To what extent is parliament sovereign?

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To what extent is parliament sovereign? (20)

Sovereignty is the claim to be the ultimate political authority. Parliament is sovereign, however it is not supremely sovereign. There are many major factors why parliament cannot claim supreme sovereignty. Parliamentary sovereignty is undermined by these factors.

One of these is the "mass electorate". Every five years there is a general election. These elections empower the people to decide which party is elected into power. This immediately makes parliament less sovereign, as they are passing the power to the people. On top of this, there are also 2nd order elections, which further still reduce the sovereignty of parliament.

Referendums also contribute to reducing parliamentary sovereignty. This is simply because they are another way of passing the decision-making down to the people. Referendums are also a form of "popular sovereignty" as they favour the majority, rather than parliamentary sovereignty.

Parliamentary sovereignty is also greatly affected by the party system. The government is formed from the largest party in the house. Most laws are now initiated more by the government than by parliament. This further reduces parliamentary sovereignty.

There has also been outside pressure