Britain's constitutional revolution is proceeding at such a pace that it is easy to lose sight of the meaning of it all. The reforms of the past generation - the delegation of quasi-sovereignty to Brussels, devolutions to assemblies in Northern Ireland and Wales and a parliament in Scotland, the passage of the Human Rights Act and the creation of the Supreme Court, the continuing transformation of the House of Lords - have already begun to shake the foundations. All challenge, in different ways, the previously undisputed centrality of the House of Commons in Britain's governing arrangements. All significantly limit the effective power of the cabinet to exercise plenary control over the country's political destiny. But the new proposal for electoral reform, championed by Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, marks a turning point. It could well represent the death knell of parliamentary sovereignty.

LRB 9 September 2010 | PDF Download