... 'Queen in Parliament' has long been used to describe the legislative sovereign created in the fusion of parliament and the executive. The executive has come to govern through parliament, requiring in effect its assent for legislation, while drawing from it, as the nation's chief representative body, the legitimacy it requires to sustain its authority. It comes as a surprise to many, given the ostensible thirst for power of the Blair administration, that since coming into power in 1997 it should have undertaken admittedly moderate reforms with the aim of empowering the House of Commons against the executive. Under Robin Cook's Leadership of the House for example, the efficiency of the Commons in its scrutinative role has been strengthened with allowances being made for the tabling of more topical questions, and further reform of Prime Minister's Question Time. Given this climate of reform in the House of Commons, the extent of ...

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