Unit II constitution

TEXT 1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UK CONSTITUTION

The modern UK constitution is usually regarded as dating from the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688. However, its main principles and institutions can be traced to medieval times or even earlier. In 1688 James II, the last monarch to claim to be superior to Parliament, having previously dissolved Parliament, fled the country, throwing the Great Seal into the Thames on his way. He was replaced by William of Orange and his wife Mary who were invited by a self-appointed group of anti-Catholic politicians to reign subject to the overriding power of Parliament. Mary was the daughter of James II, so that continuity was preserved. However James also had a son - a Catholic - who was his lawful heir. Principles which had been fought over earlier in the century were enshrined in the Bill of Rights 1689. These prohibit the monarch from exercising key powers without the consent of Parliament, such as the power to tax, the power to keep a standing army in peacetime, and the power to override legislation. It was generally accepted that ultimate legal power should be with Parliament thus laying the foundations of the modern representative democracy. Church and state were also linked by requiring the monarch to be a Protestant.

In 1688 Parliament was not a democratic body in the modern sense. The House of Commons was largely made up of landowners and professional people elected by their own kind, it but at least embodied the principle that ultimate power should lie in the hands of a representative body, a principle that applies only in a minority of countries even today. The basic legal framework laid down in 1688 remains today, but its political content, and particularly the political balance between its main elements, Crown, House of Lords, and House of Commons, has changed radically.

The self-appointed group that invited William and Mary to reign had no legal authority whatsoever under the previous constitution. It included former members of Parliament and other leading citizens. William and Mary's invitation was backed up by the presence of the Dutch Navy off the coast. Thus 1688 marked a complete break in the constitution. On the other hand in political terms the 1688 constitution was a relatively conservative affair. This is perhaps one reason why there is still no written constitution.

Events earlier in the seventeenth century are relevant here. A series of quarrels between kings (James I and Charles I) and Parliament turning upon religion and the kings' claim to raise taxes independently of Parliament, reached a compromise solution in 1641. This lasted less than a year, and the Civil War of 1642-8 temporarily dismantled the constitution. From the end of the Civil War until the accession of Charles II (1649-60), England and Wales were governed essentially as a military dictatorship. During this period Oliver Cromwell created a written constitution – “the Instrument of Government” - which was effective only for a few years. By 1660 it became clear that chaos could best be avoided by restoring the old traditional constitution. Cromwell's constitution was expunged from the official records and Charles II and James II ruled on the basis of inheritance from Charles I and of the 1641 compromise, thus illustrating that 'legality' depends on your perspective. This uneasy stalemate was broken when James began to assert what the Protestant establishment regarded as similar notions of absolute monarchy to those that had cost Charles I his head.

NOTES TO THE TEXT

Glorious Revolution (Dec 1688-Feb 1689) – the name given to the events during which James VII and II fled from England, effectively abdicating the throne, and William III and Mary II were established by parliament as joint monarchs. The title, coined by Whigs who in the long term benefited most from it, celebrates the bloodlessness of the event, and the assertion of the constitutional importance of parliament.

James VII and II (1633-1701) – King of Scotland, as James VII, and of England and Ireland – as James II (1685-1688). The second son of Charles I of England, he escaped to Holland nine months before his father’s execution.

William III, “of Orange” (1650-1702) – King of Great Britain (1689-1702). Born in the Hague, he was the son of William II of Orange by Mary, the eldest daughter of Charles I of England. In 1677 he married his cousin, Mary, the daughter of James VII and II.

Charles I (1600-1649) – King of England and Ireland (1625-1649). He failed in his attempt to marry the Infanta Maria of Spain, marrying instead the French princess, Henrietta Maria (1609-69). This disturbed the nation, since the marriage articles permitted her the free exercise of the Catholic religion. Three parliaments were summoned and dissolved in the first four years of his reign; then for 11 years (1629-40) he ruled without one.

English Civil Wars (1642-8) – The country’s greatest internal conflict, between supporters of parliament and supporters of Charles I, caused by parliamentary opposition to what it considered growing royal power.

Charles II (1630-85) – King of England and Ireland (1660-85). He was the son of King Charles I.