Location of sovereignty

Parliament (Commons and Lords)

• Role

  • Constitutionally sovereign - can make or unmake any law

• Political or legal?

  • Legal sovereignty

• Extent

  • Ultimate law-making power

  • Constrained by political realities such as referendums

Executive (PM and Cabinet)

• Role

  • Exercises political power via party control and mandate

• Political or legal?

  • Political sovereignty, in practice

• Extent

  • Strong influence with majority (other factors come into play here too)

  • Not legally sovereign

Devolved bodies

• Role

  • Authority over devolved areas

  • Powers granted by Westminster

• Political or legal?

  • Delegated political sovereignty

• Extent

  • Technically reversible (has happened in NI)

  • Politically entrenched (Scotland)

Popular sovereignty

• Role

  • Referendums and elections reflect will of people

  • Recall of MPs act allows constituents to petiton to recall their MP

• Political or legal?

  • Political sovereignty

• Extent

  • Parliament rarely goes against clear public mandates

UK Supreme Court

• Role

  • Interpretation of law

  • Checks on Executive/plmtary action

• Political or legal?

  • Judicial authority as not sovereign

• Extent

  • Cannot strike down laws

  • Influences through legal interpretation

EU (pre-Brexit)

• Role

  • Had supremacy of UK law in many areas

• Political or legal?

  • Former external legal sovereignty

• Extent

  • Brexit restored areas in which the EU had sovereignty to the UK

• Role

  • Not legally binding

  • Politically hard to ignore

• Political or legal?

  • Soft legal constraint

• Extent

  • Courts can issue incompatibility rulings

    • Govt often complies with these