Assessment 1 Zita Draper-Legal Process                             Adam Rushton


Parliamentary sovereignty is a critical component regarding the way that the United Kingdom’s government is shaped and portrayed in the eyes of the public. The constitution is shaped and displayed in parliamentary sovereignty to provide an understanding of its powers to create, alter and revoke any laws and ideas that may pass through government that they may not agree with. The opportunity to challenge or remand any of these actions is forbidden and this can be seen as the supremacy that the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty holds.

The UK constitution consists of vast number of laws and rules that have been placed together to create an institution but also in addition to that the relationships of governing bodies to help establish the government in the United Kingdom in a form that cannot be codified. The constitution holds the highest level of legal status in the land and controls the fundamental aspects of the United Kingdom’s Day to day government decisions.

Regarding the constitution there are several unwritten sources which are prerogative and constitutional conventions. The Magna Carta was a document that was written in June 1215 and the obligations that became with this document were that the king and the government that he rules over were not above the law. The document cemented itself as the first major change on the overall existence of government powers and attempted to create fairness and stability for the people who live under these powers. The document is still important in the modern era as it stands at the forefront of histories vital moments which signified the actions that the government need and have started to take in order to make the whole system as fair as possible and to keep and hold all government and parliamentary members accountable.

Parliamentary sovereignty is the predominant and paramount reasoning behind parliaments superiority to the judicial and executive divisions in the sector. A major event which signified the importance of leadership and superior government was the 2016 Brexit Referendum.

These events are very rare but when they arise all eyes look to parliament and the higher supremacy of the constitution to deal with the difficult challenges that they may face. Theories suggest that the legal system can be seen as a hierarchy traceable to a single principle of ‘grundnorm’. In this case, the USA were gathering information and concluding the idea that arose that ‘the constitution of 1788 shall be obeyed’. This was considered by them as the grundnorm.

The sovereignty symbolises the hierarchy of the United Kingdom’s leaders and powers. The legal sovereignty comprises of three elements which is the Monarch, The House of Lords and The House of Commons.

In using precedent, when researching the legislation and interpretation of the constitution we can see that the Parliamentary Sovereignty still plays a key role to the constitution and referendums and re-elections must include the constitutional powers to create decisions.

Supremacy in the United Kingdom in relation to the government can be seen in different ways and debates have been brought to the constitution to simplify what body of the institution is superior and supreme. Parliament can be seen as the supreme law-making body as it’s at parliament where all MPs discuss and suggest ideas for the country.

Deliberations in the Houses of Commons and Houses of Lords are needed for the countries leaders to debate and argue their views and points in connection with the beneficial changes of the country.

As opposed to parliament, the constitution can potentially overrule these decisions made in parliament but the arguments that arouse is that does the Monarch have enough reasonings to back the decisions they may make against parliamentary decisions.

Personally, I believe that parliament is the supreme law-making body. My reasonings behind this decision is that the parliamentary members such as MPs that evaluate and discuss various issues that the United Kingdom may have and deliberate to come to an overall decision based on votes, protesting etc. 

The monarch typically addresses parliament a dew times a year to put in place measures that they have decided regarding regulations and rules of the country whether its new or regulations that may stand still. Weekly debates that the MPs have suggest that they have a better idea of what may be needed and have evidence that they have researched to support their points of action in the House of Commons.

National referendums in the modern era have raised questions towards Westminster’s Parliament ability to campaign sensible and beneficial decisions for the country including the departure of The United Kingdom’s place in the European Union.

The results of the referendum concluded at 52% to leave the European Union and 48% to remain in the European Union. This leads one to believe that there wasn’t a one-sided divide into how the United Kingdom were going to end up doing at the end of this referendum. Campaigning and protesting took place around the country and Parliament had to deal with opposition parties not allowing the decision to leave lightly and remains to be debated in today’s parliamentary discussions.

The services that Parliament must provide to the people of the United Kingdom are broadly debated due to spending issues and the questions regarding where taxpayers’ money is being invested into and is it beneficial to the country.

Both Conservative and Labour parties have tailgated each other and continued to disagree with one another in regards who deserves to have most seats in the House of Commons and receive the most power for government benefits.

Politics plays a major role in everyone’s lives in the United Kingdom as our legal obligations are decided by supreme leaders and is mandatory and a result of these obligations being abused may result in incarceration.

The Future of the United Kingdom’s Government firmly sits in the hand of the general public. Since the early 2000’s the country has erupted into fierce riots and protests that have affected the economy and something that is on parliaments radar at all times.

Educational, Environmental and Taxation issues have gained massive public attention due to parliament making incorrect decisions in the eyes of the public. According to the official parliamentary website (London.gov.uk), there have been over 2,000 protests in 2023 in the city of London coinciding with the countless other protests held across the United Kingdom.

These events are a major issue for the United Kingdom’s Government, and this is one of the reasons why the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty is a critical component with the United Kingdom’s constitution.

Many cases are brought to the House of Commons but a major case that has been brought to the United Kingdom in 2023 is the suggestion of a reform of parliament. There have been suggestions to replace the House of Commons with an Assembly of the Nations and Regions including 200 members.

The reasoning behind this idea for a reformation of parliament is an attempt to place a modern twist on the society and will appoint a Royal Commission to make the needed recommendations to reform the House of Lords.

Members of the British public that disagree with the reformation are scared and concerned of the irrelevance that the Houses of Commons and Lords have in today’s modern society. My personal beliefs are that these changes should be made as technology is more advanced in today’s times and people have better perspectives on what the world now needs than hundreds of years ago.

Overall, I believe that Parliamentary Sovereignty is a critical component within the United Kingdom’s constitution, but strongly believe that as the years advance, and technology and environmental issues decline that a new government system will be needed to be put in place to satisfy the general public.

For many years the United Kingdom has stuck with the historical and never changing cemented rules that have been in place for centuries. But as the Monarchy has had a decreasing number of followers over recent times and global warming issues and cost of living crisis’s have begun, the government no longer has a choice but to act and create change that hasn’t happened before.

Parliamentary sovereignty will continue to have a major effect on the United Kingdom’s government, but an increasing number of individuals will seek to revoke these issues that may occur and create new ideas and actions for the country of the United Kingdom.