Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

politics paper 2 - Coggle Diagram

- - - - coercive authority
      - evil and unnecessary
      - hierarchical and dominating
    - - rejection of liberal 'absolute power corrupts absolutely - all power corrupts
  - - - optimistic - human's have the capacity for self governing
      - no government by consent - individuals can't give up sovereignty freely
      - ordered society
  - - - human nature is self-governing
      - ego drives poeple to do as they please
      - cooperation only to further egoist aims
      - egoism
      - self-realisation based on self-interest
      - economy will be reorganised fairly as social conflict is against self-interests
    - - mutualism
      - 'property is theft'
      - anti-capitalist
      - people should have a home and tools for work
      - 'absence of a master, of a sovereign
      - innate sense of justice and inclined to cooperate
      - individuals could opt out but this would be rare - federal assembly could assemble to mediate and immediately disband after
      - workers own the means of production
      - nationalistic
      - patriarchal
      - anti-theist
    - - if voting changed anything they'd make it illegal
      - anti-capitalism but no suggestions for replacement
      - anarcho-feminism - lesbianism, menage a trois, no gender stereotypes
    - - 'from his birth not a single human is bad or good - 'good' can be developed only through upbringing and education
      - if God existed it would be necessary to abolish him
      - anti-clericalism
      - collectivist
      - humans are naturally social
      - society of decentralised communes
      - economic freedom via collectivisation not free enough for Proudhon or Kroptkin)
    - - humans are social rational and altruistic
      - people prefer to live and work cooperatively in natural groups
      - infinite number of mutual aid communes drawn naturally together
      - direct democracy
    - - no state, just syndicates (trade unions)
      - working class solidarity
      - trade at true value
      - anti-capitalist
    - - retention of capitlaism
      - supply and demand - the market will provide
      - everything the state and courts do performed by private enterprise
      - competing capitalist forces will balance society
      - evils handled by fines
  - - - anarcho-communism
        
        Kropotkin
      - mutualism
        
        Proudhon
      - syndicalism
        
        Sorel
      - stem from socialism/Marxism
    - - egoism
        
        Max Stirner
      - non-violence, violence flouts autonomy - non-violent protests, grassroots organisations
      - freedom and personal autonomy, collectivism will limit this
      - social order restricts liberty
      - social organisation denies the ego
      - collectivism inevitably leads to the return of power over others
      - stem from liberalism
- - - - parliament - created by Scotland Act 1998 following support in a referendum that also gave it primary legislation and tax varying powers
      - 129 MSPs, 83 elected in single member constituencies, 56 are 'additional members' - seats awarded proportionally with a corrective calculation taking single member seats into account
      - considerable powes - Scotland Act 2016: ability to set income tax rates and bands; right to 50% of all VAT raised in Scotland; air passenger duty; control over key welfare benefits disability living allowance, housing part of Universal Credit); control over speed limits; rail franchises; fracking; franchise for Scottish Parliament Elections
      - Tories added these powers following 2014 independence referendum
      - parliament cannot be abolished without Scottish consent
      - Pariament also controls
        
        health and social policy - free prescriptions
        
        environment: agriculture and fisheries
        
        local government, housing
        
        education
        
        law and home affairs: police, justice, prisons, elections
      - greatest power of any devolved body
      - Barnett formula gives greater funding to Scotland - annoys English
    - - started with tiny majority in favour
      - Assembly now Welsh Parliament
      - 2011 referendum - 64% vote in favour of primary legislative powers
      - 2017 Wales Act gave Welsh assembly tax varying powers, control over assembly and local elections, fracking, rail, speed limits
      - 40 members elected in single member constituencies, 20 from 5 member constituencies (PR with corrective formula)
      - Labour dominant since 1999
      - control: health and social services, housing, education, agricultre, income tax , elections
      - wanted control over Law and Order but were denied
      - less power than Scotland but less demand for independence
    - - Assembly and executive created following 1998 Good Friday agreement - aiming to end communal conflict, established power sharing between unionist and nationalist communities
      - NI has own parties - DUP and UUP, Sinn Fein and SDLP
      - 108 members elected by STV every 5 ears since 2011
      - executive led by First minister (leader of biggest party) and deputy (leader of second biggest), ministerial positions allocated proportionally
      - stopped functioning in 2017 and restarted in 2020, period of Westminster rule
      - parliament controls: tax, health and social care, environment, education, law and home affairs
      - during westminster rule same-sex marriage and abortion legalised
    - - EVEL
        
