Constitutional Change (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

Constitutional change

New Labour entered office in 1997 with an explicit commitment to modernise British governance. After years of Conservative rule characterised by constitutional stasis, Blair's government pledged comprehensive reform. The 1997 manifesto outlined an ambitious programme:

• referendums on Scottish and Welsh devolution and English regional government,
• elected mayors for major cities,
• removal of hereditary peers' voting rights,
• incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into British law, and
• a referendum on electoral reform alongside legislation ensuring freedom of information and open government.

During Blair's ten years as Prime Minister, much was implemented and the nature of British government changed. However, critics identified inconsistent execution and incomplete reform, leaving what some termed "unfinished business".

Devolution

Devolution for Scotland and Wales formed part of Labour's longstanding agenda, with unsuccessful attempts in the 1970s. The Callaghan government had attempted to introduce devolution in the late 1970s, but Callaghan personally showed little enthusiasm. The Scotsman's political correspondent during the 1997 election remarked that 'sovereignty rests with me as an English MP and that's the way it will stay'. Nevertheless, Blair accepted that devolution should feature early in New Labour's legislative programme.

Scotland

Referendums occurred in Scotland and Wales in September 1997. In Wales, the measure passed by the narrowest of margins. In Scotland, the outcome proved decisive: nearly three-quarters of voters endorsed a Scottish parliament and 63.5% approved tax-raising powers. The Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly came into existence in 1998, beginning operation the following year.

Proportional representation (PR) was the voting system used, specifically designed to prevent the Scottish National Party (SNP) from securing a mandate for independence based on a parliamentary majority under first-past-the-post. The system defied this expectation: the SNP, even under PR, recorded an outright victory as early as 2011.

The Barnett Formula enabled Scotland to maintain favourable financial settlement from the British Exchequer. New Labour bore primary responsibility for the political settlement in Scotland, particularly after Donald Dewar's death in 2000. Dewar, a leading architect of the devolution settlement and Labour's choice as First Minister in the Scottish Parliament, commanded widespread respect. The Westminster government displayed generous sympathy toward Scotland, yet most of the party's prominent figures chose to pursue careers in London rather than Edinburgh. After Dewar's death, Scottish Labour Party leadership lost its political initiative to the SNP.

The Independence Referendum of 2014 demonstrated that, whilst a clear majority of Scots still supported the Union, the issue of independence had not disappeared. The SNP's overwhelming success in the 2015 British general election suggested the long-term future of the United Kingdom remained uncertain.

Wales

In Wales, under devolution, Labour remained the dominant force. Independence for Wales remained a minority and unrealistic aspiration for the foreseeable future. In areas of administration devolved to Wales, such as health and education, the Assembly's performance sometimes attracted unflattering comparisons with English experience. Blair personally seemed reluctant to accept the implications of devolution and used his influence to impose Alun Michael as First Minister, contrary to the Welsh party's wishes. Michael resigned in 2000 rather than face a vote of 'no confidence' inside the Assembly.

England and regional government

The creation of devolved Scottish and Welsh administrations had obvious consequences for England's governance. Westminster MPs had lost power to decide upon devolved issues as they affected Scotland. Was it constitutionally acceptable that Scottish Westminster MPs could still vote upon equivalent English issues? Given Labour's traditional dominance in Scottish politics, it was possible that a future Labour UK government might only legislate on English health and education issues courtesy of a parliamentary majority created by Scottish MPs. This formed the essence of the 'West Lothian Question', named after Tam Dalyell, the long-serving MP for West Lothian, who had articulated the problem while opposing devolution.

New Labour attempted to resolve the 'English Question' resulting from its devolution strategy by establishing elected regional assemblies. The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, published a white paper (2002) proposing local referendums, beginning in areas where demand for devolution appeared greatest. In practice only one referendum occurred, in north-east England, in 2004. This produced an overwhelming 78% vote against establishing a regional assembly. Prescott rapidly conceded that his policy was dead. Plans for further referendums were abandoned.

New Labour achieved greater success with proposals for elected mayors. Following a positive referendum, the Greater London Authority Act (1999) created the office of elected mayor and a 25-member assembly. However, matters did not proceed as New Labour wished. In the resulting mayoral election, Old Labour figure Ken Livingstone emerged victorious as an independent over the official Labour candidate. Livingstone was subsequently readmitted to the Labour Party and re-elected under Labour colours in 2004. Elsewhere in the country most large councils rejected the mayoral option. Where contests went ahead, voters' response offered little evidence of widespread popular endorsement of Labour's plans.

Electoral reform

Blair addressed electoral reform from his party leadership's outset. He was already exploring with Paddy Ashdown, Liberal Democrat leader, the possibility of electoral cooperation to defeat the Conservatives, and electoral reform was an altogether more problematic issue of political realignment. Perhaps further evidence existed that Blair's roots were less firmly grounded in the Labour movement than he sometimes proclaimed. For Liberal Democrats, movement toward proportional representation was a prerequisite requirement.

