Democracy and the British Constitution

What a constitution is for

Most people meet this topic as a list of institutions to memorise, and find it dull because nothing connects. Turn it round. Start with what a democracy is trying to achieve: that power is held on behalf of the people, that it is limited, and that those holding it can be removed. Every institution in this topic exists to deliver some part of that. Parliament exists so laws are made by people who can be voted out. The courts exist so that the law applies to everyone including the government. Once you know what each institution is FOR, the questions about whether it works become answerable.

The vocabulary of democracy

Six terms. The last two are the ones examiners most often find missing.

Everyone votes, or someone votes for you

A council asks every resident to vote directly on whether a park should be sold. Which form of democracy is being used, and why?

• Direct democracy, because residents decide the question themselves rather than through a representative
• Representative democracy, because the council organised the vote on behalf of the residents
• Neither, because a vote on a single local question is not really a democratic decision
• Representative democracy, because the rule of law requires elected members to decide

Two ways to decide

Both forms are used in the United Kingdom, and each is better suited to some decisions than others. An answer that treats one as simply superior misses what the comparison is for.

Institution to its job

Which values hold it up

The specification names the values that underpin democracy. Select the TWO below that are among them.

• The rule of law, so that the law applies to those who govern as well
• Equality, so that citizens are treated as of equal worth before the state
• Wealth, so that a country can afford to run elections regularly
• Unity, so that citizens agree with one another about the main questions

Facts drill: the constitution

Five quick questions on the institutions and what each does. Three lives.

Written down, just not in one place

The commonest error in this topic is to write that the United Kingdom has an unwritten constitution. Almost all of it is written down. Acts of Parliament are written, court judgments are written, and the rules governing how government operates are written. What the United Kingdom does not have is a single document called the constitution, gathered in one place and harder to change than ordinary law. That is what uncodified means, and it is a different claim. Use the right word and the difference will be visible to the examiner.

The constitution in a paragraph

A constitution is the set of rules and institutions saying how a country is governed and what _____ power. The British constitution is described as _____ because it is not gathered into one single document, although almost all of it is written down somewhere. It is made up of Acts of _____, decisions made in the courts, and long-established practice. Because no special procedure is needed to alter it, it can be changed by an ordinary _____, which makes it easier to adapt and, some argue, easier to _____.

Build the explanation

These five sentences make one paragraph explaining what an uncodified constitution is and why it matters. Put them in the order that works.

• A constitution sets out how a country is governed and what limits the power of those governing.
• The British constitution is uncodified, meaning it is not collected into one single document.
• Instead it is found across Acts of Parliament, court decisions and long-established practice.
• Because of this, it can be changed by an ordinary Act rather than by a special procedure.
• That makes it unusually adaptable, and it is why arguments about codifying it continue.

How the constitution has changed

Question: explain what is meant by saying the British constitution changes over time. Model answer: because the constitution is uncodified, it changes whenever Parliament passes a law that alters how the country is governed, without any separate document being rewritten. Devolution is one example: powers previously held only at Westminster are now exercised by institutions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which changed the constitution without changing any single constitutional text. The creation of a separate United Kingdom Supreme Court is another, since it moved the highest court out of the House of Lords and made the separation between the judiciary and the legislature clearer. Bringing rights protections directly into United Kingdom law is a third. Each of these was an ordinary Act of Parliament, and each altered the constitution permanently. Notice what the answer avoids. It gives examples of change and explains why they count as constitutional, without arguing that any of them was a good idea.

The rule of law in practice

A court rules that a decision taken by a government minister was unlawful, and the minister has to change it. Which principle does this illustrate?

• The rule of law, because the law applied to a minister exactly as to anyone else
• Parliamentary sovereignty, because the courts have overruled the government
• Representative democracy, because ministers are accountable to those who elected them
• An uncodified constitution, because there was no written rule for the court to apply

Asserting or explaining?

Whether the constitution should be codified is a genuine argument with serious people on both sides. Select the ONE sentence below that asserts a verdict instead of explaining a position.

• Those who want a codified constitution argue that rights would be harder to remove.
• Those against it argue that flexibility has allowed the system to adapt without crisis.
• Only a country unwilling to protect its citizens would leave its constitution uncodified.
• Both sides accept that the current arrangement can be changed by an ordinary Act.

What is at stake here

Each situation below puts one constitutional principle under pressure. Identify which one, as an analyst would, without deciding who should win.

• A government proposes a law exempting its own departments from a rule that applies to everyone else. Which principle is under pressure?
• A major constitutional change is made by an ordinary Act of Parliament with no special procedure. What does this show?
• Someone argues that the opposition should stop challenging the government because the government won the election. What is wrong with the argument?
• An exam question asks whether the constitution should be codified. What does a top-band answer do?

Explain the constitution

Explain what is meant by the British constitution, and discuss whether it matters that it is uncodified.

• Explain what a constitution is and what it is meant to do
• Name two values that underpin democracy and say what each one requires
• Name two institutions and explain what each one is FOR within the constitution
• Explain what uncodified means, being careful not to say unwritten
• Give one example of the constitution changing, and say why it counts as a constitutional change
• Give the case for codifying it and the case against, then reach a conclusion with a reason