Annex: A draft accessible summary constitution,
with options for reform[52]
CHAIR'S FOREWORD
Parliament, through the Political and Constitutional
Reform Select Committee of the House of Commons, has spent the
full fixed five-year term of the 2010 Parliament looking at the
path to possible codification of the United Kingdom's constitution.
In a unique collaboration with a team from the Centre for Constitutional
and Political Studies at King's College London, led by Professor
Robert Blackburn, we published 'A new Magna Carta?',[53]
a seminal and comprehensive work offering three options for codification.
We then embarked upon an unprecedented public consultation.
While the responses to the consultation broadly favoured a written
constitution, they also raised many views and options on what
should be its content. We make no pretence that there is a consensus
view either among the public or the committee. Instead, we feel
the debate and discussion should go on.
Therefore what follows is a further draft of a much
simplified, popular version. It contains—in black text—a
brief description of our current constitutional arrangements and
reference to the relevant sections of the third blueprint published
in 'A new Magna Carta?' and—in italic text to facilitate
comparisons—a number of options which emerged from the consultation.
These options are illustrative and not exclusive. They are designed
to initiate further discussion, and perhaps fierce argument, to
inform the 2015 general election campaign and to continue to the
end of the year of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, into
a possible constitutional convention and beyond.
A refreshed Parliament will collate your further
ideas on a codified constitution and, when our political leaders
are ready, they will have a ready-crafted document and set of
responses to help them to deliver to the British people - should
they wish it - a codified constitution of their choice.
Graham Allen MP
Chair of the Political and Constitutional Reform
Select Committee
Send your response, comments and contributions on
the debate to pcrc@parliament.uk, contribute to the debate on
social media using #UKconstitution or complete our online survey
at
http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s.asp?i=150290KVDWR.
PREAMBLE[54]
United, we stand in celebration of the diverse voices
that make up the great chorus of our nation. Confident in our
individuality, and steadfast in our shared values and common purpose,
we—the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland—have come together in the spirit of self-determination
in order to establish the principles of our law and governance.
By this act, we create for ourselves a sovereign
state, animated by many spirits, accountable to all. Conscious
of the responsibility that we bear to future generations—and
of their role in defending and regenerating this Constitution—we
lay down maxims crafted to promote civic harmony, mutual tolerance,
universal wellbeing, and social and political freedom.
We embody these ideas in democratic government,
and enshrine them in a system of law. And we empower each citizen
to reform this design, by democratic process and political debate.
By popular mandate, we establish this Constitution:
To recognise every citizen as an equal partner
in government—at a local, regional, and national level.
To affirm that each citizen is entitled to
fair and equitable treatment under the law.
To establish the principle of equality of opportunity
for all citizens.
To eradicate poverty and want throughout the
nation.
To protect and cultivate community identities
within the four great countries of the union: England, Scotland,
Wales, and Northern Ireland.
To preserve our common environment, and to
hold it in trust for future generations.
To safeguard freedom of thought, conscience,
and assembly; and to facilitate peaceable dissent.
And to protect these fundamental rights against
the encroachment of tyranny and the abdication of reason.
Through this undertaking, we remind one another
of the benefits and duties of citizenship enshrined in membership
of the United Kingdom, challenging ourselves to enact these principles
throughout society.
Let our example stand as an inspiration to
the peoples of the world, and to their rulers and their governments.
Let our principles animate our dedication to
peace and justice in international affairs.
And let our united resolve grow ever-stronger
under the enlightened auspices of this Constitution.
THE UK CONSTITUTION
OUR DEMOCRATIC SETTLEMENT
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy.[55]
Possible alternative:
The United Kingdom shall be
a democracy where the people are sovereign.
There shall be a separation
of powers guaranteeing an independent and elected executive and
legislature, and an independent and impartial judiciary.
The United Kingdom shall operate
as a Union of nations with power devolved to the lowest appropriate
level.
Status
The United Kingdom constitution is composed of the
laws and rules that create the institutions of the state, regulate
the relationships between those institutions, or regulate the
relationship between the state and the individual.
These laws and rules are not codified in a single,
written document.
Constitutional laws and rules have no special legal
status.
Possible alternative:
The Constitution of the United
Kingdom shall be the basic law according to which the United Kingdom
shall be governed. The Constitution shall have the highest legal
status and all other laws and rules must be consistent with it.