        democratic inequality
        
        West Lothian question - why can Scottish MPs vote on England but not vice versa
        
        2013 EVEL introduced with a Grand Committee stage added - English MPs can veto a bill or part that only affects England, but bills must still pass the whole house in third reading
        
        first used in Jan 2016 - arguably crates 2 tiers of MPs, also causes issues as impacts public spending
      - no unifromed approach leading to variation and inconsistency
      - Labour created Regional Development Agencies
      - the proposed Regional Assemblies: rejected in North East 78 vote no
      - coalition/conservatives; George Osborne - 'northern powerhouse' - improve transport links and investment in science and innovation
      - new city regions with elected 'metro mayors' - powers vary
      - London
        
        greatest level in England
        
        mayor and assembly have power over policing, transport, and economic developments
        
        Ken Livingstone introduced congestion charge
        
        BoJo former mayor
  - - - under Labour: House of Lords Act 1998; Supreme Court
        
        Lords Reform
        
        membership based on merit, not inheritance
        
        Lords played a key role in holding govt to account such as on Brexit
        
        little to gain from second chamber mirroring the commons
        
        fundamentally undemocratic
        
        Roya Commission uder Lord Wakeham recommend reforms, inc eleted members (up to 195/550) in 2000 but this hasn't been enacted
        
        UK has electd dictatorship and needs an upper chamber with teeth to counter
        
        good chance to use a different electoral system so won't mirror
        
        Human Rights
        
        position following Brexit unclear
        
        Tory manifesto spoke of a British Bill of RIghts, make the SC not the ECHR final court of appeal
        
        not a great safeguard as would only be an Act of Parliament, so could be revoked /altered
      - under coalition 2010-15: fixed term Parliaments Act 2011; further Welsh devolution
        
        fixed term parliaments
        
        not worked, looks set for repeal
        
        Johnson essentially shamed opposition parties into agreeing to an alection in 2019
        
        govts maintain massive advantage in deciding when elections take place
        
        Welsh devolution
        
        growing popularity for Welsh independence, about 30%
        
        argument for Welsh Parliament to hold same powers as Scottish
        
        COVID has shown ability to act separately from England - has given a taste for more
      - major reforms undertaken by governments since 2015, including further devolution to Scotland
        
        Scottish devolution
        
        strong demands in Scotland for independence and a growing feeling that another independence referendum would vote yes
        
        acted seperatly in COVID
        
        move to 'devomax' may be last resort to prevent independence
        
        West Lothian question remains
        
        further devolution to England?
        
        under represented compared to Wales and Scotland
        
        under funded under the Barnett Formula
        
        English nationalism has been marginalised while Welsh and Scottish prioritised
        
        areas of England have strong regional identities - could be basis of regional assemblies
        
        English parliament would dominate due to money and size
        
        English people more likely to see themselves as British then Scottish or Welsh do
        
