UK Parliamentary Sovereignty

• Parliamentary sovereignty is a UK constitutional principle making Parliament the supreme legal authority.
• Parliament can create or end any law.
• Courts generally cannot overrule Parliament's legislation.
• No Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.
• Parliamentary sovereignty is the most important part of the UK constitution.
• UK Parliament is the supreme legal authority.
• The rule of law means no one is above the law.
• Politicians have differing interpretations of Parliamentary Sovereignty.
• There is debate on whether EU membership diminishes Britain's sovereignty.

Perspectives on Parliamentary Sovereignty:

• David Cameron: Sovereignty is the ability to get things done and make changes.
• Michael Gove: UK's EU membership diminishes parliamentary sovereignty because it restricts things like VAT control, support for industries, housing development, and deportation powers.
• Boris Johnson: EU membership entails a gradual erosion of sovereignty through legal means affecting many aspects of public policy.

Key Acts of Parliament:

• 1689 – Bill of Rights
• 1701 – Act of Settlement
• 1707 - Act of Union
• 1972 – European Communities Act
• 1996 – Employment Rights Act
• 1998 – Government of Scotland Act
• 1998 – The Human Rights Act
• 1998 – Data Protection Act
• 1999 – The House of Lords Act
• 2010 – The Equality Act
• 2011 – The Fixed Term Parliament Act
• 2015 – Consumer Rights Act
• 2018 - The European Union (withdrawal) Bill

Developments Affecting Parliamentary Sovereignty Timeline:

• 1973 – UK Entering Into the European Union
• 1998 – Referendums in Scotland And Wales for devolution of power and the setting up of the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly
• 1998 – Human Rights Act Passed
• 2009 – The Establishment of the UK Supreme Court
• 2016 – Referendum to Leave the European Union
• Ongoing - Case law from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) seems to confirm the decline of Parliamentary supremacy in favour of a more harmonised European pooling of sovereignty

The House of Commons:

• Composed of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) elected by the people.
• Each MP represents a UK constituency.
• MPs typically belong to a political party.
• The party with the most seats forms the government.
• Debates on laws and national/international issues are common.
• Government sits to the Speaker's right, opposition to the left.
• Ministers and shadow ministers sit on the front benches, other MPs (backbenchers) sit behind.
• MPs debate ‘motions’; after discussion, the Speaker calls for a vote called a division.
• MPs walk through "Aye" or "No" lobbies to vote.
• Committee work is a significant part of Parliament's function, with committees comprising MPs from various parties.

Make up of the House of Commons:

• Conservative = 317 MP’s
• Labour = 256 MP’s
• Scottish National Party = 35 MP’s
• Liberal Democrat = 11 MP’s
• Democratic Unionist Party = 10 MP’s
• Independent = 8 MP’s
• Sinn Fein = 7 MP’s
• Plaid Cymru = 4 MP’s
• Green Party = 1 MP
• Speaker = 1 MP
• The total number of seats = 650
• Working Government Majority = 0

Main Political Parties:

• Conservative: Supporters include landowners, business owners, rural residents, and those in southern England/Midlands; popular with older voters; promotes individual independence and private sector involvement in public services; advocates for lower welfare spending/taxes; supports strong defense; has 150,000 members
• Labour: Formed by trade unions in 1900, supporting working-class representation; supporters include trade union members, younger individuals, ethnic minorities, and those in London/Northern England; aims to reduce inequality by increasing spending on welfare/public services, funded by taxes on the wealthy
• UKIP: Founded in 1991 to leave the EU.

The House of Lords:

• Composed of around 800 unelected members (Lords or Peers).
• Lords are not paid except for expenses (£300/day for attendance).
• Some Lords belong to political parties, others are cross-benchers.
• Since the House of Lords Act 1999 abolished any more hereditary peers, there are now 3 types of Lords:
• Life Peers (approx. 675): Appointed by the government.
• Hereditary Peers (approx. 90): Lord by birth. (Not allowed any more)
• Bishops and Archbishops (26)
• Primary functions include debating and reviewing bills from the Commons, suggesting amendments, scrutinizing European legislation, and introducing new bills.
• Much of the Lords' work is done in committees; many Lords contribute specialized knowledge.

