Can the Queen still dissolve parliament?
Traditionally it has been the constitutional power of the monarch to dissolve parliament and trigger a general election at will.
Ostensibly, the Fixed Term Parliaments Act of 2011 removed this power.
However, since parliament derives its power from delegated royal prerogative and acts can only become law with royal assent. Is this actually binding and could the Queen still dissolve parliament if she so wished, even if she had to take a few steps to repeal that law first?
united-kingdom constitutional-law
add a comment |
Traditionally it has been the constitutional power of the monarch to dissolve parliament and trigger a general election at will.
Ostensibly, the Fixed Term Parliaments Act of 2011 removed this power.
However, since parliament derives its power from delegated royal prerogative and acts can only become law with royal assent. Is this actually binding and could the Queen still dissolve parliament if she so wished, even if she had to take a few steps to repeal that law first?
united-kingdom constitutional-law
add a comment |
Traditionally it has been the constitutional power of the monarch to dissolve parliament and trigger a general election at will.
Ostensibly, the Fixed Term Parliaments Act of 2011 removed this power.
However, since parliament derives its power from delegated royal prerogative and acts can only become law with royal assent. Is this actually binding and could the Queen still dissolve parliament if she so wished, even if she had to take a few steps to repeal that law first?
united-kingdom constitutional-law
Traditionally it has been the constitutional power of the monarch to dissolve parliament and trigger a general election at will.
Ostensibly, the Fixed Term Parliaments Act of 2011 removed this power.
However, since parliament derives its power from delegated royal prerogative and acts can only become law with royal assent. Is this actually binding and could the Queen still dissolve parliament if she so wished, even if she had to take a few steps to repeal that law first?
united-kingdom constitutional-law
united-kingdom constitutional-law
asked Jan 17 at 11:19
PersistencePersistence
1234
1234
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
Parliament derives its power from Britain's unwritten constitution, not from delegated royal prerogative. This certainly dates to at latest the Glorious Revolution. The Bill of Rights 1688 explicitly confirmed that the King has no power to dispense with laws, and the Case of Proclamations in 1610 established that the King could not legislate without the consent of Parliament. The ultimate authority in the UK is not the Queen, it's the Queen in Parliament (in other words, Parliamentary action with royal assent).
2
Well that answers that one then. So to check I understand you right, neither parliament nor the Queen are sovereign but the composition of the two are.
– Persistence
Jan 17 at 14:10
1
I feel the answer is only partially complete, as it's missing whether or not the Queen could dissolve parliament. For example, if Queen's law requires parliament's consent, then can the Queen still dissolve parliament if parliament, for some reason, agrees? Can the Queen, in certain instances, override parliament?
– SSight3
Jan 17 at 17:00
@SSight As noted in the question, the FTPA removed that ability. Parliament is only dissolved 25 days before an election, and an election only happens after 5 years, a motion of no confidence, or a 2/3 vote of the Commons.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 17:28
1
@Persistence Essentially. The union of the Queen in Parliament (which is sometimes just called "Parliament" with the Queen being a part of Parliament) has supreme legislative authority, unbound by any formal constitutional restrictions except the rule that it can't stop future Parliaments from changing things again. It might need to be explicit about changing rules, but it can change them.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 19:17
The Queen in Parliament, is that what the mace is for?
– gerrit
Jan 17 at 19:34
add a comment |
Parliament is dissolved at the beginning of the 25th day before a general election under s3 of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. ss 1-2 deal with setting the dates of general elections and they are automatic, chosen (within limits) by the Prime Minister or triggered by a motion of Parliament - the Monarch has no role.
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "617"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2flaw.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f36294%2fcan-the-queen-still-dissolve-parliament%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Parliament derives its power from Britain's unwritten constitution, not from delegated royal prerogative. This certainly dates to at latest the Glorious Revolution. The Bill of Rights 1688 explicitly confirmed that the King has no power to dispense with laws, and the Case of Proclamations in 1610 established that the King could not legislate without the consent of Parliament. The ultimate authority in the UK is not the Queen, it's the Queen in Parliament (in other words, Parliamentary action with royal assent).
2
Well that answers that one then. So to check I understand you right, neither parliament nor the Queen are sovereign but the composition of the two are.
– Persistence
Jan 17 at 14:10
1
I feel the answer is only partially complete, as it's missing whether or not the Queen could dissolve parliament. For example, if Queen's law requires parliament's consent, then can the Queen still dissolve parliament if parliament, for some reason, agrees? Can the Queen, in certain instances, override parliament?
