What are the sources and principles of the UK Constitution?

What are the sources and principles of the UK Constitution?

I don't know how many times I've mentioned that the UK has a number of sources on here, but i know i have - a lot. Its a pretty important feature of the UK constitution though, so its good to get that point in your head. 

(I'm running off 2 hours sleep so this isn't as banters as usual im sorry) 

This basically means that the UK constitution is made up of bits and bobs from other important stuff - you can find bits of it  in statute law, common law, conventions and EU laws and treaties. 

Statute law is law made by Parliament, aka Acts of Parliament or primary legislation - when those people all shout out each other in the HOC. It outranks all  other sources of the  constitution; if a statute was to conflict with, a convention or common law for example, the statute will always prevail. Some acts that hare included in the constitution are the Parliament Acts of 1911 & 1949, Scotland Act, 1998, Government of Wales Act 1998 and the Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011. 

Common law is based on tradition, custom and precedent- so whilst statute law is seen as being made by politicians, Common law is sometimes seen as 'judge-made law.' The Royal Prerogative and Traditional Rights and freedoms are included within common law.  

Conventions, therefore, are the key unwritten element within the constitution (aka which makes our constitutions so weird) These are mainly seen as a rule of a conduct or behavior, which everyone just kinda follows and accepts.The exercise of crown power, The appointment of the PM, consulting parliament before going to war, using referendums to approve major constitutional changes and collective ministerial responsibility are all examples of conventions. 

(This is the point where i realized we only needed to discuss the principles of the UK Constitution, not the sources, but i dont have the heart to delete all my work.)

Anyway, moving onto the only important part of this post- the principles!! 

The core principles of the UK constitution are the rule of law, Parliamentary sovereignty, Parliamentary Government, and a  constitutional monarchy.

Starting with the easiest one, the rule of law. This basically means that Government is subject to legal checks and constraints, so the Government is not 'above the law. (So even David Cameron could be arrested for bestiality) 

Parliamentary sovereignty refers to the absolute and unlimited legal authority of Parliament, as it can make, amend, or repeal any law it wishes- 'What Parliament doth, no power of earth can undo', as Blackstone said, the parliamentary authority. 

Parliamentary sovereignty is based om 4 conditions - the absence of a codified Constitution, the supremacy of statue law over other forms of law, the absence of rival legislatures and the fact that no Parliament can bind its successors. 

The UK is made up of a fusion of powers between the executive and Parliament, so Government and Parliament overlap, and our interlocking institutions - this is a parliamentary Government. They kind of come hand in hand, you can't get one without the other, peas in a pod. (almost like Doritos and the salsa dip.) Government, therefore, governs in and through Parliament. However, the closeness of these two institutions has caused tension, as it could easily lead to a situation where the executive could use the sovereign power of parliament for its own ends- the opportunity for an 'elective dictatorship' (Lord Hailsham, 1976) 

Lastly, the constitutional monarchy remains prominent in the UK constitution. 

Although during the 19th century, the majority of the monarchs remaining powers were transferred to the PM via prerogative powers, the monarch remains significant. It is argued that the role of the monarchy was to promote popular allegiance, to serve as a symbol of political unity above the general rough and tumble of politics. 

Bagehot states that the monarch as the right to be informed, be consulted, to warn and to encourage (I could do with an encouraging talk from the Queen to be honest.) 

Damn, thats inspirational Lizzie.