Thomas Poole

The alliance is a very old political technology. The late Bronze Age, with its dense networks of trade and cultural exchange criss-crossing the Mediterranean, was grounded in treaties, with frequent gift exchange and regular correspondence between rulers and officials. One of the oldest treaties known to us, the Egyptian-Hittite Peace Treaty of 1259 BC, was concluded after the indecisive Battle of Kadesh, the Hittites’ last attempt to muscle into Canaan.

In the city below, things seem in good order. But what kind of order? The place is hardly bustling. No teeming crowds, no variety, no interaction: in fact, no apparent vitality.

We expect the government to be able to retain the confidence of the Commons. If it cannot do so, that is a political problem (certainly for the government) but not a constitutional one. It is a situation that the principle of parliamentary supremacy anticipates. When push comes to shove, the constitutional position is clear: Parliament, not government, is supreme.