How Would Leaving the European Union Affect Sovereignty and Therefore the UK's Constitution?

How would leaving the European Union affect sovereignty and therefore 

the UK's Constitution?

It was recently announced by Prime Minister David Cameron that a referendum regarding the UK's place within the European Union is to be held on the 23rd of June, the decision to leave or stay could have serious long and short term repercussions for the United Kingdom. All British citizens over the age of 18 will be able to take part in the nation-wide referendum, its still being debated whether there will be a large turnout or not. I personally see staying within the EU as a beneficial thing, it makes the UK more influential world wide , as well as aids the economy. Never the less many of those promoting Britain's exit from the EU seem to claim that the UK will become sovereign once again, is this really the case? If so will this affect our constitution? 

According to the constitution Britain's sovereignty lies within the Houses of Parliament, its this political institution that holds the power to create laws, put in place laws or remove them completely. However since the UK became part of the EU it has in fact lost some of its sovereignty, for example all EU laws now completely over shadow laws put in place by our parliament, additionally the European Convention of Human Rights can intervene in certain issues and may stop the passing of a 'British Bill of Rights'. Admittedly a lot of our sovereignty has been taken from Westminster and is now transferred to Brussels. If we were to leave the European Union we would no longed be obliged to align ourselves with EU laws and conventions, it would give the country greater power when it came to dealing with holding suspected terrorists or deporting immigrants, at the cost of security and economic factors.

The un-codified constitution of the UK will also be affected if we leave the European Union, to begin with the UK could now introduce a wide variety of new Bills as they're no longer under EU regulations. Furthermore various statutes and conventions concerning trade and so fourth with the EU can now be over looked as its no longer binding, this could have a negative or a positive affect on the economy.

Overall if the UK did decide to opt out of the European Union it would receive the majority of its sovereignty back, however as Defence Secretary Michael Fallon stated 'The Golden Age' of sovereignty is over and the EU is still going to be able to influence the UK even if it leaves the EU. Never the less Westminster would see a boost in its power, at the cost of throwing Britain into the unknown. 

Where does sovereignty lie in the UK?

Where does Sovereignty lie in the UK?

The UK is a parliamentary democracy, with an un-codified constitution that is also unwritten, never the less contained with in this constitution is the article which states where the UK's sovereignty lies. Sovereignty is the legitimate and exclusive right to exercise power in a specific area, basically stating that sovereignty is a form of ultimate/ supreme power. In the UK the Parliament, more specifically the House of Commons, have the power to pass or reject laws and legislation, however is this really where the Sovereignty lies?


Firstly, in the UK's constitution it states that Parliament holds supreme authority in the UK, therefore it is the only real body in the UK which is able to pass, reject or remove laws. Additionally almost all key decisions have to go through parliament in order to become legitimised, however issues regarding military and foreign affairs can be passed and decided by the Prime Minister, additionally parliament is not bound by its predecessors, for example this states that any previous parliaments cannot influence the current one. Although some might argue that local councils have control of their constituencies it is actually parliament that allows them to do this, as power is dedicated to them by parliament, yet this power can be repealed if necessary. Therefore these points make it clear that parliament holds true power in the UK, and as a democracy it shares this to various places.

On the other hand parliamentary sovereignty can be argued due to a variety of reasons, to begin with the UK is part of the European Union meaning that in many cases UK law is inferior to that of the laws set in place by the EU, the Treaty of Rome in 1973 made this point apparent. Therefore it is debated that power has been stolen by the European Union and is limiting the UK's sovereignty, never the less parliament can vote and withdraw from the EU at any time. Furthermore since the introduction of the fixed term act an election is held every 5 years, some argue that at this point sovereignty really lies with the people as its their votes that holds true power, upon the end of the election power is transferred back to parliament.

Overall despite various arguments against where sovereignty lies, its clear to say that parliament holds the sovereignty. The fact that its written in to the constitution, via a statute, only reinforces this point, some say that with devolution the parliament lost some of its sovereignty however this was merely parliament spreading out its supreme power, and it could very easily take all of that power back if it wished. A parliament being sovereign is somewhat common place in the political world with countries such as India and Canada following suit.

What are the core principles of the UK Constitution?

What are the Core Principles of the UK Constitution?

The UK constitution, as mentioned in previous blogs, stands out for an array of reasons, unlike many of the constitutions of the world, the British constitution is un-written and un-codified. This means unlike the constitution of the United States the British constitution is not contained within a single document and is not directly written down. This unique type of constitution may cause its core principles to differ to that of other nations, and this begs the question, what really are the core principles of the UK's constitution.

To begin with lets look at the first core principal, this being Parliamentary Sovereignty. The idea of having sovereignty is essential for all constitutions, in the UK sovereignty lies with Parliament or more specifically the 'Crown in Parliament'. Sovereignty means that Parliament has the power to create, adjust or remove any law it demands, some may argue this is undemocratic as power is concentrated within the single body of Parliament. Furthermore many have argued that Parliament in the UK is not completely sovereign as many other political factors can greatly limit its sovereignty, these can include over powerful pressure groups, large trading partners such as various EU member states or the United States. The policies and actions of major worldwide organizations can restrict the parliamentary sovereignty, one prime example of which would be the UN which can put forward laws everyone must apply to.

A second core principal of the UK's constitution is the Constitutional Monarchy, despite the modern day monarchy lacking any real power it still holds a significant place in the British political world and is a key part of the constitution. During the 1800's the majority of the reigning monarchs power was transferred to parliament, more specifically the ministers that make up Parliament but mainly to the Prime Minister. A man by the name of Walter Bagehot made the distinction between 'dignified' and 'efficient' parts of the constitution. He considered the monarchy and the House of Lords to be a dignified section and then on the other hand the cabinet and House of Commons to efficient, but he made it clear that a 'dignified' institution still played a vital role even if they lacked major political power. Therefore in the modern day the monarchy is to play the role of being a political symbol in order to promote allegiance during times of political turmoil. Now days the monarch does have the power to take back his or her power but they often refrain from doing so, as the backlash would be too severe, the monarch according to Bagehot the modern monarch should only be informed, be consulted as well as warn and encourage the government.

Thirdly the Rule of Law is a key principle of the UK constitution. Many have stated that the rule of law is an alternate form of codified constitution, despite there not being any higher law the government must still under go legal checks and political/power restraints. This therefore stops the ruling party from becoming above the law, they cannot enact or plan to enact legislation that would make them unaccountable for there problems or allow themselves to break the constitution.

Overall these key principles are needed for an effective constitution, despite people thinking that a codified constitution is the most effective type of constitution, countries without one have put in place principles in order to be as democratic as possible. Furthermore there are additional core principles that make up the constitution such as EU membership and a Parliamentary government, these all enable the UK's constitution to be an effective safe guard against unconstitutional laws or an over-mighty ruler.