| # | Example | What it shows (AO2) | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magna Carta 1215 | Forced limits on the Crown and established that the king was under the law. The historic root of the rule of law in the UK constitution. | Sources of the constitution; rule of law. |
| 2 | Bill of Rights 1689 | Settled the supremacy of Parliament over the Crown after the Glorious Revolution, including free elections and parliamentary free speech. A founding statute of the constitution. | Sources; parliamentary sovereignty (2025 Q1a). |
| 3 | Human Rights Act 1998 | Brought the European Convention into UK law so rights can be enforced here, but courts can only declare a law incompatible, not strike it down. Rights inside parliamentary sovereignty. | Sources; codification debate. |
| 4 | Constitutional Reform Act 2005 | Created the Supreme Court and reshaped the senior judiciary by ordinary statute. The textbook case of major constitutional change passed like any other Act. | Statute as a source; flexibility. |
| 5 | Factortame, 1990 | The courts disapplied part of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 because it breached EU law, the first time an Act was set aside. A real but reversible limit on sovereignty. | Sovereignty; codification (2020 Q1b). |
| 6 | Miller 1, 2017 | The Supreme Court ruled the government could not trigger Article 50 by prerogative and needed an Act of Parliament. Parliament, not ministers, holds constitutional power. | Sovereignty; checks on the executive. |
| 7 | Miller 2, 2019 | The Court found the prorogation of Parliament unlawful, a purely judicial limit on the executive. Evidence the present system already checks government. | Codification against (system works). |
| 8 | Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 and its repeal in 2022 | The Act took the power to call elections away from the PM, then the 2022 repeal handed it straight back. Shows constitutional reform can be undone by an ordinary Act. | Flexibility; weak entrenchment (2024 Q1b). |
| 9 | Thoburn v Sunderland, 2002 | The court identified "constitutional statutes" such as Magna Carta and the 1972 Act that cannot be repealed by implication, only by express words. A judge-made layer of protection. | Sources; entrenchment debate. |
| 10 | Devolution as a source, 1998 on | The Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Acts spread power away from Westminster, so the UK is now often called a union rather than a unitary state. A major modern source. | Nature of the state; unitary v union (Sample Q1a). |
| # | Example | What it shows (AO2) | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scotland Act 1998 | Created the Scottish Parliament with primary law-making power over devolved areas such as health and education. The foundation of Scottish devolution. | How devolution works; the union state (Sample Q1a). |
| 2 | Scotland Act 2016 | Handed Holyrood control of income-tax rates and some welfare, and recognised the Parliament as permanent. Devolution deepening towards a quasi-federal settlement. | Devolution since 1998; quasi-federalism. |
| 3 | Government of Wales Acts 1998 and 2006 | Set up the Welsh Assembly with weaker powers than Scotland, later upgraded to full law-making after the 2011 referendum. Shows asymmetric devolution. | Asymmetry; devolution compared. |
| 4 | Good Friday Agreement 1998 | Created a power-sharing Assembly at Stormont requiring cross-community consent, endorsed by 71% on 81% turnout. Devolution as conflict resolution. | Northern Ireland; power-sharing. |
| 5 | Sewel convention | Westminster will not normally legislate on devolved matters without consent, but it overrode Holyrood during Brexit despite a 9-0 vote against. A constraint without legal force. | Limits of devolution; conventions. |
| 6 | Section 35 order, 2023 | The UK government blocked Scotland's Gender Recognition Bill for the first time using a power in the Scotland Act. Westminster can still overrule the devolved centre. | Devolution tensions; sovereignty. |
| 7 | West Lothian Question and EVEL, 1997-2021 | Scottish MPs could vote on English laws while English MPs could not vote on devolved Scottish matters; English Votes for English Laws ran 2015-21 then was scrapped. Devolution left England unresolved. | The English question; asymmetry. |
| 8 | Metro mayors, 2017 on | Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Ben Houchen in Tees Valley built high-profile regional roles. The main form of devolution within England. | English devolution; regional power. |
| 9 | 2014 Scottish independence referendum | 55% No on 84.6% turnout, the highest of any UK-wide vote since 1992, followed by "the Vow" of further powers. Devolution stretched towards its limit. | Pressure for more devolution; the union. |
