authorising the king to change his styles accordingly
• Statute of Westminster 1931, abolishing the power of the British parliament to make laws for the dominions (Canada, Newfoundland, Australia, New Zealand, and originally also Ireland and South Africa), making them de facto independent
• His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, recognising the abduction of Edward VIII and succession of George VI, and disinheriting the former's heirs
• Regency Acts 1937 to 1953, establishing procedures for determining the monarch's minority or incapacity and appointment of a regent to exercise his functions in such a situation
• Statutory Instruments Act 1946, establishing the framework for secondary legislation
• Orders in Council
  without the approval of Parliament
• Life Peerages Act 1958, House of Lords Act 1999, House of Lords Reform Act 2014, House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Act 2015, reforms changing the House of Lords from a mostly hereditary to a mostly appointed body with powers to suspend and expel its members, who are permitted to resign
• Local Government Act 1972, basis of local government in England and Wales, also confirmed Monmouthshire to be part of Wales
  • Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972
  • Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
  • Amended by Local Government (Wales) Act 1994
• European Communities Act 1972, providing for direct effect of EEC (later EU) regulations in UK law
  • European Union Act 2011, requiring a referendum before ratifying any changes to the EU treaties
  • Repealed by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, in force 2020, also creating a new class of retained EU law
• Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, replacing the defunct Parliament of Northern Ireland with the short-lived Northern Ireland Assembly
• Human Rights Act 1998, making the European Convention on Human Rights (and protocols ratified by the UK) cognizable in UK law without need for recourse to the European Court of Human Rights, and binding public authorities by it
• Scotland Act 1998, Government of Wales Act 1998, Northern Ireland Act 1998, acts of devolution
  • Amended by the Government of Wales Act 2006, Northern Ireland Act 2006, Northern Ireland Act 2009, Scotland Act 2012, Wales Act 2014, Scotland Act 2016
• Freedom of Information Act 2000, requiring transparency of decision making for public authorities
• Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, Elections Act 2022, regulating elections
• Civil Contingencies Act 2004, enabling the government to suspend laws in a state of emergency
• Constitutional Reform Act 2005, transferring the judicial functions of the House of Lords to the newly (2009) created Supreme Court, reforming the role of the Lord Chancellor and creating the post of Speaker of the House of Lords
• Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, putting the Civil Service on a statutory footing and requiring treaties to be laid before parliament before ratification
• Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, abolishing the royal prerogative of dissolution, requiring a two-thirds majority to call an election before parliament's five-year term expires
  • Repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, which restored the prerogative
• Succession to the Crown Act 2013, altering the succession to abolish male preference, so the eldest child of the Sovereign is heir apparent regardless of sex

See also

• Ancient constitution of England
• Basic Law
• Constitutional reform in the United Kingdom
• Fundamental Laws of England
• History of democracy
• History of England
• History of the United Kingdom
• Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom
• Rights of Englishmen
• Separation of powers in the United Kingdom
• United Kingdom constitutional law

Notes

1. ^ Pleas of the Crown included crimes such as murder, treason, arson, robbery, rape, and highway destruction.^[19]

