How do the UK and US constitutions differ in nature?

The US Constitution is codified in a single document of 1787 and entrenched, while the UK constitution is uncodified and unentrenched, so it can be changed by an ordinary Act of Parliament.

What similarities are there between the sources of the UK and US constitutions?

Both rely partly on conventions and judicial interpretation: in the US, institutions such as the Cabinet and presidential primaries are not in the Constitution, and in both countries court rulings shape how constitutional rules are understood.

How do checks and balances differ between the UK and US systems?

US checks are set out in the Constitution — the presidential veto, Senate confirmation, impeachment and judicial review of laws — while UK checks are largely political, such as Commons confidence votes, select committees and the Lords' power to delay, because Parliament's will cannot be overridden.

Edexcel A-Level Politics 9PL0

Democracy and Participation

Topic overview Current systems of representative and direct democracy A wider franchise and debates over suffrage Pressure groups and other influences Think tanks, lobbyists and corporations Rights in context

Political Parties

Topic overview Political parties and their funding Established political parties Emerging and minor political parties Party systems and parties in context

Electoral Systems

Topic overview Different electoral systems Referendums and how they are used Electoral system analysis

Voting Behaviour and the Media

Topic overview The 1979, 1997 and 2010 general election results Why elections are won and lost Class, partisanship and social factors Analysing voting behaviour data The influence of the media

Liberalism

Topic overview Individualism, equality and the liberal state Freedom, the rule of law and limited government Rationalism, social justice and liberal democracy Differing views and tensions within liberalism Locke, Wollstonecraft and Mill Rawls, Friedan and modern liberalism

Conservatism

Topic overview Pragmatism, tradition and human imperfection The organic society, hierarchy and paternalism The New Right: neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism Differing views and tensions within conservatism Hobbes, Burke and Oakeshott Rand, Nozick and the New Right

Socialism

Topic overview Collectivism, common ownership and common humanity Equality, social class and workers' control Differing views and tensions within socialism Marx and Engels: historical materialism and class Webb, Luxemburg and the revisionism debate Crosland, Giddens and social democracy

The Constitution

Topic overview The nature of the UK constitution The sources of the UK constitution How the constitution has changed since 1997 Devolution and its impact on the UK Debates on further constitutional reform

Parliament

Topic overview The structure and role of the Commons and Lords The comparative powers of the two Houses The legislative process and scrutiny of the Executive

The Prime Minister and the Executive

Topic overview The structure and powers of the Executive The roles of the Executive and ministerial responsibility The Prime Minister, the Cabinet and ministerial selection Prime-ministerial power and the presidentialisation debate Prime Minister case studies: Thatcher and Blair

Relations Between the Branches

Topic overview The Supreme Court, judicial independence and judicial review Parliament and executive dominance The European Union and its impact on the UK The location of sovereignty in the UK

AnarchismNon-core

Topic overview Anarchism: core ideas and the rejection of the state Liberty, order and the anarchist economy Collectivist and individualist anarchism compared Types of collectivist anarchism Types of individualist anarchism Stirner and Proudhon Bakunin, Kropotkin and Goldman

EcologismNon-core

Topic overview Ecology, holism and environmental ethics Post-materialism, consumerism and sustainability Different types of ecologism Leopold, Carson and the land ethic Schumacher, Bookchin and Merchant

FeminismNon-core

Topic overview Sex, gender and patriarchy Equality, difference and intersectionality Different types of feminism Feminist thinkers and their ideas

MulticulturalismNon-core

Topic overview Key concepts and the politics of recognition Minority rights and their critics Diversity and its critics Different types of multiculturalism Berlin, Taylor and value pluralism Parekh, Modood and Kymlicka

NationalismNon-core

Topic overview Nationalism: core ideas and principles Different types of nationalism Rousseau, Herder and cultural nationalism Mazzini, Maurras and Garvey

The US Constitution and FederalismUSA

Topic overview Democratic features of the US Constitution Constitutional strengths, weaknesses and modern debates Federalism, state powers and the laboratories of democracy The Supreme Court, fiscal federalism and the centralisation debate

US CongressUSA

Topic overview The structure of Congress and congressional elections The distribution of powers within Congress Representation: incumbency and influences on how members vote The legislative process and gridlock Oversight and relations with the presidency Checks on the other branches, and debates about Congress

The US PresidencyUSA

Topic overview Formal sources of presidential power Informal power, persuasion and the Executive Office Relationships with Congress and the Court, and limits on power The imperial presidency debate and presidential case studies

The US Supreme Court and Civil RightsUSA

Topic overview The living Constitution and originalism Judicial review, appointments and the current Court Judicial activism, restraint and public policy How effectively the Supreme Court protects rights The limits of Supreme Court rights protection Affirmative action: successes and failures Racial rights campaigns, voting rights and representation Immigration reform and equality

