Understand Politics by Peter Joyce

Author:Peter Joyce
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 1235827720
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2010-08-27T04:00:00+00:00

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THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS OF POST-1997 LABOUR GOVERNMENTS

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Insight

Since 1997 a number of key changes have been introduced into the operation of government in the UK. These include devolution, the 1998 Human Rights Act and reform of the composition of the House of Lords.

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The Labour government which was elected in 1997 enacted a number of measures designed to secure constitutional reform. The main changes are discussed below.

Devolution

Devolution measures designed to bring government and the people closer together were contained in three measures enacted in 1998 dealing with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The 1998 Scotland Act provided for the creation of a Scottish parliament of 129 members serving a fixed term of four years. This body appointed a first minister who in turn chose other ministers who were responsible to the first minister. This body was initially termed the ‘Scottish Executive’ but assumed the title of ‘Scottish Government’ in 2007.

The Scottish parliament was able to make laws on all domestic matters including health, education and training, law and home affairs, economic development and transport, local government, environment, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and sports and the arts. It was financed by the Scottish block grant (or the ‘assigned budget’, which in 2009 was around £35 billion) and can be supplemented by the ‘tartan tax’. This permits the Scottish parliament to vary the standard rate of income tax by up to three pence in the pound, thus creating the possibility of supplementing its budget from self-generated revenue imposed on those who live in Scotland for more than half of the year. However, this power has not so far been used. A wide range of matters (including the UK constitution, foreign affairs, fiscal, economic and monetary policy, defence and national security, medical ethics, social security and employment) were reserved to the Westminster parliament. Additionally, the Scottish secretary was empowered to overrule the Scottish parliament and halt legislation believed to be inappropriate and to ensure that the UK’s international treaties were implemented in Scotland. The Scotland Act repealed the requirement (provided for in 1986 legislation) regarding the minimum number of Scottish MPs at Westminster.

The 1998 Government of Wales Act provided for an assembly of 60 persons. The body chooses a first secretary (Prif Ysgrifennydd y Cynulliad) who selects other assembly secretaries. The 2006 Government of Wales Act subsequently separated the Assembly from the Welsh Assembly Government. Powers administered by the Welsh Office were transferred to this new body, thereby subjecting them to accountability, and additional administrative functions were transferred in 2010 by Legislative Competence Orders made by the Queen in Privy Council. The assembly possesses no law-making or independent tax-raising powers and remained totally reliant on a block grant (which in 2010 totalled around £15 billion). This system thus primarily provided for a system which democratized existing administrative arrangements as opposed to devolution.

The 1998 Northern Ireland Act provided for an assembly of 108 members. The executive was composed of 12 ministers. The first minister and deputy minister were elected by the

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