In 1649, Charles I lost his head because he refused to accept that the will of parliament was superior to that of the king. He had insisted on the divine right of kings to dispense with parliament and to rule by autocratic fiat. Parliament would not stand for it and, after much bloodshed in the English civil war, our democracy took a great step forward.

The British constitutional balance - including the interaction of the legislature, the judiciary and the executive - is revered and imitated around the world. That may not be so for much longer if the parliament of 2006 enacts the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill, shortly to pass the House of Commons and go to the House of Lords.