Constitutional Revolution in Britain - Article Example

- England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland constitutes the of United Kingdom of which queen is the supreme authority. All the states relate as per the constitution which is unwritten an indication that the rule of law is upheld. The laws can be amended by the parliament through simple majority votes in the house commons, interestingly individual rights are taken care of by the customs and ordinary laws. Considering the various states, Britain remains the unitary point vested with all the constitutional authorities.

The concentration of constitutional powers has elicited a notion that British should be considered a union state, this is because it exhibit very limited devolution with states .The central government though intervenes on matters of elections that represent representatives from the states in the central government, this done at Westminster. The elections are based on simple plurality and a single party government is put into place headed by the prime minister based on the number accrued by the party in the House of Commons.

The parliament enjoys exclusive powers that overshadow the judiciary in making major political decision. In 1997 elections, two parties; Labor and Liberal Democrats appealed for constitutional changes but the conservatives remained hesitant. The proposals did not augur well with a section of the citizens and the political class. They viewed the British citizens as being passive and wanted active citizens such that they would have enhanced human rights, more electoral avenues and increased choice for the citizens.

Blair, the then prime minister advocated for a more inclusive and participatory citizenship in the constitution by criticizing the British government for being secretive ,centrally oriented and containing non representative class in the house of lords, this plan was described by Blair as democratic renewal. The successive loss of elections by labor party between 1972-1992 agitated the need to push for certain certain electoral reform reforms and economic policies as well as social ones. Such radical measures made labor party to hit headlines as the very first one to have an extensive agenda on constitutional reforms.

The revolution saw about 92 hereditary representatives being impeached from the House of Lords, House of Commons elections was also revitalized. European Human Rights convention was included into the British law; an act of Human Rights. Besides all that, an act necessitating freedom of information was also passed Landmark changes also featured in 1998 when for the first time in London a mayor and the assembly were directly elected, a move that was emulated by other states. In 1997 another referendum was held on devolution but was sharply criticized by other states except in Scotland.

The opposition led to the widespread anticipation that in the May, 2003 elections, The Welsh will petition the Westminster for more powers that also applied to the Scottish parliament. The unrest made Blair to declare that Labor would allow for devolved government to regions were own identity was strong, subsequently in 2002 the queen in her speech promised devolution based on referendum. The 1951 convention on human rights has allowed appeals arbitrated in the European court and its eventual amalgamation into the domestic law, above all Westminster remained the peak of decision making as far as judicial ruling was concerned.

In 2001, Wakeham commission was constituted to review a second stage reforms on lords, in his report he proposed a chamber to be constituted of 600 members segmented into; nonpartisan, 20 percent, regional basis election, 20 percent and Prime Minister Appointees constituting 60 percent. The revolution has made British to acquire a quasi-federal as a system of governance and enhancing Bills of Rights, a more representation in the upper House is a reform that’s ongoing. Blair, who served as a prime minister in Britain is widely acknowledged for championing for major constitutional reforms, this he has done as part of fulfilling the 1997 elections pledges regarding reforms on constitution.

The changes though have experienced hurdles; there implications will be felt for along time. References Mansour, B. (2006). Britain and Iranian constitutional Revolution. Atlanta: Syracuse University Press. PLEASE NOTE; It is regrettable that I could not download your instruction files. Regards.