NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Britain has never relished doses of constitutional reform, although they have accepted the drip-feed of frequent, unpalatable and ill-fated local government changes. Ambivalence to reform was reinforced in recent decades. The 1974 Labour government proposed an ambitious program of devolution for Scotland and Wales. It was a luckless policy, not least because of Labours divisions Now it is all different. The case for Scottish devolution is being argued with renewed vigour. Its consideration is linked with proportional representation for a Scottish assembly. (Rt.
Hon. Lord Biffen) With Britain being so against constitutional reform in the past, the impact of such reform could be perpetuated by such reform coming at the same time as many other policies on reform, such as devolution in Wales and Northern Ireland. These reforms have all come at the same time and in a short span of time since Labour only became government in May 1997. Devolution as described by Bogdan or is the delegation of power to local or regional administration, so power is dispersed from a superior to an inferior political authority, or to be more precise it consists of a sub-ordinate elected body on a geographical basis of functions at present exercised by Parliament.
Scotland is to have its own parliament, while still remaining part of the United Kingdom. A referendum held in September 1997 endorsed the Scottish parliament by a substantial majority; 78 % voted for a separate assembly, although the turnout was only 62 % of the electorate. Now that the legislation has passed through Parliament, it will be introduced as soon as possible. Elections for 129 Members will be held in early 1999. It is expected that the parliament, which will be situated in Edinburgh, will become fully operational in the year 2000. The responsibilities which will be transferred to the Scottish parliament will include: - health, education and training, local government, housing, sports and the arts, economic development, law and home affairs and the environment.
Among the areas of responsibility, which will remain at Westminster, are - overseas affairs, defence, national security, economic and monetary policy, employment legislation and social security. Of the 62 % of the electorate who turned out to the referendum, 68 % agreed that the Scottish parliament should have some tax raising powers, there is however a limit on the amount this tax can be raised which will be up to 3 p in the pound. Lord Biffen caries on to say: - Clearly Scotland makes the strongest case for constitutional change. A tax-raising assembly is probably a necessary development before the fundamental choice that has to be taken between independence or otherwise integration into the union the financial relationships between a Scottish Assembly and a suspicious England will win no votes. Possibly it might lead to enduring resentment. This can show how the impact will be perpetuated just by giving tax raising powers to Scotland, however small, so the impact of devolution is likely to be much greater than the enduring resentment caused by financial relationships between the two countries through tax raising powers.
Scottish affairs are executed by the British Cabinet and are headed by the secretary of state for Scotland. Five main departments of equal status: the Department of Agriculture and fisheries of Scotland, the Scottish Development Department, the Scottish Education Department, the Scottish Home and Health Department, and the Industry Department for Scotland perform the statutory functions of the secretary of state. As all of these departments, among others will have their responsibilities transferred to the devolved Scottish Parliament, the impact of Scotland making these decisions will not be to great to either Scotland or Westminster as they have not all been performed solely by the British Cabinet Government will be closer to the people and would be more efficient both nationally and locally as power would be dispersed more evenly leaving Westminster more time to discuss English legislation, such as a mayor for London etc. and the Scottish Parliament would be able to spend time carefully debating purely Scottish legislature. Another layer of government may also produce greater confusion as to the responsibilities of the different layers.
Who should citizens complain to? Who should be held responsible (Norton 1994) The concept of localised law is likely to appeal to everyone, but there may be a problem for Parliament as Britain is likely to need a written constitution to lay down exactly which responsibilities lie with Westminster and which have been transferred to Scotland and to what extent. At present Britain has an unwritten constitution. The written constitution could include a Bill of Rights, which would lay down the rights and freedoms of citizens of Britain.
The impact of a Bill of Rights is that Britain is likely to become more democratic, as citizens would know their rights and politicians would have to be more representative of the public as people would know that they can take certain action under certain circumstances. So the actions of the government would be scrutinised more as Parliament and the public will scrutinise all legislation passed and the politicians themselves. This would also mean that the government and Parliament would be more accountable for their actions, which could lead to a decrease in the likelihood of an elective dictatorship (Lord Hailsham), because politicians would be more accountable and scrutinised by the public. Devolution creates an elected body, which is subordinate to Parliament, and so therefore devolution seeks to preserve intact the supremacy of Parliament, which is a principal feature of British politics.
As devolution will not depreciate the supremacy of Parliament, it will not cause a great impact on Westminster particularly the executive, and so will not have a great impact in this case on England. Scotland however will have a degree of supremacy itself, as the power devolved will be exclusive to Scotland therefore making Scotland's parliament supreme. This will have a beneficial effect on Scotland's parliament as they will have a degree of supremacy but at the same time have Westminster to fall back on if it has any problems. Others, such as Norton argue that: - By interposing a new layer between central and local government, the potential for delay would be increased, as would the potential for clashes between central and regional government. (Norton 1994) So, in turn they argue that devolution will increase problems in both Westminster, Scotland and the people of Britain themselves, as the clashes will effect the executive, both parliaments and so will have a great impact on the people of Britain as they will not know where they stand, this could happen even if there was a written constitution. Before the union of Scotland and England in 1707, Scotland had devel...
Free research essays on topics related to: bill of rights, written constitution, scottish parliament, secretary of state, great impact
Research essay sample on Bill Of Rights Secretary Of State