Amendment [56]
Constitutional laws and rules may be enacted, amended
or repealed by Parliament using its ordinary legislative procedures.
Possible alternative:
There shall be a Commission
for Democracy, which shall keep under review the operation of
the Constitution.
Amendments to the Constitution
may be proposed by the Commission for Democracy, by the Government,
or by either House of Parliament.
The Constitution may only be
amended following approval by:
· Two-thirds
of the members of both the First and Second Chambers of Parliament,
and
· The
majority of people voting in a referendum.
THE HEAD OF STATE [57]
The Head of State of the United Kingdom is the hereditary
Monarch.
Possible alternative:
The Head of State of the United
Kingdom shall be directly elected by the people.
OR
The Head of State shall be nominated
and approved by both Houses of Parliament.
The Head of State must be a
British Citizen, and must be over 18 years of age.
The Head of State's term of
office shall be [10] years, which may be renewed once.
Powers
The powers of the Head of State are formal, ceremonial
and non-political, and include:
· Granting
assent to legislation approved by both Houses of Parliament;
· Appointing
the Prime Minister;
· Appointing
Ministers of the Crown;
· Granting honours
and titles;
· And any other
powers as may be accorded to the Head of State.
The Head of State must act with strict political
neutrality. The Head of State exercises these powers on the advice
of the Prime Minister.
THE EXECUTIVE[58]
THE PRIME MINISTER
The Prime Minister is the Head of the United Kingdom
Government.
The Head of State appoints as Prime Minister the
member of the House of Commons who can command the confidence
of the House of Commons.
The Prime Minister remains in office until either:
· Following
a General Election, the Prime Minister is no longer able to command
the confidence of the House of Commons, or
· The Government
loses a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons and a replacement
government cannot be found within 14 days, or
· The Prime Minister
resigns.
Possible alternative:
The Prime Minister shall be
directly elected by the people [in a two-round ballot].
OR
The Prime Minister shall take
office following nomination and confirmation by the House of Commons.
The Prime Minister's term of
office shall be 5 years, renewable.
CABINET
The Cabinet consists of the Prime Minister and senior
Ministers and is the collective leadership of the United Kingdom
Government.
Ministers must be members of either House of Parliament
and are appointed and dismissed by the Head of State, acting on
the advice of the Prime Minister.
The maximum number of holders of ministerial office
entitled to sit and vote in the House of Commons at any one time
is ninety-five.
Possible alternative:
Ministers shall be appointed
by the Prime Minister and hold office at his or her discretion.
Cabinet level appointments shall
be ratified by Parliament.
Powers of the Executive
The Executive exercises powers on the basis of an
Act of Parliament, the common law or convention.
The common law powers of the Executive include, but
are not limited to:
· Declaring
war and committing troops to armed conflict;
· Signing treaties
and international agreements;
· Granting passports;
· Issuing pardons.
The Prime Minister and Minsters are responsible to
Parliament for the exercise of these powers.
Possible alternative:
The powers of the Executive
shall be listed in a Prime Ministerial Powers Act, which may only
be amended by a majority of two-thirds of the members of each
House of Parliament.
The Act shall specify the Prime
Minister's duties in respect of all matters including war-making,
treaty-making, and initiating legislative action for the public
good.
The Prime Minister and Minsters
shall be accountable to Parliament for the exercise of these powers.
THE LEGISLATURE[59]
PARLIAMENT
The United Kingdom Parliament has two chambers, the
House of Commons and the House of Lords.
The United Kingdom Parliament may pass laws on any
matter, without restriction in law.
Possible alternative:
The United Kingdom Parliament
shall have two chambers, the First Chamber and the Second Chamber.
Laws passed by the United Kingdom
Parliament must comply with the provisions of the Constitution.
Any laws that do not comply with the Constitution shall be invalid.
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
The House of Commons is the First Chamber of the
United Kingdom Parliament.
Membership
The House of Commons has 650 directly elected members,
known as Members of Parliament. Members are elected by simple
majority system, also known as First Past the Post.
Possible alternative:
The First Chamber shall have
[500] directly elected members, known as Members of Parliament.
Members shall be elected by an electoral system agreed by the
people in a referendum.
