Suchergebnisse

2018 was a successful year for "The Firm", as the royal family are said to refer to themselves.The heir to the throne Prince Charles turned 70, which was commemorated in a series of events including "an humble Address" in the House of Commons and a BBC interview that conveyed his thoughts on his position as Prince of Wales and future role as King Charles III. The political establishment will do all it can to sustain the monarchy, for the Crown remains central to its executive power in Britain's unwritten constitutional settlement. However, should conventions break down and implacable divisions arise between sovereign and Prime Minister, the consequences would almost certainly be a royal abdication as with Edward VIII in 1936 or the collapse of the monarchy altogether leading to a republican written constitution.

The UK Parliament is in a state of flux, reflecting radical changes in British society and its political life, as well as rising demands to be more effective and accountable to public opinion. The rules and procedures by which Parliament operates, and political conflicts and pressures are resolved, are a vital element in the study and understanding of UK constitutional law. This article analyses the nature, scope and effects of parliamentary practice and procedure at Westminster, and how they are utilised by government ministers, the opposition and backbench members, for their respective political ends. It considers the impact of recent procedural changes and likely future developments.

This article studies the preparation, passage, and consequences of the Representation of the People Act 1918. Commonly known as the fourth and last of the 'Reform Acts' starting in 1832, that transformed the politics of Great Britain into a parliamentary democracy, this major piece of constitutional legislation laid the foundations for the country's present‐day voting and electoral system. Most famous for introducing universal adult suffrage and the women's vote, it initiated a large number of new concepts and practices in elections, including making residency in a constituency the basis of the right to vote, whilst institutionalising the first‐past‐the‐post method of election instead of proportional representation (PR). As a political and constitutional process for reform, it was virtually unique in dealing with a range of principles and issues that were deeply controversial, yet ones that were debated and enacted in a spirit of concord amongst parliamentarians about the overriding need for civil reconstruction in the post‐war era.