| 10 | Barnett formula | Sets devolved funding by population-based changes to English spending, leaving Scotland with higher per-head funding. The unresolved fiscal side of devolution. | Funding; tensions in the settlement. |
| # | Example | What it shows (AO2) | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wright reforms, 2010 | Gave the Commons elected select committee chairs and a Backbench Business Committee, strengthening scrutiny from the backbenches. The main modern boost to Commons power. | Effective scrutiny; reform (2024 Q1a). |
| 2 | Public Accounts Committee on COVID PPE, 2020-21 | Exposed 10.5 billion pounds awarded without competitive tender, but no minister resigned. Select committees can investigate but cannot enforce. | Select committees; limits of scrutiny. |
| 3 | Liaison Committee | The committee of select committee chairs that questions the PM directly twice a year. The most senior scrutiny the Commons applies to a Prime Minister. | Scrutiny of the executive; committees. |
| 4 | 2015 tax-credits defeat in the Lords | The Lords blocked cuts to tax credits, forcing a government U-turn and a review of the Lords' financial powers. The unelected chamber checking the elected one. | Lords power; checks on government. |
| 5 | Salisbury convention | The Lords does not block a measure that was in the governing party's manifesto. The rule that keeps the unelected chamber subordinate to the elected one. | Commons primacy; conventions. |
| 6 | House of Lords Act 1999 | Removed all but 92 hereditary peers, leaving a mainly appointed chamber. The biggest single reform of the Lords, and an unfinished one until 2024. | Lords reform; legitimacy. |
| 7 | Urgent questions under Bercow | Speaker Bercow expanded urgent questions, forcing ministers to the despatch box far more often after 2009. A real growth in day-to-day accountability. | Holding ministers to account; the Speaker. |
| 8 | Brexit Withdrawal Agreement defeat, January 2019 | May's deal lost 432 to 202, the largest government defeat in history, with 118 of her own MPs rebelling. Backbenchers can defeat a government even with a majority. | Commons power; backbench rebellion (2022 Q1a). |
| 9 | Syria Commons vote, August 2013 | MPs voted 285 to 272 against military action, the first defeat on the use of force since 1782. Parliament reasserting control over war powers. | Scrutiny of the executive; war powers. |
| 10 | Welfare Reform Bill, 2025 | Over 150 Labour MPs threatened to rebel and the Lords inflicted 13 defeats, forcing concessions on disability cuts. Both chambers checking a government with a large majority. | Parliamentary power; recent scrutiny. |
| # | Example | What it shows (AO2) | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thatcher's fall, 1990 | A dominant PM was removed by her own Cabinet and party after the poll tax and Europe split colleagues from her. Shows the PM depends on party and Cabinet support. | Limits on PM power; Cabinet (2019 Q1b). |
| 2 | Blair and "sofa government", 1997-2007 | Blair took key decisions in small informal groups and through advisers rather than full Cabinet. The classic case of a presidential, PM-dominant style. | Presidentialism; PM dominance. |
| 3 | May after 2017 | Losing her majority left May unable to pass her Brexit deal and dependent on the DUP. Shows how a weak Commons position drains PM authority. | Limits on PM power; majorities (2020 Q2b). |
| 4 | Johnson 2019 prorogation | Johnson tried to suspend Parliament for five weeks but was stopped by the Supreme Court in Miller 2. The limits of prerogative power in the PM's hands. | Prerogative; checks on the executive. |
| 5 | Truss, 49 days, 2022 | A mini-budget without Office for Budget Responsibility costings crashed the markets and ended her premiership in 49 days. The PM is constrained by markets, MPs and events. | Limits on PM power; collective fall (2023 Q1b). |
| 6 | Amber Rudd resignation, 2018 | Resigned as Home Secretary over the Windrush scandal after misleading a committee about removal targets. Individual ministerial responsibility in action. | Ministerial responsibility; accountability. |
| 7 | Dominic Raab resignation, 2023 | Resigned as Deputy PM after an inquiry upheld bullying complaints against him. The conduct strand of individual responsibility. | Ministerial responsibility; conduct. |
| 8 | Robin Cook resignation, 2003 | Resigned from Cabinet over the Iraq war rather than defend a policy he opposed. The clearest modern case of collective responsibility enforced by resignation. | Collective responsibility; Cabinet. |
| 9 | Johnson's Cabinet purge, December 2019 | An 80-seat majority let Johnson reshape the Cabinet and rely on the payroll vote. Shows how a strong majority widens PM patronage and control. | Sources of PM power; patronage (2024 Q2b). |
| 10 | Special advisers and the core executive, 1997 on | The growth of the Policy Unit and special advisers built up a Number 10 machine around the PM. Shows power flowing to the centre and away from departments. | Core executive; PM resources. |