        North East rejected devolution in 2004
      - electoral reform
        
        recent elections skewed by FPTP in favour of Tories and SNP
        
        Farage has echoed Lib Dem calls for electoral reform
        
        Starmer and Labour also in favour
        
        view often held by opposition but doesn't stick once elected
        
        2011 referendum suggests little public support
  - - - safeguard rights and mean they cannot be arbitrarily removed by govt
      - Moves by Tories to overturn Human Rights Act demonstrate how easily rights can be attacked
      - people would be clearer and more educated on their rights
      - better to have protection than assume future governments won't try to restrict rights
      - people would be clear on what govt can and cannot do - proroguing by Boris and role of the speaker (Bercow) during Brexit debates
      - could provide clearer separation of powers and limits on power of institutions - UK has weak separation with Executive dominating Commons combined with parliamentary sovereignty - UK is an 'elected dictatorship'
      - could over-hall undemocratic, outdated aspects of UK government system - HoL unelected yet second biggest legislative body
      - could give rise to greater civic nationalism - people could be proud of well protected rights
      - reform since 1997 has been left unfinished, and asymmetrical - logical conclusion is a new constitution answering things like West Lothian question
    - - no agreement of how to create a codified constitution - usually formed by revolution - how would it be drafted, debated, ratified
      - no consensus on what it would contain - should not be party political but inevitably would be - would have to be compromised upon
      - will have embedded attitudes of the time, may be an issue later - has to walk the line between too specific and too vague
      - if it ain't broke don't fix it - has adapted to many things over time - covid - codification would be hard to reform
      - would take power from elected politicians to unelected judges - reducing democracy and accountablity
      - no popular support - people don't care, regional assmeblies and voting system have been rejected
- - - - can hold a vote of no confidence and bring down a govt - 1979 brought down Callaghan's Labour - 2019 seemingly wanted one to trigger an election
      - 2017-209 minority Tory govt that used a 'confidence and supply' agreement with the DUP - who agreed to back Tory budgets and in any no confidence vote in exchange for £1B of money pledge in NI
      - commons can insist on legislation - if vote for a bill it becomes law
      - Salisbury Doctrine - manifesto pledges cannot be bocked by Lords
      - finance/money bills cannot be amended by the Lords - Commons has complete control over taxation and public spending. Used for Welfare Reform Bill 2012 and sometimes on non-fully financial bills - counter terrorism, ID cards
      - secondary legislation normally sole job of Commons - some exceptions such as 2015 Lords amendments to tax credit regulations - led to Strathclyde review of Lords' role stating Commons could always override changes
    - - limited by 1911 and 1949 Parliament Acts - 1911 removed ability to delay money bills and could only delay not veto non finance bills by 2 years. 1949 reduced delay time to 1 year
      - Salisbury Convention gave commitment that they would not oppose manifesto bills
      - play a major role in scrutinising and revising legislation and can propose amendments
      - can force a general election if govt tries to stay more than 5 years without one
    - - Commons has way more power
      - various election results that have cast concerns over legitimacy of various govts that suggeste Lords should act as more of a check, especially as Commons is limited by party politics
      - 2005 - Labour won with 35.2%
      - 2010 - coalition
      - 2017 - minority government
    - - since 1999 Lords has greater legitimacy with removal of most hereditary peers - made up of people who have earned their position through service
      - Lords has been emboldened in challenging the govts, as a last resort Commons can still use Parliament Ac o push bills through, notably equalising age of consent for gay people in 2000 and banning fox hunting with dogs in 2004
      - changes in 1999 removed Tory majority in the Lords
      - under Tories 1979-97 there were on average just over 13 defeats a year og government in the Lords, whilst Labour 1997-2010 suffered on average 40 a year, coalition 2010-2015 suffered 25 a year whilst Tories 2015-2019 suffered 55 a year
  - - - Origin - Bill must start as a Green (govt sets out various options for legislation and invites comment) or White paper (detailed leg proposal), often start as green and are redrafted into white. Committees comment on draft bills and coalition govt put them out for public to comment on
      - first reading - normally in Commons - formal presentation of title of bill to house by a minister, no vote or debate
      - second reading - debate on principle of the bill, minister explains and justifies, shadow minister and backbenchers respond and ask questions. if contested a vote is taken (usually won by govt)
      - Committee stage - bill sent to public bill committee (16-50 members, balance based on party rep in the House - whipped) to consider. committee goes through the bill line by line and asks for clarification and proposes amendments. Highly significant bills (EU/finance) scrutinized by whole house - Committee of Whole House
      - Report stage - amendments suggested in Committee are considered by Whole House. Further amendments can be proposed by those who were not on the Committee and are voted on
      - Third Reading - debate and vote on amended bill (o further amendments)
      - HoL stage - first reading, second reading, Whole House stage(no committee), report stage, third reading
      - Lords can propose amendments - commons votes on whether to accept them - 'parliamentary ping pong' lasts up to 1 year
      - Royal Assent - formality else would be a constitutional crisis (recent controversy as to whether Queen lobbied to hide her private wealth)
    - - Lords can initiate bills but is rare
      - Lords cannot initiate or block finance bills
      - Salisbury Convention means Lords should not block any bill based on a manifesto pledge (has been challenged regarding minority govts)
      - Lords amendments to a bill can be rejected by the Commons
      - Lords can delay by 1 year but cannot bock a bill, job is to scrutinise
    - - Govt/Public Bill - brought forward by the govt, make up the bulk of legislation that passes i Parliament
      - Private Bill - Organisation (e.g. company or local authority) can petition parliament to change the law on something that affects them - London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act
      - Hybrid Bill - mixture - impact on general public but specific groups in particular e.g HS2 Bills
      - Private Members Bill - introduced by backbenchers ad impact whole population. abolition of death penalty 1965, Abortion Act 1967, HoL Reform Act 2014, 2009 bill requiring sufficient care for autists in the NHS
        
