The constitution: codification and sovereignty - examples
18 named examples with their significance, drawn from the Panther database. Read them, then test yourself.
In test mode, tap an example to reveal why it matters.
The examples
Boris Johnson Privileges Committee Report (2023)(2023)(tap to reveal)- First PM found to have deliberately misled Parliament. 90-day suspension recommended. Johnson resigned whip before publication. Shows Parliament can censure but only retrospectively. Raises conventions question.
Brexit: Parliament, People, and Democracy (2016-20)(2016)(tap to reveal)- 52-48% referendum result. Three meaningful vote defeats. Prorogation attempt. Shows tension between direct and representative democracy. Biggest constitutional crisis in modern British politics.
EU Referendum 2016: Scotland 62% Remain, England Majority Leave - Constitutional Tension(2022)(tap to reveal)- The 2016 EU referendum produced a UK-wide result of 52% Leave, but Scotland voted 62% Remain (67% turnout) and Northern Ireland voted 55.8% Remain. This created an immediate constitutional tension: Scotland had voted decisively for a policy overturned by English votes. Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland had 'spoken decisively' for Remain and called for a second independence referendum (indyref2). The Scottish Government published a paper on holding a second referendum in 2017. Legal challenge ultimately led to the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that Holyrood could not hold an independence referendum without Westminster consent. Northern Ireland's Remain vote created the 'Irish Border problem' that dominated subsequent Brexit negotiations.
Prisoner Voting Rights: ECHR Ruling vs Parliamentary Sovereignty(tap to reveal)- ECHR ruled UK's blanket ban on prisoner voting incompatible with Convention rights. Parliament refused to implement the ruling. Only limited rights for some prisoners were eventually introduced. AO2: use to show the limits of judicial review in a parliamentary sovereignty system - Parliament can ignore international court rulings. AO3: use on 'agree' side of questions about whether rights are adequately protected; use on 'disagree' side for questions about whether constitutional reform has succeeded.
R (HS2 Action Alliance Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport (2014)(2014)(tap to reveal)- In HS2 (2014), the Supreme Court considered whether the government's decision to build the HS2 railway interfered with Parliamentary privilege. Lord Neuberger and Lord Mance suggested that certain constitutional principles - specifically Article 9 of the Bill of Rights protecting freedom of speech in Parliament - might not be subject to EU law supremacy, hinting at constitutional limits to EU power.
R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame (1990)(1990)(tap to reveal)- In Factortame (1990), the House of Lords disapplied part of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 following an ECJ ruling that it breached EU law. The Act had required fishing vessels to be majority-British owned, disadvantaging Spanish fishing company Factortame Ltd. It was the first modern instance of a UK court setting aside an Act of Parliament, establishing the supremacy of EU law over conflicting UK statutes.
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act (2011-22)(2022)(tap to reveal)- FTPA 2011 removed PM power to call elections. Used unsuccessfully by May (2019). Repealed by Elections Act 2022 - prerogative power restored. Shows constitutional reform can be reversed. Good for constitution questions.
The Sewel Convention and Devolution (1998-present)(1998-present)(tap to reveal)- Sewel Convention: Westminster will not normally legislate on devolved matters without Holyrood consent. Given statutory footing in Scotland Act 2016. Overridden during Brexit 2017-20 when Westminster legislated on devolved matters without Scottish Parliament consent despite 9-0 vote against.
Thoburn v Sunderland City Council (2002) - 'Metric Martyrs'(2002)(tap to reveal)- In Thoburn v Sunderland (2002), the High Court established the concept of "constitutional statutes" - Acts such as Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, and the European Communities Act 1972 that form the constitutional framework of the UK. The court held that these statutes cannot be impliedly repealed by later legislation; only express words will suffice.
UK-EU Reset Deal 2025: Sanitary, Defence, and Youth Mobility(2025)(tap to reveal)- The May 2025 UK-EU Reset agreement established new cooperation on sanitary food rules (SPS), defence and security, and a youth mobility scheme - the most significant post-Brexit warming.
West Lothian Question and the Failure of EVEL (1997-2021)(2025)(tap to reveal)- Scottish MPs could vote on English matters but English MPs had no equivalent vote on devolved Scottish issues. English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) introduced 2015 by Cameron, abolished 2021. ER 2025 cited West Lothian Question and EVEL failure as evidence that devolution creates unresolved constitutional asymmetry. Good for 'devolution been a success' questions.