Blair repeatedly declared himself unconvinced by the argument. Nonetheless, in 1996, Blair and Ashdown asked Robin Cook and Robert Maclennan to establish groundwork for a stable relationship, exploring the possibility of cooperation on constitutional reform questions.

Blair now argued that formal merger of the two parties might be the necessary consequence of a change in the voting system. He at least honoured his manifesto pledge to establish a commission on electoral reform, inviting former SDP leader, Roy Jenkins, to chair it. In his report, published in October 1998, Jenkins proposed replacing the existing voting system with a scheme known as 'AV-plus'.

Under AV-plus, the majority of MPs would be elected by single-member constituencies. The remaining 100 or so MPs would be elected by a list system within wide geographical areas, to create a broadly proportional overall outcome. These proposals met with a lukewarm response from the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, apparently endorsed by the Prime Minister. No serious attempt was made to take matters further.

Parliament

The unelected House of Lords, in some ways a medieval anachronism, was an obvious target for an incoming administration with a reformist agenda, pledged to modernise Britain's institutions. However, New Labour's immediate programme was limited to removing hereditary peers from the Lords' membership.

An agreement between the new Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, and the leader of the Conservative peers, Viscount Cranborne, allowed retention of 92 hereditary peers. This deal was struck without the knowledge of the Tory leader, William Hague, who understandably dismissed Cranborne, but it formed the basis of the House of Lords Act (1999). Thereafter, the process of reform stalled.

A Royal Commission put forward possible options for a partially elected chamber, but progress was slow. This was partly because Blair was concerned that the enhanced legitimacy of even a partially elected chamber might challenge the supremacy of the Commons. Votes in both Houses in 2003 failed to produce a Commons majority for any of the proposed options. With Parliament deadlocked on the issue, no further progress was made before Blair stood down as Prime Minister.

Other constitutional reforms

New Labour implemented several additional constitutional changes beyond devolution, electoral reform, and House of Lords reform:

Parliamentary working day reform (from 1997) modified sitting hours for the benefit of MPs with childcare duties.

Reforms to political party funding (2000) aimed to increase transparency and accountability. Allegations emerged in 2006 of peerages being awarded in return for political donations. Police investigation followed, in which numerous individuals including, unprecedentedly, the Prime Minister, were interviewed, but no charges were laid.

Human Rights Act (1998) enabled courts to declare that British public authorities had acted in contravention of the ECHR. This gave rise to numerous questionable court judgements and calls in some quarters for a specifically British Bill of Rights, but led generally to broadening and strengthening of individual citizens' rights.

Constitutional Reform Act (2005) created a new Supreme Court to replace the Law Lords sitting in the House of Lords. The Lord Chancellor, whose post the government originally intended to abolish, ceased to preside over the upper chamber and lost authority over the judiciary to the Lord Chief Justice. The position, later combined with that of Justice Secretary, became more avowedly 'political' and was opened up to members of the Commons for the first time since the 16th century.

Changes to governing style

Blair introduced substantial informal modifications to British government's day-to-day operation. These involved considerable expansion of the Prime Minister's political office, policy unit and press office. This created something resembling a Prime Minister's Department, staffed with unelected individuals answerable to Blair alone, in practice bypassing long-standing structures of governmental decision-making.

The change began during Blair's years as opposition leader when he surrounded himself with a small group of like-minded friends and trusted advisers. Perhaps because he lacked previous ministerial experience, Blair's administration has been described as the least experienced Labour government since the first one in 1924. He transferred the new structure to Downing Street.

Several individuals held exceptional influence:

• Alastair Campbell, Blair's press spokesman and later Director of Communications and Strategy, was arguably the most influential journalist that there has ever been in British politics, and was, in one displaced civil servant's words, 'more at the centre of the "big picture" than anyone else in the Cabinet'
• Jonathan Powell, appointed Chief of Staff in clear imitation of the American Presidential structure, was central to the Northern Ireland peace process
• Philip Gould held no formal office, but was an important intellectual influence and election strategist
• Anji Hunter was 'Special Assistant' and later 'Head of Government Relations'
• Sally Morgan was Director of Political and Government Relations, 2001–05
• Andrew Adonis was Senior Adviser on Education and Public Services, 2003–05, before elevation to the Lords and junior ministerial office

Senior civil servants and cabinet ministers were understandably concerned, and historians continue to debate the new style's impact on governance. Lord Butler pointed an accusing finger at so-called 'sofa government' in his report on intelligence's role in the Iraq war, highlighting ad hoc meetings where important decisions were taken informally, without properly minuted discussions or adequate paperwork.

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