        ballot - 20 MPs drawn out of a ballot and have time allocated on one of 13 Fridays in parliamentary session to propose a bill. Often filibustered, some MPs get lobbyists to help, some take on bills from the govt
        
        10 Minute Rule Bill - 10 mins to introduce a bill - tends to just raise awareness - some do become law e.g. Divorce (Religious Marriage) Act 2002, some make progress but run out of time - amending Civil Partnership legislation to inc opposite-sex couples
        
        Presentation - MP presents the bill by introducing the name, no debate at this point
    - - Acts of Parliament - primary legislation
      - Secondary Legislation (delegate legislation) - law made by ministers, who issue statutory instruments (about 3,500/annum)
      - scrutinised by Statutory Instruments Committee
      - Secondary Legislation is used in many areas inc tax, education, health and immigration
  - - - Parliamentary Privilege - within Parliament MPs have complete freedom of speech and are protected from libel laws, for example a lib dem MP named Ryan Giggs as having been the person protected by a gagging order on the press about an affair in 2011
      - Backbench MPs - do not hold govt or shadow cabinet positions. often considered lobby fodder - primary role to vote in support of party leadership. promise of office may keep them in line. backbenchers in HoL often retired politicians or experts in own field and more likely to be independent and les concerned about potential prospects. many crossbenchers in the Lords
      - significance of backbenchers
        
        backbench rebellions - 35% of division for 2010-2015 parliament up from 28% 2005-19. Brexit led to countless rebellions against May and Johnson. Johnson lost 100% of votes early in time as PM and suspended whip from 21 MPS
        
        'urgent questions' been asked more frequently especially over Brexit but average had been increasing before 0.2/sitting day in 2013/14, 0.5 in 2015/16, 0.9 in 2017/19
        
        raising issues not the same as brining about change - few 10 minute rule speeches lead to law changes
        
        committees proportional to seat distribution - govt tends to get its way
        
        power of patronage, party loyalty and whips office keep most backbenchers in-line most of the time. Since 2019 election the big Tory majority has weakened position of potential backbench rebels, though has been opposition to some got COVID measures
        
        Backbench Business Committee (2010) crated partially to give backbenchers more of a say in the agenda in parliament. Members elected by party group so rebellious MPs unlikely to be selected
        
        BBC 2010 chooses the topic for debate on 35 days in each parliamentary session. Some chosen from e-petitions with more than 100,000 signatures. also promotes cross-party support for debate
        
        impact is debated - has enabled debates that govt would otherwise avoid; has led to changes e.g. reducing fuel duty; it has engaged wit the public (e-petitions)
        
        however govt does not need to accept motions voted for; change to membership was forced by govt against opposition; small parties are under-represented
    - - responsible for scrutinising a govt department - Health Select Committee, Culture Media and Sport Select Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee - most have 11 members, also have sub-committees
      - members selected by secret ballot within parliamentary groups (was by whips pre-2010) - elections increase autonomy and profile. Members often chosen for expertise e.g. Sarah Wollaston former GP on Health. longer a member spends on a select committee - more expert they become
      - select committees - examine department: key objectives and priorities; policies; expenditure; primary and secondary legislation proposals and implementation; appointments
      - decide what they want to look at and have power to summon witnesses
      - inquiries have had major impacts - Culture Media and Sport into press standards and phone hacking held many high profile interviews. its discoveries led to Leveson Inquiry and some police investigations - Strategy in 2016 highly critical of Sir Philip Green and said he had to solve problems with BHS pension scheme
      - are they good?
        