128 Lords defeats in 2021-22 session (more than the 126 defeats under Wilson in 1975-76)(2021)(tap to reveal)- Use to show the Lords remains constitutionally significant as a check on the Commons. The record number of defeats under Johnson - a PM with an 80-seat majority - demonstrates that Lords scrutiny is more than symbolic. Analytically: the Lords' willingness to defeat a government with a large Commons majority supports the argument that it retains real legislative power. Contrast with the view that defeats are routinely overturned under the Parliament Acts.
Alan Walters and the Thatcher Economic Policy Bypass (1989)(1989)(tap to reveal)- Alan Walters served as Thatcher's Personal Economic Adviser in Downing Street, not as a Treasury official. He opposed UK membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). Chancellor Nigel Lawson supported ERM entry and had been informally shadowing the Deutschmark. In October 1989 Walters publicly described ERM as 'half-baked' in a published article. Lawson resigned the same month, saying he could not operate while an unelected adviser had the PM's ear. Geoffrey Howe resigned a year later, partly for the same reason. Thatcher herself was removed by Cabinet in November 1990.
Coughlan v Minister for Cabinet Office (2022): Court of Appeal upheld voter ID requirements - ruled in government's favour(2022)(tap to reveal)- Use as a counterpoint to cases where courts rule against the government (e.g. Miller 1, Miller 2). This case shows the judiciary does not automatically oppose executive action - it upheld the Elections Act voter ID provisions despite opposition claims they suppressed turnout. Analytically: supports the view that UK courts are independent but not systematically anti-government. For AO3: use to moderate claims that judicial review is a strong check on executive power - courts sometimes validate contested government policy.
Good Friday Agreement 1998: Power-Sharing Devolution in Northern Ireland(2024)(tap to reveal)- The Good Friday Agreement (Belfast Agreement) 1998 created the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont with a mandatory power-sharing Executive requiring representation from both unionist and nationalist communities. It was endorsed by 71% of Northern Irish voters on 81% turnout. The Assembly requires 'cross-community consent' on key decisions - either parallel consent (majority of unionists and majority of nationalists) or weighted majority (60%+). The Assembly was suspended multiple times (2002-2007, 2017-2020, 2022-2024) over disputes between the DUP and Sinn Fein. In 2007, Ian Paisley (DUP) and Martin McGuiness (Sinn Fein) - previously sworn enemies - became First and Deputy First Ministers, demonstrating the transformative potential of power-sharing.
House of Lords Act 1999: 700+ Hereditary Peers Removed, 92 Retained(2024)(tap to reveal)- The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the right of all but 92 hereditary peers to sit and vote in the Lords. Before the Act, over 700 hereditary peers were entitled to sit. The 92 were retained as a temporary compromise pending further reform (the Wakeham Commission had been appointed to recommend a permanent solution). The Commission reported in 2000 but its recommendations for an elected or partly-elected chamber were never implemented. The Lords therefore remained a fully appointed/hereditary chamber from 1999 until Labour's 2024 removal of the remaining 92 hereditary peers (Lords Hereditary Peers Act 2024). The 25-year gap between the 1999 'temporary' compromise and its resolution illustrates how difficult Lords reform has been.
Human Rights Act 1998: Courts Can Issue Declarations of Incompatibility(2021)(tap to reveal)- The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, allowing citizens to enforce Convention rights in UK courts rather than going to Strasbourg. However, Parliament's supremacy was preserved - courts can issue a 'declaration of incompatibility' (finding legislation breaches the ECHR) but cannot strike it down. Parliament then decides whether to amend the law. By 2021, approximately 43 declarations of incompatibility had been issued since HRA came into force in 2000. In most cases, Parliament subsequently amended the legislation. The most contested case remains prisoner voting (Hirst v UK) where Parliament has refused to comply.
Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness: Power-Sharing as Constitutional Success(2007)(tap to reveal)- The Good Friday Agreement (1998) established the power-sharing Assembly. It was suspended four times before the 2007 restoration. Paisley had previously described Catholics as 'the enemy' and had opposed the GFA. McGuinness served as Deputy First Minister 2007-17. The two men developed a visibly warm working relationship, regularly photographed laughing together. Of the Assembly's 8,378 total days of existence, it has been suspended for approximately 3,167 days (41%) - yet the peace process has held.