Reading:
Norton CH 3
WEEK 1: THE BRITISH
CONSTITUTION AND THE
MONARCHY
Guiding Questions
 What makes the British constitution unique?
 What are the sources of the British
constitution?
 What are the pillars of the British
constitution?
 What role does the monarchy play in British
politics?
The British Constitution
 Constitutions communicate the
fundamental relationships
between political institutions
within political society.
 i.e. separation of powers;
checks and balances, etc.
 Also lays out the relationship
between the government and the
governed.
 British constitution “unwritten”
 Does not exist as a single
document.
 Unique amongst liberal
democracies in this regard
 Content of the constitution has
been a subject of debate.
The Sources of the Constitution
 Legal and non-legal sources for
the British constitution.
 Legal:
 Magna Carta, laws of
Parliament, EU law, human
rights law, and case law.
 Non-legal:
 conventions, customs of
Parliament, and scholarly
works (e.g. Bagehot’s English
Constitution).
 Parliamentary law and EU law are
the most significant sources of the
British constitution.
The British Constitution
 Several groups argue in favor of codifying the
constitution in written form.
 Governments have been reluctant to do so
arguing that:
 1) Not apparent that an unwritten
constitution has made it difficult to govern
democratically
 2) A written constitution would constrain the
ability of government’s to govern.
The Five Pillars of the British
Constitution
 Five aspects of the British





constitution are critical for
our understanding of
British politics.
1) Constitutional
monarchy
2) Parliamentary
sovereignty
3) Cabinet government
4) British judiciary
5) Unitary system
The British Constitution:
Monarchy
 The UK is a constitutional




monarchy.
Executive authority is divided
between the head of state
(monarch) and the head of
government (prime minister).
Rise in prominence of parliament
vis-à-vis the monarchy (or the
decline of absolutism) linked to
the seating of William and Mary.
Monarch performs the “dignified”
rather than the “efficient”
executive functions.
The current monarch: Queen
Elizabeth II
 Reigned since 1952.
Succession

Line of succession runs through the male line first; female line second.
 Elizabeth II is the oldest daughter in a family with no male heir.
 Edward VIII’s abdication placed her father George VII on the
throne.

The monarch cannot 1) be a Roman Catholic or 2) marry a Roman
Catholic.
 Private members bills have been authored to remove prohibitions on
marrying a Roman Catholic and ending male primogeniture.
 Proposals would still require the monarch to identify with
Anglicanism.
 Concern that all states accepting Elizabeth II as monarch
(Commonwealth realm states) would have to accept any changes
made to succession has frustrated movement on these issues.
 No real movement likely until a government party takes it up
Functions of the Monarchy
 Custom and convention shape
the monarch’s role within the
system.
 Monarch maintains
prerogative powers.
 1) Appoints the prime minister
 Although this authority is
limited.
 2) Advises the prime minister
 Described by Bagehot as “the
right to be consulted, the right
to encourage, the right to warn”
Functions of the Monarchy
 3) All bills require Royal Assent in order to become
law.
 In reality, assent is usually a formality.
 4) Dissolves Parliament.
 But this is done at the request of the prime minister.
 Taken together, these functions and the conventions
surrounding them have circumscribed monarchical
authority.
 But they do, however, legitimize the monarch as the
neutral embodiment of the state.
 5) Serves as the Supreme Governor of the Church of
England.
 Primarily symbolic; formally appoints bishops after
consultation with the Prime Minister.
Conclusions
 Depoliticizing the monarchy boosts the
monarch’s role as head of state.
 Neutrality and non-partisan nature seen as a sign of
strength.
 While the monarchy provides important
symbolic functions, Parliament is essentially the
guarantor of the constitution.
 Parliament controls the amendment process; a
written constitution might limit the ability of
government’s to change laws, etc.
 The judiciary does not have judicial review; they
rule on the scope and intent of bills not on their
constitutionality.
Next Unit
 Theme: The British Constitution and
Parliamentary Sovereignty
 Readings: Norton CH 8 and 9