Relations between the branches
What the specification requires, the knowledge and concepts behind it, the debates it raises and how to use it in an exam.
Specification requirements
- The Supreme Court and its interactions with, and influence over, the legislative and policy-making processesSpecification requirement
- The relationship between the executive and ParliamentSpecification requirement
- The aims, role and impact of the European Union on UK governmentSpecification requirement
- The location of sovereignty in the UK political systemSpecification requirement
Source to checkParaphrased from Pearson’s A level Politics specification, Issue 4 (first teaching September 2026, first assessment June 2028). Section titles for this topic still need a line-by-line check. Requirement detail is entered as each topic is developed.
Current affairs
Labour backbench rebellion forces concessions on welfare reform
A government with a very large majority still had to retreat in the face of its own backbenchers. The example is valuable because it cuts against the assumption that a large majority guarantees executive dominance.
Supreme Court rules that “sex” in the Equality Act means biological sex
The judgment shows the Supreme Court interpreting statute on a deeply contested social question. It sits where rights, the role of the judiciary and ideological debate meet, and its practical effect on single-sex services was still being worked out in 2026.
Parliament declares Rwanda safe after the Supreme Court rules the policy unlawful
This is one of the clearest modern examples of parliamentary sovereignty in action against a court ruling. Parliament used its legislative supremacy to override the practical effect of a Supreme Court finding, showing both the power of a government with a majority and the limits of judicial power in the UK.
Supreme Court rules Holyrood cannot legislate for an independence referendum
The judgment shows that devolution in the UK is a delegation of power from Westminster rather than a sharing of sovereignty. It also shows the Supreme Court acting as arbiter of the devolution settlement.
Supreme Court rules the 2019 prorogation of Parliament unlawful
The judgment showed the Supreme Court setting legal limits on a prerogative power to protect Parliament’s role. It remains the leading example in debates about the political role of the judiciary and about relations between the executive, Parliament and the courts.
Current affairsEach card is a single shared record, linked here by its specification references.Open this topic in Current Affairs
Sources
2 sources cited on this pageShowHide
- 1A level Politics specification, Issue 4
Pearson Edexcel · 2026 · SpecificationOpened 4 November 2026 - 2Edexcel AS and A level Politics specification amendments
Pearson · 22 June 2026 · SpecificationOpened 4 November 2026