        detailed examination of govt policies and actions with ability to question ministers, civil servants (inc pre-appointment hearings for figures such as Governor of Bank of England) and others - ability to request govt documents
        
        many recommendations accepted by govt (40% according to 2011 study)
        
        chairs and members elected showing enhanced independence
        
        government has majority on all committees - attendance not compulsory and turnover of membership is often high
        
        can't propose policy and govt can and often do ignore recommendations given - very unusual for major policy changes to be brought about
        
        ministers and civil servants may not answer al questions or provide all requested docs (2013 May blocked head of MI5 interview) - inquiries can be overly confrontational
    - - if govt has strong majority then little opp can do to stop bills
      - leaders and shadow cabinet can attack govt inside and outside parliament (media)
      - big set pieces in which they are called on to oppose govts proposals such as responding to Queen's speech and Govts Budget
      - 20 days given to opp parties to set subjects for debate (17 given to main opp leader) - all normally face govt amendments to cancel out the motions
      - opp receive 'short money' to provide funding for the necessary support for opp offices so can hold govt to account - was reduced in 2015 as part of austerity
    - - PMQs
        
        Corbyn and May both considered poor performers. Starmer brings prosecutor skills but Parliament isn't court and Johnson is adept at producing soudbites to be replayed on the news. PMQs strange during COVID; video links, nearly empty chamber, Boris' shock that anyone would criticise govt
        
        cringy - especially planted 'does the PM agree that, they are brilliant, the govt is doing a brilliant job, the people love you and the leader of the opposition smells'
        
        backbenchers act like football crowd - heckling (often orchestrated by party managers)
        
        even proficient speakers like Blair found it to be a 'terror inspiring, courage draining experience'
        
        leader of the opposition gets 6 questions (in 2 blocks of 3)
        
        leader of 3rd party gets 2 questions)
        
        little genuine scrutiny - lots of political point scoring
        
        PMQs every Wednesday at midday for 30 mins - in theory opportunity for opposition to hold PM to account over events of the day - normally descend into political theatre
      - MQs
        
        questioning ministers about departments/policy areas tend to be more effectove scrutiny than PMQs with more detailed probing
        
        ministers get notification of oral questions so they can prepare detailed answers with support from civil servants
        
