How would you define the concept of Parliamentary Sovereignty?

The most common explanation of the idea of sovereignty comes from Dicey, who saw sovereignty as the idea that Parliament can make or unmake any law it chooses, with unlimited discretion. This means that future Parliaments also have freedom to change the law and make new laws as they please, without being bound by past decisions. This also means that Parliament is the 'seat of authority' in the UK's institutional framework. 

To understand this framework, it is best to look at Parliament not as the building or the institution itself, but as cycles of people that come and go as times change. This way, it is easier to see what Dicey means in that 'Parliament' is not a constant that never changes, which helps us to understand that parliamentary will changes, and the importance of being able to change the law. For example, we don't have laws on swords anymore because nobody uses them, but we do have laws on guns because the law has been changed by parliament to reflect the times. 

Answered by Iona C. Politics tutor

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