4.4 - The Location Of Soveriegnty In The UK Political System Flashcards
1
Q
What is political sovereignty
A
- sovereignty exercised by the public, legislature and executive depend on consent of the public to govern. Eg: each general election, referendums
2
Q
What is legal sovereignty
A
- the apsolute right every parliament has to enact whatever legislation it chooses. Although parliaments sovereignty has been given to the people, once it legislates there can be no power greater than an act of parliament.
3
Q
What is popular sovereignty
A
- occurs when the public expresses its sovereign will through direct democracy, eg: EU referendum 2016
4
Q
What effect does referendums have on sovereignty
A
- since the Blair gov in 1997, a precedent has been established whereby referendums have been called to determine the opinion of the public on important constitutional questions.
- referendums aren’t legally binding, but it would be dangerous for a gov to ignore the result
- referendums demonstrate a de facto transfer of authority via direct democracy
- most controversially occurred in 2016, 75% of parliament MPs voted against Brexit, 52% of public voted for it, HOC consequently voted 498-114 to allow gov to open negotiations to exit EU
5
Q
What effect does devolution have on sovereignty
A
- provides a de facto for a change in the location of sovereignty.
- Westminster didn’t lose any of its sovereign power when it devolved, instead of giving away certain domestic powers, Westminster parliament can legally reclaim those powers, which happened in NI from 2002-2007, 2017-2020. However it’s harder to do this for Scotland and wales as they can claim popular sovereignty
6
Q
What is the royal prerogative, and how does it link to sovereignty
A
- a power exercised by PM, means in certain areas, parliament is not sovereign, including patronage powers such as recommendations to the crown of life peers, the Pm also decides who’s in the cabinet
- although a convention has been established since the Iraqi war in 2004, for parliament to be informed on military action, this isn’t entrenched, so no legal restraint on PM choosing to use this royal prerogative.
- this shows how an uncodified constitution which doesn’t clearly set out the relationship between the branches of government can lead to different claims between executive and legislature over where sovereignty lies
7
Q
How does the Supreme Court affect soveriegnty
A
- ensures the gov does not act beyond its authority
Eg: the Gina Miller case states that the May government couldn’t use the royal prerogative to withdraw from the EU - the Supreme Court can also determine in judicial review whether the government has acted within the law and can quash decisions if this isn’t the case
- authority of Supreme Court is limited, can’t strike down acts of parliament, and there isn’t a codified constitution
8
Q
How does the human rights act of 1988 affect soveriegnty
A
- HRA falls short of being a codified constitution with an untrenched bill of rights, which would limit parliaments sovereignty, as it is no different from any other act of parliament. Seen when article 5 was suspended after 9/11
- the vulnerability of the HRA is demonstrated by the determination of some conservatives for a British bill or rights such as Dominic raab
9
Q
What effect does the EU have on sovereignty
A
- when the UK was a member of the UK, it pooled its sovereignty with other member states, having to accept the supremacy of European law over domestic law.
- however the withdrawal, finalised on 31st Jan 2020, this shows that parliament always retained the sovereign right to legislate to restore full parliamentary sovereignty
10
Q
What effect has globalisation had on sovereignty
A
- could be argued the impact of economic globalisation has restricted Uk soveriegnty, as well as membership of international organisations such as NATO, which in article 5 states an attack on any member is an attack on all.
- however in 2021, the UK’s ownership of the chatoyant island was deemed illegal, but the UK gov simply ignored it