– SSight3
Jan 17 at 17:00
@SSight As noted in the question, the FTPA removed that ability. Parliament is only dissolved 25 days before an election, and an election only happens after 5 years, a motion of no confidence, or a 2/3 vote of the Commons.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 17:28
1
@Persistence Essentially. The union of the Queen in Parliament (which is sometimes just called "Parliament" with the Queen being a part of Parliament) has supreme legislative authority, unbound by any formal constitutional restrictions except the rule that it can't stop future Parliaments from changing things again. It might need to be explicit about changing rules, but it can change them.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 19:17
The Queen in Parliament, is that what the mace is for?
– gerrit
Jan 17 at 19:34
add a comment |
Parliament derives its power from Britain's unwritten constitution, not from delegated royal prerogative. This certainly dates to at latest the Glorious Revolution. The Bill of Rights 1688 explicitly confirmed that the King has no power to dispense with laws, and the Case of Proclamations in 1610 established that the King could not legislate without the consent of Parliament. The ultimate authority in the UK is not the Queen, it's the Queen in Parliament (in other words, Parliamentary action with royal assent).
2
Well that answers that one then. So to check I understand you right, neither parliament nor the Queen are sovereign but the composition of the two are.
– Persistence
Jan 17 at 14:10
1
I feel the answer is only partially complete, as it's missing whether or not the Queen could dissolve parliament. For example, if Queen's law requires parliament's consent, then can the Queen still dissolve parliament if parliament, for some reason, agrees? Can the Queen, in certain instances, override parliament?
– SSight3
Jan 17 at 17:00
@SSight As noted in the question, the FTPA removed that ability. Parliament is only dissolved 25 days before an election, and an election only happens after 5 years, a motion of no confidence, or a 2/3 vote of the Commons.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 17:28
1
@Persistence Essentially. The union of the Queen in Parliament (which is sometimes just called "Parliament" with the Queen being a part of Parliament) has supreme legislative authority, unbound by any formal constitutional restrictions except the rule that it can't stop future Parliaments from changing things again. It might need to be explicit about changing rules, but it can change them.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 19:17
The Queen in Parliament, is that what the mace is for?
– gerrit
Jan 17 at 19:34
add a comment |
Parliament derives its power from Britain's unwritten constitution, not from delegated royal prerogative. This certainly dates to at latest the Glorious Revolution. The Bill of Rights 1688 explicitly confirmed that the King has no power to dispense with laws, and the Case of Proclamations in 1610 established that the King could not legislate without the consent of Parliament. The ultimate authority in the UK is not the Queen, it's the Queen in Parliament (in other words, Parliamentary action with royal assent).
Parliament derives its power from Britain's unwritten constitution, not from delegated royal prerogative. This certainly dates to at latest the Glorious Revolution. The Bill of Rights 1688 explicitly confirmed that the King has no power to dispense with laws, and the Case of Proclamations in 1610 established that the King could not legislate without the consent of Parliament. The ultimate authority in the UK is not the Queen, it's the Queen in Parliament (in other words, Parliamentary action with royal assent).
edited Jan 17 at 15:44
Steve Melnikoff
1,201511
1,201511
answered Jan 17 at 13:46
cpastcpast
13k12559
13k12559
2
Well that answers that one then. So to check I understand you right, neither parliament nor the Queen are sovereign but the composition of the two are.
– Persistence
Jan 17 at 14:10
1
I feel the answer is only partially complete, as it's missing whether or not the Queen could dissolve parliament. For example, if Queen's law requires parliament's consent, then can the Queen still dissolve parliament if parliament, for some reason, agrees? Can the Queen, in certain instances, override parliament?
– SSight3
Jan 17 at 17:00
@SSight As noted in the question, the FTPA removed that ability. Parliament is only dissolved 25 days before an election, and an election only happens after 5 years, a motion of no confidence, or a 2/3 vote of the Commons.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 17:28
1
@Persistence Essentially. The union of the Queen in Parliament (which is sometimes just called "Parliament" with the Queen being a part of Parliament) has supreme legislative authority, unbound by any formal constitutional restrictions except the rule that it can't stop future Parliaments from changing things again. It might need to be explicit about changing rules, but it can change them.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 19:17
The Queen in Parliament, is that what the mace is for?
– gerrit
Jan 17 at 19:34
add a comment |
2
Well that answers that one then. So to check I understand you right, neither parliament nor the Queen are sovereign but the composition of the two are.
