LICENCE 3 LANGUES, LCER ANGLAIS-DROIT

Britain does not have a written Constitution like France or the United States but it has an unwritten Constitution made up of Statutes and conventions. There were several major constitutional reforms in the United Kingdom since 1880. The flexibility of the British Constitution was a great advantage since its provisions could be changed with relative ease. The Whigs were in favour of constitutional reform. They introduced the extension of the franchise with the Reform Act of 1832, 1867 and 1884. In 1910 the People’s Budget led to a constitutional crisis which limited the period of time for which the House of Lords could delay the vote of the Finance Bill. After WWI, women who had taken part in the Great War managed to get the right to vote in 1918.

In the years after 1945, constitutional reform was held as a distraction from the aims of the Left, not a contribution towards them. The 1960s and the 1970s saw the introduction of British entry into the European Community. This issue had major constitutional implications and raised the issue of sovereignty. During the 1970s, Labour joined the Liberals in supporting constitutional reform and in particular devolution. The Constitution came back in British politics because of Northern Ireland where the Westminster model was no longer working. Therefore, successive British governments, whether Conservative or Labour found themselves proposing constitutional innovations to meet the special conditions of Northern Ireland, innovations such as power-sharing, devolution, proportional representation.

When Tony Blair became Prime Minister in May 1997, his aim was to modernise Britain’s Constitution for the new Millenium. His three major constitutional reforms were: devolution, the Lords’ reform and the election of the Mayor of London and the assembly for London. The years since 1997 have been marked by an unprecedented series of constitutional changes. One of the central aims of constitutional reform was to limit the power of the state. The second aim was the introduction of popular participation in decision-making.

Constitutional reform was not David Cameron’s priority but he resorted to the referendum three times while he was Prime Minister: the first time in 2011 on the alternative vote, the second time on 18 September 2014 on Scottish independence and the third time on British membership of the European Union. The last referendum on 23 June 2016 opened Pandora’s Box. How did Britain move from being at the heart of the European Union during the Blair years from 1997 to 2007 to being so eurosceptic and voting for Brexit in 2016? The UK is still going through a period of unprecedented constitutional change especially with Brexit. There is much unfinished business and further changes still to come.

What will be the effect of Brexit on the future of the Union? Which constitutional reforms will Sir Keir Starmer implement?