The Constitution | Edexcel A-Level Politics (9PL0)
The Constitution
- 85 questions
- 5 subtopics
- Component 2: UK government
- Component 2
Covers the rules that govern how the UK is governed: an uncodified and unentrenched constitution drawn from five sources, the reform programme begun in 1997, the devolution settlements and their consequences, and the arguments over codifying the whole thing..
It covers the nature of the UK constitution, the sources of the UK constitution, how the constitution has changed since 1997, devolution and its impact on the UK and debates on further constitutional reform.
Sample questions from The Constitution
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The nature of the UK constitution
Some argue the UK has become 'quasi-federal'. What supports that description?
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Devolution has given Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland lasting law-making institutions with their own electoral mandates, and the Scotland Act 2016 and Wales Act 2017 declared those bodies permanent. In practice abolishing them would be politically unthinkable, even though it remains legally possible. -
The nature of the UK constitution
What did the Bill of Rights (1689) settle?
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It confirmed that the Crown could not suspend laws, raise taxes or maintain a standing army without Parliament's consent, and guaranteed free elections and freedom of speech in parliamentary proceedings. It marked the shift from royal to parliamentary supremacy. -
The sources of the UK constitution
Give an example of a constitutional principle established through common law.
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The royal prerogative is defined by the courts rather than by statute, and judicial review — the power of the courts to quash unlawful executive action — was itself developed by judges rather than granted by Parliament. -
The sources of the UK constitution
Name two authoritative works and what each covers.
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Walter Bagehot's account of the English constitution, which distinguished the dignified from the efficient parts of government, and Erskine May's treatise, which is the standard reference on parliamentary procedure. A. V. Dicey's study of constitutional law is a third. -
How the constitution has changed since 1997
What can a UK court do if legislation is incompatible with Convention rights?
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It cannot strike the legislation down. It may issue a declaration of incompatibility, which signals the conflict to Parliament and leaves ministers to decide whether to amend the law. -
How the constitution has changed since 1997
What did the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 do?
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It set a five-year interval between general elections and removed the Prime Minister's discretion to call one, allowing an early election only on a two-thirds Commons vote or after a no-confidence motion that was not reversed. -
Devolution and its impact on the UK
How have the powers of the Welsh legislature changed over time?
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It began with the power to make secondary legislation only, gained primary law-making powers after a referendum in 2011, and moved to a reserved powers model in 2017. It was renamed the Senedd in 2020. -
Devolution and its impact on the UK
What is the case that devolution has strengthened the Union, and the case that it has weakened it?
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Supporters argue it accommodated national identity within the UK and removed the argument that Westminster ignores the nations. Critics argue it has built rival centres of authority with their own mandates, giving nationalist parties a platform and making separation easier to imagine.
The 5 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| The nature of the UK constitution | Recall questions on what makes the UK constitution uncodified, unentrenched and unitary, the twin pillars of parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law, and the documents from Magna Carta to the Parliament Acts. | 14 |
| The sources of the UK constitution | Recall questions on statute law, common law, conventions, authoritative works and treaties, and on why conventions are treated as a weakness. | 14 |
| How the constitution has changed since 1997 | Recall questions on Lords reform, the Human Rights Act, the Supreme Court, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act and the further devolution that followed 2014. | 14 |
| Devolution and its impact on the UK | Recall questions on the powers of the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly, devolution in England, the West Lothian question and policy divergence. | 19 |
| Debates on further constitutional reform | Recall questions on the case for and against a codified constitution, entrenchment and parliamentary sovereignty, the arguments over a British bill of rights, and further reform of the Lords, the Westminster voting system, the Human Rights Act and the Supreme Court. | 24 |
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.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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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.
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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.
Nearby topics
Edexcel A-Level Politics Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,101 questions with their answers.