Parliamentary sovereignty - the right to pass laws as the supreme

Hear the warning of Nicky Morgan, who spoke with the weight of history behind her: “Parliamentary sovereignty – the right to pass laws as the supreme legal authority in the land, including laws that limit the powers of the executive – has been hard-won over hundreds of years. We trample on it at our peril.” These words remind us that liberty is not born in an instant, nor is it preserved without vigilance. They tell us that sovereignty of law, and not of men, was carved out through blood, struggle, and sacrifice—and that to neglect it is to endanger the very heart of freedom.

For what is parliamentary sovereignty? It is the principle that the representatives of the people, gathered in assembly, possess the supreme authority to make laws binding on all, even the executive who governs. It means that no king, no prime minister, no magistrate, stands above the law of the land. This principle, which may sound simple to us now, was not given freely—it was wrested from monarchs who once claimed divine right and from rulers who sought to make their will absolute.

History tells the tale of how this sovereignty was born. In 1215, the barons of England forced King John to seal the Magna Carta, declaring that even the king was bound by law. Centuries later came the English Civil War, when the struggle between crown and parliament erupted into bloodshed. Kings were dethroned, even executed, because they sought to rule without consent. And in 1689, the Bill of Rights enshrined the supremacy of parliament, forever binding the executive to the authority of law. Thus, through centuries of conflict, the principle was forged that Morgan defends: the sovereignty of parliament as the guardian of the people’s liberty.

Yet this sovereignty is not merely about power; it is about protection. By ensuring that parliament can limit the executive, the people guard themselves against tyranny. Without it, leaders may act unchecked, seizing power, silencing opposition, and eroding freedoms under the guise of necessity. Morgan’s words are a warning: when we forget this balance, when we allow sovereignty to be ignored, we invite the shadows of absolutism to return.

Consider the lesson of the Weimar Republic in Germany. There, laws were set aside and emergency powers abused, until Adolf Hitler rose, unchecked by parliamentary restraint, and plunged the world into darkness. The loss of legal sovereignty, however small at first, paved the way for catastrophe. This is the peril Morgan speaks of: when we trample on institutions built to restrain rulers, we risk surrendering our freedoms entirely.

The lesson, then, is clear: liberty is safeguarded by law, and law by sovereignty. The people must honor and protect the institutions that bind the mighty and preserve their own voice. To weaken parliament, to scorn the rule of law, is to unravel the shield that centuries of struggle have forged. And once undone, it is not easily restored.

Therefore, O listener, take this charge to heart. Defend the sovereignty of law against apathy and against ambition. Watch closely those in power, and resist when they seek to place themselves above the institutions that bind them. Honor the legacy of Magna Carta, of the Bill of Rights, of every struggle that made law supreme over will. For as Morgan reminds us, these rights were hard-won, and if we trample them, we invite peril not only for ourselves but for generations yet unborn.

So let these words ring like a clarion: parliamentary sovereignty is the cornerstone of freedom. Guard it as you would guard your life, for in truth, the life of liberty depends upon it.