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Discuss the view that today parliamentary sovereignty ‘exits more in theory then in practice’

‘Sovereignty’ simply means ‘supreme power’. Parliamentary sovereignty is the ultimate political power in the United Kingdom, exercised on behalf of the people by their elected representative body. It is useful to divide sovereignty into two main types: that is, legal and political sovereignty.

Legal sovereignty is where Parliament has the ultimate ability to make laws; this law then takes precedence over all previous laws. Parliament can also repeal any laws. It may sometimes appear that other bodies are making law, such as local authorities but in reality they are acting on the authority of Parliament. They may be overruled or have their powers cancelled by Parliament at any time. Parliamentary law is superior to all other forms of law in the country: the common law and the law made by judges in their courts.

Political sovereignty, where most states have written constitutions that describes who is legally sovereign and even where there is no constitution, like the U.K, it is usually clear who has such sovereignty. Power on the other hand is a more indefinable idea. The UK provides us with an ideal example. As we have said Parliament is legally sovereign however power seems to lie elsewhere. The cabinet is considered as the centre of power, but it must not be forgotten that Parliament can, and sometimes does overrule the government. Parliament cannot bind its successor: no Parliament can pass an act which cannot later be repealed. Were a Parliament try to tie the hands of a future Parliament, it would also deny the sovereignty of the people, which in democracy is the justification for parliamentary sovereignty. At the polls it is the people who decide who shall form the government. Thus, the people could be considered to be politically sovereign, at least at election time.

It can be argued that recent...