References

1. ^ "What is the UK Constitution?". UCL Constitution Unit. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
2. ^ Lyon 2016, pp. 1–2.
3. ^ Huscroft 2016, p. 19.
4. ^ Lyon 2016, p. 19.
5. ^ Maitland 1908, p. 6.
6. ^ Potter 2015, pp. 15 & 23.
7. ^ Lyon 2016, p. 15.
8. ^ ^{a b} Lyon 2016, p. 23.
9. ^ Jolliffe 1961, pp. 130 & 133.
10. ^ Potter 2015, pp. 23–24.
11. ^ Jolliffe 1961, pp. 69–71.
12. ^ Green 1986, pp. 19–20 & 36.
13. ^ Maddicott 2010, p. 57.
14. ^ Lyon 2016, p. 37.
15. ^ Huscroft 2016, pp. 80–81.
16. ^ Lyon 1980, pp. 157–159.
17. ^ Lyon 2016, pp. 37–38.
18. ^ Jolliffe 1961, p. 197.
19. ^ Huscroft 2016, p. 109.
20. ^ Huscroft 2016, pp. 109–110.
21. ^ Huscroft 2016, p. 108.
22. ^ Jolliffe 1961, p. 148.
23. ^ "Manuscript Collection". Inner Temple Library. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
24. ^ Jolliffe 1961, p. 239.
25. ^ ^{a b} Lyon 2016, pp. 44–45.
26. ^ Potter 2015, pp. 48, 50 & 62.
27. ^ Potter 2015, pp. 77 & 79.
28. ^ Fitzroy 1928, p. 10.
29. ^ Potter 2015, pp. 82–83.
30. ^ Burt 2013, p. 28.
31. ^ Maddicott 2009, p. 6.
32. ^ Maddicott 2010, pp. 123 & 140–143.
33. ^ Lyon 2016, pp. 62–63.
34. ^ Butt 1989, p. 60.
35. ^ Maddicott 2009, pp. 6–7.
36. ^ Lyon 2016, p. 63.
37. ^ Lyon 2016, pp. 50–51.
38. ^ Pollock & Maitland 1899, p. 173.
39. ^ Potter 2015, pp. 74 & 76.
40. ^ Jolliffe 1961, p. 290.
41. ^ ^{a b} Lyon 2016, p. 66.
42. ^ Jolliffe 1961, p. 287.
43. ^ Maddicott 2010, p. 241.
44. ^ Lyon 2016, pp. 66 & 68.
45. ^ Butt 1989, p. 91.
46. ^ Maddicott 2010, pp. 174–175.
47. ^ Sayles 1974, p. 54.
48. ^ Jolliffe 1961, pp. 272–273 & 286.
49. ^ Lyon 2016, pp. 67–70.
50. ^ Maddicott 2010, p. 239.
51. J Froissart, Froissart's Chronicles (1385) translated by GC Macaulay (1895) 251–252
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52. ^ Sayles 1974, p. 71.
53. ^ Jolliffe 1961, p. 331.
54. ^ Butt 1989, p. 141.
55. ^ Lyon 2016, pp. 79–80.
56. ^ Lyon 2016, p. 79.
57. ^ Lyon 2016, p. 82.
58. ^ Lyon 2016, p. 81.
59. ^ Lyon 2016, pp. 83–84.
60. ^ Butt 1989, p. 143.
61. ^ Powell & Wallis 1968, p. 244.
62. The Chronicles of Froissart (1385) translated by GC Macaulay (1895) 250–52, "What have we deserved, or why should we be kept thus in servage? We be all come from one father and one mother, Adam and Eve: whereby can they say or shew that they be greater lords than we be, saving by that they cause us to win and labour for that they dispend? They are clothed in velvet and camlet furred with grise, and we be vestured with poor cloth: they have their wines, spices and good bread, and we have the drawing out of the chaff and drink water: they dwell in fair houses, and we have the pain and travail, rain and wind in the fields; and by that that cometh of our labours they keep and maintain their estates: we be called their bondmen, and without we do readily them service, we be beaten
    ; and we have no sovereign to whom we may complain, nor that will hear us nor do us right."
63. A Fitzherbert, Surueyenge
    (1546) 31, servitude was ‘the greatest inconvenience that nowe is suffred by the lawe. That is to have any christen man bounden to an other, and to have the rule of his body, landes, and goodes, that his wyfe, children, and servantes have laboured for, all their life tyme, to be so taken, lyke as it were extorcion or bribery’.
64. Utopia
    (1516) Book I, "wherever it is found that the sheep of any soil yield a softer and richer wool than ordinary, there the nobility and gentry, and even those holy men, the abbots not contented with the old rents which their farms yielded... stop the course of agriculture, destroying houses and towns, reserving only the churches, and enclose grounds that they may lodge their sheep in them... Stop the rich from cornering markets and establishing virtual monopolies. Reduce the number of people who are kept doing nothing. Revive agriculture and the wool industry, so that there is plenty of honest, useful work for the great army of unemployed – by which I mean not only existing thieves, but tramps and idle servants who are bound to become thieves eventually."
65. ^ On his behalf Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset ruled as Lord Protector until he was replaced and executed by John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. Somerset House was transferred to the crown, and Elizabeth was allowed to live there by Mary, Queen of Scots as she killed Lady Jane Grey (1554) and ruled until 1558. Mary then died without children, after killing hundreds of protestants.
66. classical republic of Sparta, a mixed government from Classical antiquity. Geoffrey Elton
    , who wrote The Tudor Constitution approves Aylmer's conclusions.
67. Sir John Neale
    identified a unified bloc of 43 members, whereas revisionists have suggested that this is an exaggeration.
68. ^ James, The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598)
69. Semayne's Case (1604) 5 Coke Rep 91, that nobody can enter another's property without lawful authority and that "the house of every one is to him as his castle and fortress, as well for his defence against injury and violence as for his repose." See also Calvin's Case Calvin's Case (1572) , 77 ER 377
    that a person born in Scotland is entitled to all rights in England.
70. ^ Case of Prohibitions [1607] EWHC J23 (KB)
71. ^ Case of Proclamations [1610] EWHC KB J22
72. ^ (1610) 77 Eng Rep 638
73. Marbury v Madison
    5 US (1 Cranch) 137 (1803).
74. ^ (1615) 21 ER 485
75. ^ Compounded by a ruling in Peacham's Case (1614) that held it would not be treason to advocate the King's death.
76. Five Knights' case
    (1627) 3 How St Tr 1
77. Petition of Right 1628 (3 Cha. 1. c. 1
    )
78. Putney debates, October to November 1647, summarised in ASP Woodhouse, Puritanism and Liberty (1938) 52. By contrast, a bitter opponent of the civil war was T Hobbes, Leviathan (1651
    )
79. ^ Richard Cromwell, Oliver's son, briefly succeeded but lacking support swiftly renounced power after 9 months.
80. ^ The conflict ended at Battle of the Boyne.
81. ^ Bill of Rights 1689 and Claim of Right 1689 arts 2, 8 and 13
82. Second Treatise on Government (1689) ch IX
83. ^ "The True Levellers Standard Advanced (1649)". Archived from the original on 2004-10-22.
84. ^ "Bill of Rights". The British Library. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
85. ^ "Rise of Parliament". The National Archives. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