US Democracy and ParticipationUSA

Topic overview The US two-party system How a president is elected The Electoral College and the debate on reform Democratic and Republican party ideas Voting coalitions in the 2024 presidential election Campaign finance and its regulation Interest groups: methods, access and power

Comparative Theories and the UK-US ComparisonUSA

Topic overview Comparing the UK and US legislatures: structure and powers Comparing the UK and US legislatures: strengths and approaches Comparing the executives: powers and selection Comparing the executives: accountability and approaches Comparing the Supreme Courts: powers and appointments Comparing rights protection and interest group litigation Comparing party systems and party ideas Comparing campaign finance and pressure groups Applying the three approaches to democracy and participation Comparative theories: rational, cultural and structural Comparing the UK and US constitutions

The State and GlobalisationGlobal

Topic overview The nation state, sovereignty and key concepts The drivers of globalisation and interconnectedness Debates about the impact of globalisation How far globalisation addresses contemporary global issues

Global Governance: Political and EconomicGlobal

Topic overview Key institutions and terms in global governance The United Nations: structure, strengths and weaknesses NATO and the IMF: mandate, strengths and criticisms The WTO, the G7/G20 and theories of development Poverty, the critique of economic governance, and NGOs

Global Governance: Human Rights and EnvironmentalGlobal

Topic overview International law and human rights institutions Humanitarian intervention and the Responsibility to Protect Environmental governance: the UNFCCC and the IPCC The effectiveness of international law and international courts Deep and shallow green ecology and the tragedy of the commons International environmental agreements from Rio to Paris Global civil society and NGOs

Power and DevelopmentsGlobal

Topic overview Different types of power: hard, soft and structural Great powers, superpowers and emerging powers Polarity and the changing world order Systems of government and their consequences for global order The development and spread of liberal economies, the rule of law and democracy How power and developments address contemporary global issues

Regionalism and the European UnionGlobal

Topic overview Regionalism: forms and growth Regionalism, sovereignty and levels of integration NAFTA, the USMCA and the African Union The Arab League and ASEAN The treaties that built the European Union EU institutions and enlargement Economic and Monetary Union and the euro Supranationalism, intergovernmentalism and the drivers of integration The EU's political and economic influence The EU's military influence and normative power How regionalism addresses conflict, poverty and rights The limits of regionalism in resolving global issues

Global Comparative TheoriesGlobal

Topic overview Realism: states, anarchy and the balance of power Liberalism: morality, interdependence and global governance Divisions between realism and liberalism The anarchical society and the society of states Evaluating realism and liberalism against events since 2000

Comparative Theories and the UK-US Comparison

Comparing the UK and US constitutions

3 things to know
Component 3

Overview

The nature and sources of the UK and US constitutions, amendment, sovereignty, checks and balances, US federalism against UK devolution and its asymmetry, the protection of states and devolved bodies, convergence between the systems, and the structural, cultural and rational explanations.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Process

How do the sources of the UK and US constitutions differ?

Process

How does the location of sovereignty differ between the UK and US constitutions?

Process

How do the processes for amending the UK and US constitutions differ?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
How do the UK and US constitutions differ in nature?
Model answer
The US Constitution is codified in a single document of 1787 and entrenched, while the UK constitution is uncodified and unentrenched, so it can be changed by an ordinary Act of Parliament.
2
How do the sources of the UK and US constitutions differ?
Model answer
The US constitution rests on the 1787 document, its 27 amendments and Supreme Court interpretation; the UK's is drawn from statute law, common law, conventions, authoritative works and treaties.
3
What similarities are there between the sources of the UK and US constitutions?
Model answer
Both rely partly on conventions and judicial interpretation: in the US, institutions such as the Cabinet and presidential primaries are not in the Constitution, and in both countries court rulings shape how constitutional rules are understood.
4
How do the processes for amending the UK and US constitutions differ?
Model answer
A US amendment needs two-thirds of both houses of Congress and three-quarters of the states, so there have been only 27; the UK constitution changes by simple majority, as when the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 was repealed in 2022.
5
How does the location of sovereignty differ between the UK and US constitutions?
Model answer
In the UK, Parliament is legally sovereign and no court can strike down its Acts; in the US, sovereignty lies with the Constitution and the people, so every branch, including Congress, is bound by it.
6
How do checks and balances differ between the UK and US systems?
Model answer
US checks are set out in the Constitution — the presidential veto, Senate confirmation, impeachment and judicial review of laws — while UK checks are largely political, such as Commons confidence votes, select committees and the Lords' power to delay, because Parliament's will cannot be overridden.

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ACitizens elect representatives to govern on their behalf.

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