Talk:Legislative branch

Article said the following, which is false:

The judiciary in the UK lacks the power of judicial review. There is no check on the power of the legislature in the UK. As a result, the legislature is not really a branch of government, but the government itself.

The UK judicary has always had the power of judicial review in respect with executive action (i.e. the right to declare acts of the executive to be ultra vires, i.e. beyond the powers granted to the executive by Parliament). That included the right to strike down secondary legislation. Secondly, with membership of the European Union, the Human Rights Act, and devolution to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, the UK judicary now has some (albeit somewhat limited) power to review primary legislation also. The doctrine of parliamentary soverignity (I am assuming it still holds, which it probably does, although doubts are increasingly being expressed about it) means the British Parliament can always override the judiciary; but presuming it does not do so, the judiciary can strike down legislation (and in practice, it would be unusual for the legislature to in fact do so.)

Secondly, the executive and the legislature are distinct. While it is true that the UK politicial system means that the legislature and the executive are less likely to disagree than in the US, disagreements can still occur. For example, the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the government) can support something, but face a revolt by backbench MPs, or find their measures opposed in the House of Lords. -- SJK