The Nature and Sources of the British Constitution | AQA A-Level Politics (7152)

The Nature and Sources of the British Constitution

82 questions
6 subtopics
Paper 1: government and politics of the UK
Paper 1

The British constitution has no single document: it is drawn from statute, common law, convention, authoritative works and the prerogative, and can be changed by an ordinary Act.

Runs from Magna Carta to the reforms since 1997 and the arguments over codifying it.

Sample questions from The Nature and Sources of the British Constitution

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Codified and Uncodified Constitutions

What is common law?

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Law developed by judges through their rulings in individual cases, together with long-established legal custom.
Codified and Uncodified Constitutions

Which work is treated as the standard guide to parliamentary procedure?

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Erskine May's Parliamentary Practice.
The Rule of Law and Parliamentary Sovereignty

Why can no Parliament bind its successors?

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Because every Parliament is equally sovereign, so any statute passed by one Parliament can be repealed or amended by a later one.
The Rule of Law and Parliamentary Sovereignty

Give one strength of an uncodified constitution.

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It is flexible, so it can be adapted quickly by ordinary legislation as political circumstances change.
Magna Carta and the Early Constitution

Which two later legal principles are traced back to that guarantee?

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Trial by jury and due process of law.
Magna Carta and the Early Constitution

State two other limits the Bill of Rights placed on the Crown.

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The monarch may not suspend or dispense with laws, and may not keep a standing army in peacetime without Parliament's consent.
The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949

How long could the Lords delay a money bill after 1911?

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No more than one month.
The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949

Name one Act forced through using the Parliament Acts.

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The Hunting Act 2004.

The 6 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Codified and Uncodified Constitutions	Recall questions on what makes a constitution codified or entrenched, why the British one is neither, and its five main sources.	19
The Rule of Law and Parliamentary Sovereignty	Recall questions on what the rule of law requires in the UK and on why no Parliament can bind its successors.	9
Magna Carta and the Early Constitution	Recall questions on who forced Magna Carta on the king in 1215, where it was sealed and what it established about royal power.	16
The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949	Recall questions on the removal of the Lords' veto, the delay left on money and public bills, and what 1949 changed.	9
Individual and Collective Rights	Recall questions on the difference between individual and collective rights and on cases where they agree and where they conflict.	14
Constitutional Change since 1997 and Codification	Recall questions on the constitutional reforms since 1997, from freedom of information, the Equality Act and Lords reform to the Supreme Court and fixed-term Parliaments, and on the arguments for and against codification and a British Bill of Rights.	15

The Nature and Sources of the British Constitution is 82 of the 2,215 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.