Functions
The main functions of the House of Commons are:
· To
represent the peoples of the United Kingdom in all matters;
· To hold the
government to account;
· To scrutinise
and approve Bills as part of the legislative process;
· To authorise
taxation;
· To scrutinise
and approve the Government's budget and planned expenditure on
an annual basis;
· To debate the
public policies of and for the Government of the United Kingdom.
Possible alternative:
The main functions of the First
Chamber shall also include:
· To
confirm the appointment of the Prime Minister and other Ministers;
· To
act in accordance with the values of this constitution.
The role of a Member of Parliament includes, but
is not limited to:
· Participating
in the work of the House of Commons;
· Representing
and furthering the interests of their constituency;
· Representing
individual constituents and taking up their problems and grievances.
Possible alternative:
· Making
judgements balancing the interests of public, party and conscience
free from influence or coercion.
It is for each MP to decide how best to balance these
tasks.
THE HOUSE OF LORDS
The House of Lords is the Second Chamber of the United
Kingdom Parliament.
Membership
The House of Lords is composed of Life Peers, 92
Hereditary Peers and 26 Lords Spiritual.
Life Peers are appointed for life by the Head of
State on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The 92 Hereditary Peers hold office for life. When
a vacancy arises, it is filled following a by-election, governed
by the standing orders of the House.
The 26 Lords Spiritual include the Archbishops of
Canterbury and York, the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester,
and 21 other Bishops of the Church of England according to seniority
of appointment.
Members of the House of Lords may resign their membership.
There is no limit on the number of members of the
House of Lords.
Possible alternative 1:
The Second Chamber shall be
subordinate to the First Chamber. It shall have [500] voting members,
directly elected to represent in proportion the nations and regions
of the United Kingdom.
Members shall be elected for
a period of [fifteen] years and [shall/shall not] be re-elected
The electoral system for elections
to the Second Chamber and for vacancies shall be decided by each
of the nations and regions of the United Kingdom.
Possible alternative 2:
The Second Chamber shall be
a Chamber of Experts, with [350] members.
Its members shall be appointed
by the Head of State on the advice of an independent commission.
Members shall be appointed for
a period of [fifteen] years.
Members shall be appointed on
the basis of recognised expertise in their field. Members may
be members of a political party, but may not form party political
groupings within the Second Chamber.
Functions
65. The main functions of the House of Lords are:
· To
hold the government to account;
· To scrutinise,
amend and approve bills as part of the legislative process.
The House of Lords has no power to veto legislation
approved by the House of Commons, save to veto any Bill which
seeks to extend the life of a Parliament beyond 5 years.
Possible alternative:
The primary function of the
Second Chamber shall be to scrutinise and amend Bills approved
by the First Chamber.
The Second Chamber shall pay
special regard to Bills that would reform the Constitution. Such
Bills must be approved by a majority of two-thirds of the members
of the Second Chamber.
The Second Chamber may also
veto a Bill that has been approved by the First Chamber if the
Bill is considered to be contrary to the independence of other
institutions including Local Government, human rights or any other
provisions of the Constitution.
DEVOLVED GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIONS, REGIONS AND
LOCALITIES[60]
Devolved Government of Nations and Regions
There are devolved parliaments and assemblies in
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. There is an assembly in
Greater London.
The powers and functions of these devolved parliaments
and assemblies are determined by laws passed by Parliament.
These laws may be amended or repealed by Act of Parliament.
Local government
There are directly elected local authorities in all
areas of the United Kingdom.
Local authorities are bound by Acts of Parliament
in respect of powers to raise taxes, and to promote the economic,
social and environmental well-being of the areas that they represent.
The powers, funding and responsibilities of local
authorities are determined by law.
Possible alternative:
The United Kingdom shall operate
on the basis of the guiding joint principles of union and devolution.
Permanent devolved parliaments
and assemblies in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland shall
be established as parts of the Union, and they may make national
constitutions which respect this federal Constitution.
Devolution in England shall
be in the form of independent local government, to which shall
be assigned a proportion of national income tax.
The freedoms and duties of local
government in England shall be defined in an Independent Local
Government Act. Such an Act may only be amended with the agreement
of two-thirds of the members of each House of Parliament, and
of the majority of people voting in a referendum.
THE JUDICIARY[61]
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
The judiciary is independent and impartial.
Ministers must uphold the principle of judicial independence.
There are separate courts systems in England and
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The most senior court in the United Kingdom is the
United Kingdom Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the final court
of appeal on all matters, except criminal appeals in Scotland.
