11.4 Sovereignty in the UK Political System poopoopeepee Flashcards
Legal and political sovereignty
Legal sovereignty is the legal right by which sovereignty can be exercised.
Political sovereignty is the ability to exercise sovereignty in practice.
Movement of sovereignty
Sovereignty has shifted from parliament to the executive, with the PM using prerogative powers to deploy the army without consent from parliament.
In 2018 PM Theresa May sent British fighter jets to carry out airstrikes on Syria in response to the regime’s use of chemical weapons without Parliament’s approval under the royal prerogative.
The 1998 Human Rights Act introduced the rulings from the ECHR into UK law, taking away the legal supremacy of parliament and placed it in the judiciary.
Sovereignty to EU and judiciary
The UK’s membership of the European Union has moved sovereignty away from parliament towards the EU.
The UK has become subject to EU regulations and directives as part of its membership such as the 1990 Factortame case where EU courts ruled over a parliamentary law that meant ships had a majority of British owners if they were to fish in UK waters.
The 1998 Human Rights Act introduced the rulings from the ECHR into UK law, taking away the legal supremacy of parliament and placed it in the judiciary.
Constitutional reform
Constitutional reform has moved sovereignty away from parliament to other UK political institutions.
The devolution of power in 1998 from UK parliament to the Scottish parliament, Wales and Northern Ireland Assemblies took some powers around education, health and the environment away from the UK parliament.
The 2005 Constitutional Reform Act established the Supreme Court which transferred the House of Lords’ power as the UK’s final appeal court to the separate Supreme Court
Legal sovereignty of parliament
Parliament can legally revoke any legislation which affects its sovereignty and can revoke the Act of Parliament which permitted EU entry, withdrawing the UK’s membership.
In 2017 parliament voted in favour of the Brexit Bill which triggered Article 50 and started the process of the UK leaving the EU.
Parliament still has legal sovereignty over the UK’s most important powers of foreign policy, taxation and defence.
Limits to political sovereignty
Referendums have placed sovereignty in the hands of UK voters and enabled citizens to make key political decisions on changes to UK law.
The 2016 referendum on leaving the EU in which over 33.5 million people voted
The EU can make laws which over-rule parliamentary law and undermine the UK’s parliamentary sovereignty, including directives and regulations.
The executive restricting parliamentary sovereignty through the government sending troops to war without seeking a vote from parliament.
