Unfixing Parliament

Can parliament revive a prerogative power? And can it prevent the courts from questioning a dissolution of parliament? These seemingly arcane questions lie at the heart of the government’s latest attempt to rebalance the British constitution in its favour.

Before the Fixed-term Parliaments Act was passed in 2011, the prime minister could normally call a general election at any time by simply advising the sovereign to dissolve parliament. Under a convention named after Sir Alan “Tommy” Lascelles, private secretary to George VI, the monarch