Has Constitutional reform in the UK since 1997 made a difference?
Has Constitutional reform in the UK since 1997 made a difference?
1997 saw the political landscape of the United Kingdom changing radically with Labour’s landslide victory , the greatest since 1945. Led by Tony Blair, the party promised an ambitious programme of constitutional reforms which they themselves claimed would lead to “the most ambitious and far reaching changes to the constitution undertaken by any government in this century” (Hazell, Sinclair, 1999, p42)These reforms were also pioneered by Gordon Brown when he became Blair’s successor in 2007. While some of these amendments were successfully implemented others were abandoned or were watered down greatly. Also, the planned reversal of many of these reforms and other amendments made by the recent coalition Government must also be deliberated , however, as the coalition Government has only been in in power two years it is harder to see if they have had any real effect yet . Therefore this essay will focus on the constitutional reforms made by New Labour and will discuss that while they have made a difference, the impact has been limited and far less radical than they first proposed.
Perhaps the greatest challenge to the pre-1997 constitution was the plethora of legislation which provided for devolution. Under the Government of Wales Act and the Northern Ireland Act, the national assemblies were granted certain devolutionary power, whereas in the case of Scotland, under the Scotland Act, the nation was given a parliament. While the powers granted to each state vary , there has been a clear impact made on both the Westminster model of parliament and the constitution. This is particularly the case in Scotland, which was granted the executive powers once held by the Scottish secretary and can legislate on devolved issues such as health and education. Scotland also holds tax-varying power, yet these are minimal and are capped at 3%. Many argue that devolution has transformed the Parliament in
1997 saw the political landscape of the United Kingdom changing radically with Labour’s landslide victory , the greatest since 1945. Led by Tony Blair, the party promised an ambitious programme of constitutional reforms which they themselves claimed would lead to “the most ambitious and far reaching changes to the constitution undertaken by any government in this century” (Hazell, Sinclair, 1999, p42)These reforms were also pioneered by Gordon Brown when he became Blair’s successor in 2007. While some of these amendments were successfully implemented others were abandoned or were watered down greatly. Also, the planned reversal of many of these reforms and other amendments made by the recent coalition Government must also be deliberated , however, as the coalition Government has only been in in power two years it is harder to see if they have had any real effect yet . Therefore this essay will focus on the constitutional reforms made by New Labour and will discuss that while they have made a difference, the impact has been limited and far less radical than they first proposed.
Perhaps the greatest challenge to the pre-1997 constitution was the plethora of legislation which provided for devolution. Under the Government of Wales Act and the Northern Ireland Act, the national assemblies were granted certain devolutionary power, whereas in the case of Scotland, under the Scotland Act, the nation was given a parliament. While the powers granted to each state vary , there has been a clear impact made on both the Westminster model of parliament and the constitution. This is particularly the case in Scotland, which was granted the executive powers once held by the Scottish secretary and can legislate on devolved issues such as health and education. Scotland also holds tax-varying power, yet these are minimal and are capped at 3%. Many argue that devolution has transformed the Parliament in