        most questions written - 35,000 in 2015/16 compared to 3,600 oral - often seeking info from ministers
- - - - 1994 Nolan Principles outlined 7 principles for public servants: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership
      - previously no codificationvof ministerial expectations
      - Partygate - yikes
      - since 1997 A Ministerial Code has been published laying out expectations placed on govt ministers. one element -do not knowingly mislead parliament - Johnson facing strong accusations over this - may be saved by 'not knowingly' but it didn't save Amber Rudd who resigned after admitted she had misled Home Affairs select committee unknowingly by stating she was unaware of deportation removal targets
      - private mistakes by ministers can come under the code - Matt Hancock resigned as Health secretary for breaching own departments COVID regulations
      - Johnson said he was right to resign but made a mistake over details of who paid for his flat renovations and decided not to resign despite his party being fined
      - Johnson and Sunak broke own COVID regulations and didn't resing
      - Sunak's wife had non-dom status and so avoided UK tax, investigation found no wrong-doing, Sunak remained in place with tax payed
      - 2020 Priti Patel found by independent investigation to be a bully - however wasn't asked to resign, nor offered to - however led to author of the report resigning as findings were ignored
      - ministers who haven't adequately carried out their brief should resign/be sacked - Gavin Williamson responsible for policy disasters as Education Secretary yet remained until 2021
      - Chris Grayling remained despite 2010 saying B&Bs should be able to turn away gay couple, 2015 unlawful ban on prisoners receiving books, giving a ferry contract to a company that had never owned a ferry, overseeing chaotic rail time-tables 2014
      - convention is almost completely reliant on self-regulation and places PM as 'judge, jury and executioner'
      - convention should be replaced with an independent body with powers to enforce ministerial code - unlikely as PM wouldn't give up prerogative powers, and wouldn't' create a body that could force them out of office
    - - all members of cabinet must publicly support and defend decisions they have ,made even if they disagree and argued against behind closed doors
      - prior to BoJo living with COVID plan - fierce debate between Sunak and Health Sec Javid about plan to remove free lateral flow tests, both publicly supported it afterwards. strengthens govt as it becomes more careful and deliberate
      - ministers who can't support policy should resign - Robin Cook 2003 over Iraq invasion
      - 2016 Iain Duncan Smith resigned over cuts to disability benefits
      - Lord Agnew resigned over handling of COVID fraud
      - public trust in ministers should improve if ministers are seen to resign on matters of principle
      - PM can suspend collective responsibility - which undermines it - done during EU referendum 2016
      - suspended for some free votes - allowing Gove and 4 others to campaign for Leave and Philip Hammond to abstain from gay marriage vote
      - ability to suspend during difficult political circumstances which would otherwise potentially split govt - strength - seen during 2010-15 so reasonable disagreement could emerge between Tories and LibDems - LDs abstained on nuclear power plant construction, tax allowance for married couple, and higher education funding
      - however Lib-Dems were punished at ballot box in 2015 for not standing by their pinciples
      - ministers have anonymously briefed each other or leaked info whilst never directly, publicly breaking the convention
      - Blair and Brown would brief against each other in the media - also seen with Johnson and Sunak with reports appearing about splits over spending to ease cost of living crisis and leaks about Sunak's don-dom wife - clearly undermines collective responsibility without breaking it
      - some MPs too powerful to sack - May appointed Johnson as Foreign Secretary to reduce threat as a rival and critic - he briefed against her, wrote damaging articles in the Telegraph and was not sacked - finally resigned in 2018 causing significant damage to My
      - more important than individual repsonsibility - sometimes relaxed through necessity rather than weaknesss - to ensure things can move orwards
      - should mean debate behind closed doors but a consistent public message to avoid confusion and help accountability
  - - - Prime Minister and cabinet
        
        PM is head of executive and chairs cabinet meetings and sets its agenda
        
        PM selects own cabinet and junior ministers (work in specific roles under cabinet member)
        
        PM decides who sits on cabinet committees
        
        PM can create new departments, merge departments, or abolish them
        
        cabinet is made of 20-23 senior ministers and is supported by Cabinet Office headed by Cabinet Secretary
        
        Cabinet makes decisions on key areas of policy and has collective responsibility - once decisions are made all members must defend them or resign. PM can lose a cabinet vote - should then resign
      - Junior ministers and executive agencies
        
        govt departments headed by a senior minister - secretary of state. responsible for a broad area -defence, transport, health, education
        
        each minister heading a department is supported by junior ministers - Education 5 junioor ministers inc - minister of state for unis; minister of state for school standards
        
        Parliamentary Under Secretaries rank lower than ministers of state
        
        departments also oversee executive agencies e.g DVLA - Transport. Health department oversees 29
    - - proposing legislation
        
        most bills are Public Bills - come from executive
        
        Queen's speech at start of each Parliament sets out govt's priorities for session - 2019 largely Brexit but also covered aw and order, NHS and environment
        
        may come from Party Manifesto but don't have to - executive may consult pressure groups, other interest groups, and SPAds - Dominic Cummings
        
        can use secondary legislation to develop policies and functions of departments
      - proposing a budget
        
        Chancellor of the Exchequer sets out a budget in which the govt sets out taxation and public spending policies - also sets out how they expect he economy to perform, predict levels of inflation and any predicted changes in govt debt
        
        2020 budget included a freeze to income tax bands - any wage inflation will lead to increased tax revenue
        
