The British Parliament has been the creator of many federal systems, some of which failed and some of which were successful. Those of Canada and Australia have been longterm successes. The Canadian system has operated over 120 years and that of Australia for nearly ninety years. In the world, only the United States and Swiss federal systems can boast of similar or greater longevity. Yet traditionally the British have had a considerable disdain for federalism. Again Dicey must be mentioned as a prominent influence in furthering this attitude. He referred, in 1915, to a then new but brief interest in converting the United Kingdom into a federal state. He said this object was a ‘delusion’ which was ‘absolutely foreign to the historical and, so to speak, instinctive policy of English constitutionalists’.

The Royal Commission on the (British) Constitution in their report in 1973 concluded that the demands of modern government and the inevitable financial strength of central federal Governments had undermined regional sovereignty in all federations. Indeed they said that ‘what is actually in operation is not true federalism’. They admitted that this picture did not fit Canada, where Provincial sovereignty was strong. In any case, the Commissioners were of the view that a formal division of powers slowed down desirable changes or could prevent them altogether.