86. ^ ^{a b c} "Constitutionalism: America & Beyond". Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP), U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014. The earliest, and perhaps greatest, victory for liberalism was achieved in England. The rising commercial class that had supported the Tudor monarchy in the 16th century led the revolutionary battle in the 17th and succeeded in establishing the supremacy of Parliament and, eventually, of the House of Commons. What emerged as the distinctive feature of modern constitutionalism was not the insistence on the idea that the king is subject to law (although this concept is an essential attribute of all constitutionalism). This notion was already well established in the Middle Ages. What was distinctive was the establishment of effective means of political control whereby the rule of law might be enforced. Modern constitutionalism was born with the political requirement that representative government depended upon the consent of citizen subjects... However, as can be seen through provisions in the 1689 Bill of Rights, the English Revolution was fought not just to protect the rights of property (in the narrow sense) but to establish those liberties which liberals believed essential to human dignity and moral worth. The "rights of man" enumerated in the English Bill of Rights gradually were proclaimed beyond the boundaries of England, notably in the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 and in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789.
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91. ISBN 1152215728
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93. ISBN 0748612343
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94. ISBN 0313290873
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95. ISBN 1852850523
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96. ISBN 1446475638
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97. ^ Webster, Medieval Scotland, pp. 29–37.
98. ^ Webster, Medieval Scotland, pp. 45–7.
99. ISBN 0950390410
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100. ^ Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community, pp. 14–15.
101. ISBN 0140136495
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102. ^ Thomas, "The Renaissance", pp. 200–02.
103. ^ G. W. S. Barrow, Robert Bruce (Berkeley CA.: University of California Press, 1965), pp. 11–12.
104. ^ Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community, pp. 22–3.
105. ISBN 0199243549
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106. ^ Goodacre, The Government of Scotland, 1560–1625, pp. 150–1.
107. ^ Mackie, Lenman and Parker, A History of Scotland, p. 287.
108. ^ K. M. Brown and R. J. Tanner, The History of the Scottish Parliament volume 1: Parliament and Politics, 1235–1560 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004), pp. 1–28.
109. ^ Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community, p. 21.
110. ^ Mitchison, A History of Scotland, p. 128.
111. ^ McNeill and MacQueen,Atlas of Scottish History to 1707, pp. 191–4.
112. ISBN 0521891671
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113. ISBN 074860233X
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115. Holt CJ
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116. OCLC 898153515
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117. ^ ^{a b c} The Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Scottish Parliament and the Union with Scotland Act 1706 arts 18 and 19
118. ISBN 0415278805
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119. A Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776) Book V, ch 1, §107
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121. ISBN 9781400878260
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122. ^ Keech v Sandford [1726] EWHC J76, an English trust law case following Lord Macclesfield LC, disgraced by his role on the South Sea Company, impeached by the House of Lords and found guilty of taking bribes in 1725. Keech reversed Bromfield v Wytherley (1718) Prec Ch 505 that a fiduciary could take money from a trust and keep profits if they restored the principal afterwards.
123. ^ Attorney General v Davy (1741) 26 ER 531 established that any body of assembled people can do a corporate act by a majority.
124. ^ Walpole's tenure lasted from 1721-1742.
125. ^ Dr Andrew Blick and Professor George Jones — No 10 guest historian series, Prime Ministers and No. 10 (1 January 2012). "The Institution of Prime Minister". Government of the United Kingdom: History of Government Blog. Retrieved 15 April 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
126. ISBN 9781400878260
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127. let justice be done whatever be the consequence
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128. ^ AW Blumrosen, 'The Profound Influence in America of Lord Mansfield's Decision in Somerset v Stuart' (2007) 13 Texas Wesleyan Law Review 645
129. Transportation Act 1717 and then the Transportation Act 1790
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130. Combination Acts
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131. J Bentham
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132. ^ M Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) ch IX
133. Union with Ireland Act 1800
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134. T Malthus
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135. ^ (1834) 172 ER 1380
136. ^ Letter to Lord Russell (October 1862) 'Power in the Hands of the Masses throws the Scum of the Community to the Surface. ... Truth and Justice are soon banished from the Land.'
137. Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875 and Allen v Flood
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138. S Tharoor, Inglorious Empire
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139. Taff Vale Railway Co v Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants [1901] UKHL 1
140. ^ Trade Disputes Act 1906
141. ^ Old Age Pensions Act 1908
142. ^ Trade Boards Act 1909
143. ^ National Insurance Act 1911
144. ^ Parliament Act 1949 reduced the power to delay to one year.
145. JM Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace
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146. ^ Joost Augusteign, ed., The Irish revolution, 1913–1923 (Basingstoke, 2002)
147. ^ Joost Augusteign, ed., The Irish revolution, 1913–1923 (Basingstoke, 2002)
148. ^ Thomas Henessy, A History of Northern Ireland, 1920–1996 (1998)
149. ^ Defrenne v Sabena (1976) Case 43/75
150. ^ e.g. 'Speech to the 69th Annual Conservative Party Conference at Llandudno' (9 October 1948). See J Danzig 'Winston Churchill: A founder of the European Union' (10 November 2013) EU ROPE
151. ^ Joint Committee on Draft Civil Contingencies Bill - First Report
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160. ^
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161. ^
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166. ISBN 9780748626724
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167. ISBN 0-679-45492-6
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169. ISBN 9780945612292
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177. ISBN 978-9004151741
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178. ISBN 978-9047423935
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180. ISBN 9780773525085
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190. ^ "Bill of Rights 1689 – Commons Library Standard Note". UK Parliament. 5 October 2009. p. 5. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
191. ^ US Senate Resolution 155 of 10 November 1997 formally acknowledges aforementioned declaration.
192. ^ The single legal jurisdiction is now known as England and Wales.
193. ^ Agreed to by Parliament of Scotland as part of the Treaty of Union.