House of Lords Reform Timeline:

• 11th Century – Emergence Of the The Witan and Councils of Chief advisors under Anglo Saxon Britain.
• 14th Century – Two distinct House of Parliaments emerge (Religious leaders and Lords).
• 17th Century – After the English Civil War the Lords ceased to exist for a short period of time.
• Parliament Act 1911 – Restricted the Lord’s powers to reject laws but only delay them for up to two years.
• Parliament Act 1949 – Restricted the Lord’s powers to delay new legislation to only one year.
• 1963 —Women were allowed to inherit peerages and sit and vote in the chamber
• 1999 —Many of the Hereditary peers are banished from the lords. Only 92 remained and the rest were peers for life.
• 2009 —Judicial Function of the House of Lords is removed and transferred to the Supreme Court. The sitting Law Lords became the first judges in the new court.
• 2012 – David Cameron attempt to push through Parliament A Lords Reform Bill (Which would make the chamber 80% elected and 20% appointed) but this is shelved after opposition from within the Conservative Party and the opposition parties.

Bicameral Parliament Advantages:

• Mutual checks between Commons and Lords prevent power concentration.
• Two houses allow for thorough analysis of laws and policies, utilizing experience to assess effectiveness.
• A larger pool of expertise is available for law creation.

Parliament Structure & Statute Law:

• Parliament comprises the House of Commons, House of Lords, and the Monarch.
• Parliament has evolved from advising monarchs to becoming the supreme law-making body.
• Parliament is not bound by previous parliaments and cannot bind future ones.
• UK Parliament can theoretically pass any laws but is restricted by EU law while in the EU.
• A statute is a written law passed by an Act of Parliament, enforceable in courts.
• Passing a law requires: Majority in the House of Commons, Majority in the House of Lords, and Royal Assent from the Monarch.
• UK treats all laws as equal, with no "fundamental law."
• Statute Law is the highest form of law and the leading source of the constitution.

Parliament's Main Roles:

• Examining and checking government policy
• Debating major issues
• Approving government plans for raising and spending money
• Examining amendments and proposals for new and existing laws
• Representing the people's will and safeguarding democracy

The Executive:

• The Executive, also know as the the PM and the Cabinet is made up of senior government members.
• Every week members of the Cabinet meet to discuss the most important issues for the government.

UK and Parliamentary Democracy:

• The UK combines parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch.
• It has a bicameral system: an elected House of Commons and unelected House of Lords.
• Government members are from the winning party and Parliament members.
• The Government is accountable to Parliament, holding a majority in the Commons.

Executive Formation:

• The party leader becomes Prime Minister and appoints government department heads (Defence, Home Office).
• Ministers and civil servants draft ‘bills.’
• Senior ministers are in the cabinet; junior ministers work in departments.
• The Prime Minister and Cabinet are known as the Executive.
• Minsters are chosen from members of the House of Commons and House of Lords.
• Executive is known as His/Her Majesty's Government (HMG) and includes around a hundred ministers led by the PM and Cabinet.
• The UK Executive operates under Collective Responsibility, where government members must publicly support government policy to show a united front.

Parliamentary Checks and Balances:

• Separation of powers among Judiciary, Legislature, and Executive.
• Each branch can check the others’ actions.

Structure of UK Parliament:

• UK has a Bicameral Parliament: Commons (elected MPs) and Lords (unelected Peers).
• Parliament is called the ‘legislature’ because it makes laws.

Judiciary Checks:

• The UK has an independent judiciary who can challenge the representatives on matters against the constitution and therefore, provide a series of checks and balances on power.
• UK courts disagreeing with a Parliamentary law cannot strike it down.
• Instead, they issue a ‘declaration of incompatibility’ encouraging government review.

Legislature Checks:

• MPs in both Houses can question ministers or the PM during question time.
• Questions are oral (requiring a statement) or written.
• Ministers attend the Commons regularly to answer oral questions.

Other ways Parliament is held to account:

• By the Constitution
• By the Monarch
• By Select Committees
• By the European Union
• By Judicial rulings
• By Public Inquiries
• Through Media Scrutiny
• Through the work of Pressure Groups and Trade Unions

The Role of Whips:

• A Whip is an MP who enforces party discipline and ensures backbenchers follow the party line.
• Whips use promotions or punishments to enforce party discipline.