Appointment of judges
Senior judges are appointed by the Head of State
on ministerial advice. The procedures for selecting candidates
for judicial office are set out in Acts of Parliament.
Appointment to judicial office must take place on
the basis of merit.
When selecting candidates for judicial appointment,
regard must be had for the need to promote diversity among the
judiciary.
Functions
The primary functions of the judiciary are to:
· Uphold
the rule of law and the rights of individuals;
· Adjudicate
on any disputes that are brought before them, and;
· Maintain the
administration of civil and criminal justice.
The judiciary is responsible for the development
and application of the common law.
The judiciary must interpret and apply laws enacted
by Parliament.
There is no power to strike down laws enacted by
Parliament.
Possible alternative:
The judiciary shall have the
power to strike down laws that are found to be inconsistent with
the Constitution.
OR
The judiciary shall have the
power to issue a declaration of unconstitutionality in respect
of a law that is found to be inconsistent with the Constitution.
BILL OF RIGHTS[62]
The following rights, deriving from the European
Convention on Human Rights and expressed in the Human Rights Act,
are available without qualification to all persons within the
United Kingdom:
· Everyone
has the right to life;
· Everyone has
the right to be free from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment;
· Everyone has
the right to be free from slavery and forced labour;
· No-one may
be found guilty of a criminal offence if their actions did not
amount to a criminal offence under national or international law
at the time of their commission.
The following rights, deriving from the European
Convention on Human Rights and expressed in the Human Rights Act,
which may be qualified by law, are available to all persons within
the United Kingdom:
· The
right to liberty and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention;
· The right to
a fair trial;
· The right to
respect for private and family life, home and correspondence;
· The right to
freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
· The right to
freedom of expression;
· The right to
freedom of assembly and association;
· The right to
marry and found a family;
· The right to
peaceful possession of property;
· The right to
education;
· The right to
take part in free and fair elections, held at regular intervals.
The enjoyment of these rights is secured without
discrimination on any grounds.
Possible alternative 1:
There shall be a Bill of Rights
which sets out the rights to be protected and enforced within
the United Kingdom.
Possible alternative 2:
All persons shall be equal before
the law and shall be entitled to the equal protection of the law,
without discrimination.
Possible alternative 3:
The rights of certain groups
within society shall be given special regard, in particular the
rights of:
· Children;
· Older
people;
· People
with disabilities.
Possible alternative (additionally):
The following social and economic
rights shall be available to all persons within the United Kingdom.
These rights may not be enforced by the courts, but instead shall
be principles to guide the work of the Governments and Parliaments
of the United Kingdom and of the devolved assemblies:
· The
right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food,
clothing and housing;
· The
right to social security;
· The
right to receive adequate healthcare, free at the point of use;
· The
right to work in an occupation freely entered into, in a safe
environment;
· The
right of workers to resort to collective action, including the
right to strike.
Status in law
The rights protected in the Human Rights Act apply
as follows:
· It
is unlawful for public authorities to act in a way that is inconsistent
with the protected rights;
· As far as it
is possible to do so, courts must interpret legislation so that
it is consistent with the protected rights;
· Where a compatible
interpretation is not possible, a declaration of that incompatibility
may be made. Such a declaration does not affect the validity or
application of that legislation.
Possible alternative:
The rights protected in this
[Constitution/Bill of Rights] shall have a special legal status.
Any law which is not consistent
with the protected rights shall be invalid.
52 The Committee acknowledges the work of Dr Elin Weston
in the preparation of this draft. Back
53
Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Second Report of
Session 2014-15, A new Magna Carta?, HC 463 Back
54
Below is the winning entry in the Committee's competition for
the public to find a suggested preamble for a future UK Constitution.
It has been drafted by Richard Elliott. If you are inspired to
do better, please send your own suggestion to pcrc@parliament.uk
. Back
55
A new Magna Carta?, p 285 Back
56
A new Magna Carta?, pp 354-356 Back
57
A new Magna Carta?,pp 285-287 Back
58
A new Magna Carta?, pp 290-302 Back
59
A new Magna Carta?,pp 303-313 Back
60
A new Magna Carta?,pp 321-326 Back
61
A new Magna Carta?,pp 339-347 Back
62
A new Magna Carta?,pp 327-338 Back
| 