Bibliography

• Burt, Caroline (2013). Edward I and the Governance of England, 1272–1307. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought. Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 9781139851299
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• ISBN 0-0945-6220-2
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• Fitzroy, Almeric (1928). The History of the Privy Council. London: John Murray.
• ISBN 9780511560248
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• Huscroft, Richard (2016). Ruling England, 1042–1217 (2nd ed.). Routledge.
  ISBN 978-1138786554
  .
• Jolliffe, J. E. A. (1961). The Constitutional History of Medieval England from the English Settlement to 1485 (4th ed.). Adams and Charles Black.
• Lyon, Ann (2016). Constitutional History of the UK (2nd ed.). Routledge.
  ISBN 978-1-317-20398-8
  .
• ISBN 0-393-95132-4. 1st edition available to read online here
  .
• ISBN 978-1-843-83717-6
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• ISBN 978-0-199-58550-2
  .
• Maitland, F. W. (1908). The Constitutional History of England. Cambridge University Press.
• Pollock, Frederick; Maitland, Frederic William (1899). The History of English Law before the Time of Edward I. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Potter, Harry (2015). Law, Liberty and the Constitution: A Brief History of the Common Law. Boydell Press.
  ISBN 9781783270118
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• ISBN 0297761056
  .
• ISBN 0393093220
  .
• St Clair Feilden, Henry; Etheridge, W. Gray (1897). A Short Constitutional History of England (3rd revised ed.). Ginn and Company.

External links

• Constitutional Law Chronology
• The Constitution Society feature and timeline on the British Constitution
• The Parliament and Constitution Centre
• The 'Mother of Parliaments' BBC Talking Politics
• Developing democracy BBC Democracy Day