| # | Example | What it shows (AO2) | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miller 1, 2017 | The Supreme Court ruled the government needed an Act of Parliament to trigger Article 50, not prerogative power. The Court enforcing parliamentary sovereignty against ministers. | Judicial review; checks on the executive (2020 Q2a). |
| 2 | Miller 2, 2019 | The Court found Johnson's prorogation of Parliament unlawful and void. The strongest recent assertion of judicial power over the executive. | Judicial independence; the Court's reach (2022 Q2a). |
| 3 | Belmarsh case, 2004 | The Law Lords ruled indefinite detention of foreign terror suspects unlawful and discriminatory. The judiciary checking the executive on civil liberties. | Rights protection; checking government. |
| 4 | UNISON v Lord Chancellor, 2017 | The Supreme Court struck down employment-tribunal fees as a barrier to access to justice. The Court defending the rule of law against the executive. | Rule of law; judicial review. |
| 5 | Rwanda ruling, 2023 | The Supreme Court found the policy of removing asylum seekers to Rwanda unlawful because Rwanda was not a safe country. Judges checking flagship government policy. | Judicial review; rights v executive (2026 Q2a). |
| 6 | Safety of Rwanda Act 2024 | Parliament legislated that Rwanda was a safe country, reversing the Court by statute. Shows that in strict law Parliament can override the judges. | Sovereignty v the courts; limits of judges. |
| 7 | Begum case, 2021 | The Supreme Court let stand the removal of Shamima Begum's citizenship and refused her return to argue her appeal. A case where the Court deferred to the executive on security. | Limits of judicial review; deference. |
| 8 | For Women Scotland, 2025 | The Supreme Court ruled that "sex" in the Equality Act means biological sex. The Court settling a deeply contested rights question. | Rights conflicts; judicial neutrality. |
| 9 | Constitutional Reform Act 2005 | Created the Supreme Court in 2009 and separated the top judges from the Lords. The reform that underpins modern judicial independence. | Independence; the Court's foundation. |
| 10 | Coughlan, 2022 | The Court of Appeal upheld the Elections Act voter-ID rules, ruling for the government. Shows the courts do not automatically oppose the executive. | Limits of judicial power; balance. |
| # | Example | What it shows (AO2) | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019 prorogation case (Miller 2) | The Supreme Court overturned the executive's suspension of Parliament, the judiciary policing the boundary between the branches. The high point of court power over government. | Branches in tension; judicial power (2024 Q2a). |
| 2 | Factortame, 1990 | UK courts disapplied an Act because it clashed with EU law while the UK was a member. A real but reversible limit on parliamentary sovereignty. | Sovereignty limited in practice (2019 Q2a). |
| 3 | Brexit referendum, 2016 | 52-48 Leave on 72% turnout created a popular mandate that collided with a Remain-majority Parliament. Tension between popular and parliamentary sovereignty. | Where sovereignty really lies; mandate. |
| 4 | European Communities Act 1972 and its repeal in 2020 | The Act gave EU law domestic force, and its repeal restored the supremacy of statute. Proof that every limit on sovereignty was reversible. | Sovereignty intact in law; Brexit. |
| 5 | Retained EU Law Act 2023 | Set a process to remove EU-era law, but ministers' sweeping powers were cut back after Parliament and the Lords pushed back. Sovereignty restored, but contested in the detail. | Parliament v executive; post-Brexit law. |
| 6 | Sewel convention as a sovereignty question | Westminster overrode Holyrood on devolved matters during Brexit despite consent being refused. Shows ultimate sovereignty still rests at the centre, not the devolved bodies. | Devolution and sovereignty; conventions. |
| 7 | Safety of Rwanda Act 2024 | Parliament legislated that Rwanda was safe, directing the courts after they ruled against the policy. The legislature reasserting supremacy over the judiciary. | Branches in tension; sovereignty. |
| 8 | Human Rights Act 1998 | Lets courts declare a law incompatible with rights but not strike it down, leaving the last word with Parliament. Rights and the courts within sovereignty. | Judiciary and Parliament; rights. |
| 9 | Miller 1, 2017 | The Court ruled that only Parliament, not the executive, could begin withdrawal from the EU. The judiciary defending the rights of the legislature against ministers. | Executive v legislature; prerogative. |
| 10 | Fixed-term Parliaments Act repeal, 2022 | Handed the power to dissolve Parliament back to the executive by ordinary statute. Shows how easily the balance between the branches can be reset. | Executive power; flexibility. |