United Kingdom
No constitutional court can strike down Acts of Parliament. Unlike virtually every other democracy, the UK Supreme Court has no power to overrule the legislature. Parliamentary majorities are legally unconstrained—a feature, not a bug, of what A.V. Dicey called "the principle giving Parliament the power to repeal, amend or introduce any law it so wishes."
This uncodified constitution—not unwritten, but never consolidated—evolved through path-dependence rather than design. Like an ancient oak shaped by centuries of storms, the British system developed through crisis, negotiation, and precedent. Founder-effects from Magna Carta (1215), the Glorious Revolution (1688), and the Parliament Acts (1911, 1949) created institutional-memory that persists through cultural-transmission rather than written rules.
The evolutionary-tracking is visible in asymmetric devolution. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have different degrees of autonomy—not by design but by historical negotiation. The phenotypic-plasticity of the constitution allows bending rather than breaking: Brexit demonstrated parliamentary sovereignty could enable departure from the EU; no fundamental protections prevented the disruption.
Mycorrhizal-networks connect formal and informal power. Convention holds that the monarch acts on ministerial advice. The Sewel Convention suggests Westminster won't normally legislate on devolved matters—but "normally" has no legal force. The House of Lords can delay legislation for one year; by convention, it doesn't block manifesto commitments. Remove any of these unwritten rules and the organism must regenerate new patterns.
Numbers reveal the system's democratic tensions: First-past-the-post created a 172-seat Labour majority in 2024 from 34% of the vote. The Lords has 806 members, none elected. England has 533 MPs but no devolved assembly. These structural features persist through institutional-memory, not because they optimize representation.
The biological lesson: organisms that evolved rather than were engineered adapt slowly but continuously. What happens when environmental change—populism, Scottish independence pressure, technology requiring rapid regulation—exceeds the system's evolutionary clock speed?
The UK Supreme Court cannot strike down Acts of Parliament - unlike virtually every other democracy, there is no constitutional court with power to overrule the legislature, making parliamentary majorities legally unconstrained.
Key Facts
Power Dynamics
Parliament sovereign; PM leads government with Commons majority; Monarch ceremonial
PM with working majority has near-unconstrained power; House of Lords can delay but not block; whipping system enforces party discipline; devolved governments have genuine but asymmetric autonomy
- House of Lords delaying power (1 year)
- Supreme Court interpretation (cannot strike down)
- Devolved legislature consent (Sewel Convention, but not legally binding)
- By-elections and party rebellion
- Bank of England (monetary policy independence)
- Treasury (fiscal policy)
- Devolved governments (implementation in nations)
- EU (post-Brexit trade relationship)
- US (security alliance)
Failure Modes of United Kingdom
- 2016-2020 Brexit - parliamentary sovereignty created exit but no mechanism for smooth transition
- 1970s - Inflation/strikes/IMF bailout revealed economic governance failure
- 2008 - Bank bailouts stretched constitutional conventions
- FPTP creates majority governments from minority votes
- No written constitution means no entrenched rights
- Devolution inconsistency (English Votes for English Laws)
- Lords legitimacy gap (appointed, not elected)
Government with Commons majority using parliamentary sovereignty to entrench power (boundary changes, electoral rules, judicial appointment) - constitutional conventions would not prevent this
Biological Parallel
Evolved organically over centuries, shaped by pressures (wars, crises, social movements) rather than designed. Deep roots (institutional memory), flexible canopy (constitutional conventions), but slow to adapt and vulnerable when environmental change exceeds adaptation capacity. Individual branches (devolved nations) can develop differently while remaining part of the organism.
Key Agencies
Central bank
Competition regulation