        £5b emergency response fund for NHS and other public services during COVID
        
        scrappigof 5% tampon tax
        
        extra 27p in packet of cigarettes
      - making policy decisions within laws and budget
        
        executive plays a key role in setting direction of the country
        
        could include welfare reform (Universal credit)
        
        reform of Education system
        
        changes to NHS - introducing/removing inernal markets
        
        executive makes the day to day decisions - deciding on COVID reponse
    - - Royal prerogative
        
        originally sat with monarch but now transferred to PM and Cabinet
        
        appointing ministers
        
        granting legal pardons
        
        signing treaties
        
        declaring war/using the armed forces
        
        award honours
        
        emergency actions in crisis time
        
        some powers have come more under Parliamentary control - declarations of war and military action. and some given up completely - 2011 Fixed Terms Parliament Act (not very successful)
      - initiation of legislation
        
        executive dominates parliamentary time (13 days for PM bills, 20 for opposition, rest directed by executive
        
        with a majority the govt can be confidnt of passing legislation, unless backbench rebellion
        
        without majority - life is harder for executive with 2017-19 as case in point
      - secondary legislation
        
        law made without passing a new Act of Parliament
        
        normally statutory instruments used to modify existing legislation
        
        can be controversial - 2016 abolishing maintenance rants for uni students
        
        seen by some as a way of govt aboiding parliamentary scrutiny
        
        about 2/3 become law without MP debate
- - - - 12 members (cases always heard by an odd number, more judges=more important case - 2016/17 11 judges sat on whether Parliament or govt should initiate UK leaving the EU
        
        headed by most senior figure - president
        
        currently 10 male and 2 female (male, pale and stale)
        
        Judges known as Lord or Lady though don't sit in Lords until they retire
        
        judges must have served as senior judges for at least 2 years or been a qualified lawyer for at least 15 - must retire at 70
        
        opened in 2009 following Constitutional Reform Act of 2005, replacing law lords
      - Lord Chancellor used to be a member of Cabinet (executive), Chairman of sittings of HoL (legislative) and Head of the judiciary - who appointed judges (judiciary). Reforms removed the last to roles
        
        new appointments - nominations by 5 member independent Selection Commission (President and deputy of the court, member of Judicial Appointments Commission and equivalent bodies in Scotland and NI); Lord Chancellor (Justice Secretary) then confirms or rejects the nominations (Can't keep rejecting). Confirmed by PM and then monarch
      - only UK wide court
        
        final court of appeal
        
        hears cases of significant public and constitutional importance
        
        used to interpret application of EU law in the UK
        
        rules whether devolved authorities have acted outside their powers
    - - neutrality
        
        conflict of interests by justices not siting on cases involving family friends or professional associates
        
        public activities cannot take part in any political activity, can lecture or write to inform the public, can do charitable work and can serve on official bodies as long as they remain politically neutral
        
        justices should not be swayed by their own political opinions and should stay out of party politics
        
        transparency - decisions fully explained on court's website - public can scrutinize proceedings checking for bias
        
        neutrality of high court was questioned by the press in 2016 - Daily Mail 'enemies of the people' over brexit
        
        Lady Hale questioned representation in the court - 13 appointments after hers - all male, white, 11 went to private school
        
        SC decision on proroguing in 2019 suggested lack of neutrality
      - independence
        
        justices should be free from political interference and people can be sure that the court can act impartially which individual rights are conflicting with govt actions
        
        security of tenure - can act freely against the govt
        
        freedom from suit - cannot face legal action for comments
        
        pay protected from govt interference
        
        Judicial Appointments Commission ensures appointments are not political
    - - interpreting the Human Rights Act - if it declares an act incompatible then it should be modified
      - due to Parliamentary Sovereignty it cannot force parliament/govt to comply - lack of an entrenched and codified constitution means power of SC to restrict power of Parliament and Executive is limited
      - doctrine of ultra vires
        
        means beyond the powers
        
        essentially the Court has the ability to rule that a public body has acted beyond the authority that the law gives them
        
        example - SC ruled that former Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling acted ultra vires when he changed the Legal Aid Act using secondary legislation to introduce "residence test" in 2012
        
        example - Scottish Parliament passed bills that copy into Scottish law the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In April 2021, UK govt referred these to SC on basis they are ultra vires of the Scotland ACR
      - judicial review
        
        power to review the actions of other branches of government (exec and legi) and judge if they've broken the law or acted incompatibly with the Human Rights Act - can sometimes force other branches to reverse its action