main impact of brexit has been increased parliamentary sovereignty

Question 1

parliamentary sovereignty and the constitution

Answer 1

-prior to brexit EU law had supremacy over UK law, now it is the other way around
-European Withdrawal Act 2020 re-established sovereignty in certain areas such as trade as seen in the UK’s making of a free trade agreement with New Zealand

Question 2

constitution evaluation

Answer 2

The idea that Parliament “took back control” is too simplistic. First, most powers that have been recentralised will be executed as statutory instruments by ministers – to so-called ‘Henry VIII powers’ rather than Parliament (see the point on . Second, the new European Union Future Relationship Act 2020 required the UK to pool new areas of sovereignty with the EU. In Northern Ireland, the ‘Windsor protocol’ retains the European Court of Justice’s jurisdiction over UK trade in Northern Ireland.

Question 3

political parties

Answer 3

-prior to Brexit, Europe had long been a dividing line among the major parties, Brexit only served to heighten such divisions
-Tory party particularly affected: Cameron called the referendum, May tried to navigate negotiations (both resigned), Johnson took a hard line stance and got it done
-Labour party struggled to come up with a clear position and lost support in the 2019 GE as a result
-parties dedicated to Brexit (Brexit Party) have had to evolve (Reform UK)

Question 4

parties evaluation

Answer 4

Although the Tories have become a more hard-line party on Brexit, it always had a powerful Eurosceptic faction. This was evident in the 1990s when Major felt betrayed by the so-called “b*stards” that opposed his pro-EU stance. Equally, a rival pragmatic element of the Tory Party continues to oppose Brexit, or at the very least question it (Cameron and Osborne). In this sense, the Tories have merely gone from being a party with Eurosceptics in it to being a party dominated by Eurosceptics like Rees-Mogg.

Question 5

northern ireland

Answer 5

-impact on power sharing, the issue of the border has always been present but Brexit served to intensify this
-DUP strongly supported Brexit, Sinn Fein campaigned against it, such polarisation has made it difficult to establish power sharing
-the initial NI protocol viewed by UK government as an infringement of UK sovereignty, the Windsor Protocol of 2023 eased tensions slightly but eurosceptics have viewed it as a surrender to the EU

Question 6

northern ireland evaluation

Answer 6

While tensions have certainly risen in NI, and power-sharing has broken down, the peace that the Good Friday Agreement achieved has remained intact. In that sense, Brexit has not led to the worse-case scenario: a return to The Troubles.

Question 7

loss of four freedoms

Answer 7

-leaving the EU has fundamentally undermined freedom of movement, one of the key principles of the EU and one of the four freedoms: free movement, of goods, services, capital and people
-UK citizens could live or work in any EU state without a permit allowing citizens to take advantage of experiences such as Erasmus
-but now UK citizens do not have the same privileges as EU citizens e.g. visa requirements, work permits etc.

Question 8

four freedoms evaluation

Answer 8

In many respects, UK-EU relations are unchanged. UK citizens living in the EU were granted the right to remain, as were EU citizens living in the UK. Trade remains free, although the additional bureaucracy is not welcomed by businesses. And The Turing Scheme has been launched to replace the Erasmus+ programme, which the UK is no longer participating in having left the EU.