– Persistence
Jan 17 at 14:10
1
I feel the answer is only partially complete, as it's missing whether or not the Queen could dissolve parliament. For example, if Queen's law requires parliament's consent, then can the Queen still dissolve parliament if parliament, for some reason, agrees? Can the Queen, in certain instances, override parliament?
– SSight3
Jan 17 at 17:00
@SSight As noted in the question, the FTPA removed that ability. Parliament is only dissolved 25 days before an election, and an election only happens after 5 years, a motion of no confidence, or a 2/3 vote of the Commons.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 17:28
1
@Persistence Essentially. The union of the Queen in Parliament (which is sometimes just called "Parliament" with the Queen being a part of Parliament) has supreme legislative authority, unbound by any formal constitutional restrictions except the rule that it can't stop future Parliaments from changing things again. It might need to be explicit about changing rules, but it can change them.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 19:17
The Queen in Parliament, is that what the mace is for?
– gerrit
Jan 17 at 19:34
2
2
Well that answers that one then. So to check I understand you right, neither parliament nor the Queen are sovereign but the composition of the two are.
– Persistence
Jan 17 at 14:10
Well that answers that one then. So to check I understand you right, neither parliament nor the Queen are sovereign but the composition of the two are.
– Persistence
Jan 17 at 14:10
1
1
I feel the answer is only partially complete, as it's missing whether or not the Queen could dissolve parliament. For example, if Queen's law requires parliament's consent, then can the Queen still dissolve parliament if parliament, for some reason, agrees? Can the Queen, in certain instances, override parliament?
– SSight3
Jan 17 at 17:00
I feel the answer is only partially complete, as it's missing whether or not the Queen could dissolve parliament. For example, if Queen's law requires parliament's consent, then can the Queen still dissolve parliament if parliament, for some reason, agrees? Can the Queen, in certain instances, override parliament?
– SSight3
Jan 17 at 17:00
@SSight As noted in the question, the FTPA removed that ability. Parliament is only dissolved 25 days before an election, and an election only happens after 5 years, a motion of no confidence, or a 2/3 vote of the Commons.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 17:28
@SSight As noted in the question, the FTPA removed that ability. Parliament is only dissolved 25 days before an election, and an election only happens after 5 years, a motion of no confidence, or a 2/3 vote of the Commons.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 17:28
1
1
@Persistence Essentially. The union of the Queen in Parliament (which is sometimes just called "Parliament" with the Queen being a part of Parliament) has supreme legislative authority, unbound by any formal constitutional restrictions except the rule that it can't stop future Parliaments from changing things again. It might need to be explicit about changing rules, but it can change them.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 19:17
@Persistence Essentially. The union of the Queen in Parliament (which is sometimes just called "Parliament" with the Queen being a part of Parliament) has supreme legislative authority, unbound by any formal constitutional restrictions except the rule that it can't stop future Parliaments from changing things again. It might need to be explicit about changing rules, but it can change them.
– cpast
Jan 17 at 19:17
The Queen in Parliament, is that what the mace is for?
– gerrit
Jan 17 at 19:34
The Queen in Parliament, is that what the mace is for?
– gerrit
Jan 17 at 19:34
add a comment |
Parliament is dissolved at the beginning of the 25th day before a general election under s3 of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. ss 1-2 deal with setting the dates of general elections and they are automatic, chosen (within limits) by the Prime Minister or triggered by a motion of Parliament - the Monarch has no role.
add a comment |
Parliament is dissolved at the beginning of the 25th day before a general election under s3 of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. ss 1-2 deal with setting the dates of general elections and they are automatic, chosen (within limits) by the Prime Minister or triggered by a motion of Parliament - the Monarch has no role.
add a comment |
Parliament is dissolved at the beginning of the 25th day before a general election under s3 of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. ss 1-2 deal with setting the dates of general elections and they are automatic, chosen (within limits) by the Prime Minister or triggered by a motion of Parliament - the Monarch has no role.
Parliament is dissolved at the beginning of the 25th day before a general election under s3 of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. ss 1-2 deal with setting the dates of general elections and they are automatic, chosen (within limits) by the Prime Minister or triggered by a motion of Parliament - the Monarch has no role.
answered Jan 17 at 22:01
![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vT7Ry.jpg?s=32&g=1)
![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vT7Ry.jpg?s=32&g=1)
Dale MDale M
51.4k23072
51.4k23072
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Law Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2flaw.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f36294%2fcan-the-queen-still-dissolve-parliament%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown