However, were the Tories really liberal? Although Liverpool was to remain as Prime Minister until 1827, his government was made up of younger men, more open to new ideas. Not only this, but they also introduced a number of reforms and it seemed there was more toleration for religion. However, historians have discussed whether 1822 really marked a turning point in British politics or whether repression was being eased before 1822. In 1822 Liverpool's cabinet underwent a reshuffle.
How serious were the underlying problems Britain faced at the point when Charles 1 succeeded the throne in 1625? The first point to consider, when dealing with the underlying problems of Britain in 1625, would be royal power at the time that Charles came to the thrown. One problem was that there was no police force or army under royal control causing the first line of defense to be an untrained militia. This at the moment that Charles came to power was not such a problem as James 1 left the country in a good position to take over. As England was probably the least violent country at the time in Europe and treason trials and execution were very rare.
How successful was Henry VII in dealing with challenges to his royal authority in the years 1489-1499? 24 marks In the years 1489 to 1499, Henry dealt with three domestic uprisings, as well as foreign wars. The main challenges to his authority as king came from rebellions and pretenders to the throne. The fact that he was still on the throne until 1509 shows that he was successful at dealing with these challenges and was a capable and effective ruler. The Yorkshire rebellion in 1489, which was due to people in Yorkshire having to pay taxes for a war in Brittany, was not really a success for Henry; although he dealt with it sufficiently for it not to seriously affect his reign, it was not as much a success as he might have hoped.
(30) During the personal rule of Charles I he was able to finance his government effectively to a certain extent. Schemes such as tonnage and poundage and isolation foreign policies helped bring in huge amounts of revenue and cut costs, but were only effective during the earlier parts of personal rule. As his rule went on opposition towards his policies slowly but surely grew. The public reaction following the John Hamden case and the parliamentary grievances starkly highlight this. Thus Charles was only able to effectively finance his government during the initial years of his personal rule, however as resentment grew towards his governance it had a direct impact on his ability to run and finance his regime.
A government was established in which people were elected into upper house and lower house, however the governors rarely made an appearance. Their independance meant that they had a wider franchise so they could pass useful acts to benefit themselves. Lack of communication was a major issue between the two, as Britain was over 3000 miles away. This meant that it was extremely difficult for Britain to have any involvement with the colonies, which resulted to salutary neglect. It could be argued that salutary neglect weakened the relationship, however the colonist's may have enjoyed this freedom to do what they wanted and make there own decisions.
Citizens can now access the information held on them by some 100,000 organisations. This act came into full force n 2005 yet even though public authorities are required to publish more information there are still many which can withhold information on the grounds of public safety or national security. In the respect this reform was of little impact as many companies can excuse not giving away information by claiming its for national security or public safety. One reform which has had a major impact on the constitution was devolution. Britain, at best can be described as quasi-federal as opposed to unitary state or a federal state.
Whilst Flambard’s role was very much to increase Crown revenues, in preparation of an invasion of Normandy, under Henry I the role was built upon. He appointed Roger of Salisbury to oversee administration, justice and taxation, even appointing him head of the Exchequer in 1110. Whilst under William I men such as Odo of Bayeux and Lanfranc had minor roles when William was out of the country, they did not have the power to implement reform. However, the fact that William, who ruled over more land than either of his sons under more difficult circumstances, did not appoint a vice-regent shows that the role may not have been as important to English administration as it is sometimes thought, although at the time the country was not as centralised as it would become under Henry. Instead of the need for someone to implement reform and change, under later English Kings after William I it may have been that a figure was required to oversee the system and enable the King to depart the country to protect his interests on the Continent.
Following on from this, in 1534, the Act of Supremacy was introduced. This created a change in government as it was ‘an act concerning the King’s Highness to be Supreme Head of the Church of England and to have authority to reform and redress all errors, heresies and abuses in the same.’ This was changing parliament as they were not giving powers to the Crown as they were therefore only able to confirm the situations that Henry chose to make. The Act of First Fruits and Tenths also had an impact on how parliament was in 1534 as because all clerical office holders were to pay the Crown approximately a year’s income on appointment (the first fruits) and then ten per cent of their income annually thereafter. This
William was the sole proprietor of Normandy, having been duke before the battle of Hastings in 1066. In his rule of two nations, William spent the large majority of his time in Normandy, indeed leaving England altogether from 1072-1087. Compared to the other advances, the developments to central government in this time period were thin. William developed the writ somewhat, that it might be deployed to control the country whilst the monarch was overseas and he was the primary King to utilise vice regents, however in terms of sheer scale, nothing William developed came close to that of his subsequent continental land-owning monarchs. William had little challenge on the land, having to raise a high geld in defence of Normandy only a single time in his reign.
‘Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the UK constitution’ The UK constitution is currently un-codified and has been since the constitution was introduced after the glorious revolution in 1688 and the UK government gained Parliamentary sovereignty. As our constitution is not written down, it is therefore not entrenched and is purely based on historical conventions and traditions. This can be inferred to show that the UK has a two-tier legal system, meaning that there are two levels of law. Higher laws that consist of constitutional arrangements as well as lower laws that consist of judiciary concerns. There are not many un-codified constitutions in the world, although there are many advantages of a country adopting an un-codified constitution.