Elective dictatorship
Encyclopedia
An "elective dictatorship" (also called executive dominance in political science
) is a phrase coined by the former Lord Chancellor
of the United Kingdom
, Lord Hailsham, in a Richard Dimbleby Lecture at the BBC in 1976. It describes the state in which Parliament
is dominated by the government of the day. It refers to the fact that the legislative programme of Parliament is determined by the government, and government bills virtually always pass the House of Commons
because of the nature of the majoritarian first-past-the-post
electoral system, which almost always produces strong government, in combination with the imposition of party discipline
on the governing party's majority, which almost always ensures loyalty. In the absence of a codified constitution, this tendency toward executive dominance is compounded by the Parliament Acts
and Salisbury Convention which circumscribe the House of Lords
and their ability to block government initiatives.
). Parliament may pass any legislation on any subject it wishes. Parliament operates without restraints such as, for instance, an obligation to legislate in accordance with fundamental constitutional rights. The apparent exceptions to this rule are situations in which Parliament has chosen to limit itself as with the case of implemention of European Union
law in which Parliament has given the European Court of Justice
authority to strike down UK legislation that it deems to be contrary to EU law (see Factortame case
), but could withdraw such authority.
Parliament consists of the House of Lords
, the House of Commons
and the Monarch
. The customary common law rule is that in order for a bill to become an act of Parliament, it is necessary for it to be passed in both the Commons and the Lords. The bill will then go before the Monarch who has formal discretion whether to assent to the bill. On receiving Royal Assent
, it will become an Act of Parliament and will be applied by the courts.
Such is the theory; in practice Royal Assent has become a formality, the monarch has not refused (or threatened to refuse) assent to a bill for some 300 years (Queen Anne
in 1708
). Further, since 1911, the House of Lords has lost its position of equality with the Commons. The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 reduced the power of the Lords from an absolute veto to a suspensive veto. Once the same bill has been passed by the Commons and rejected by the Lords in two different sessions of Parliament, a third introduction of the bill will require only the consent of the Commons. Such a bill will then go for Royal Assent and will become law, irrespective of the view of the Lords. The Commons have, therefore, become the dominant component of Parliament - whoever controls the Commons controls Parliament, the primary legislative body of the land.
forms the government. The governing party should consequently be able to pass any bill they wish through the Commons, provided that voting discipline is enforced amongst their Members of Parliament
(MPs). This is accomplished largely through the whip system
. The dominance of Parliament's legislative programme by the majority party is such that 95% of bills are initiated by the government. Rebellions, whilst not unknown, are rare.
The government, so long as they can keep their MPs on-side, stand an excellent chance of getting their legislation through the Commons. The Lords may or may not also approve the legislation, however a combination of judicious compromise from the government, combined with the Salisbury Convention
and the overarching threat of the Parliament Act means that most legislation also manages to get through the Lords. Royal Assent then invariably follows.
Hailsham coined the expression 'elective dictatorship' to describe this situation in which control of the Commons (and thus of Parliament) by the government is actually weak. His paper was published as a criticism of the Labour government of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. He saw these weak governments as undemocratic, as despite their slim hold on the Commons they were able to pass a large number of their bills. He saw this as undemocratic as they didn't reflect, as Hailsham saw it, wide enough support in the country. Many have interpreted Hailsham's criticism as being one against large majorities. In fact, he actually saw these as more democratic, as they had commanded more support at elections.
for the Commons. The Liberal Democrats
have consistently supported PR for the Commons, although without noticeable support from the other parties.
Some groups, such as Charter 88, have argued that a codified, written constitution with appropriate checks and balances is also essential to solving the problem of executive dominance, although again without popular success.
The Power Inquiry
in its 2006 report Power to the People made recommendations on how to deal with the democratic deficit
inherent in the UK system of governance.
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
) is a phrase coined by the former Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Lord Hailsham, in a Richard Dimbleby Lecture at the BBC in 1976. It describes the state in which Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
is dominated by the government of the day. It refers to the fact that the legislative programme of Parliament is determined by the government, and government bills virtually always pass the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
because of the nature of the majoritarian first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post
First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
electoral system, which almost always produces strong government, in combination with the imposition of party discipline
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
on the governing party's majority, which almost always ensures loyalty. In the absence of a codified constitution, this tendency toward executive dominance is compounded by the Parliament Acts
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2 of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that that Act and the Parliament Act 1911 are to be construed as one.The Parliament Act 1911 The...
and Salisbury Convention which circumscribe the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and their ability to block government initiatives.
Constitutional background
In the United Kingdom, ultimate legislative sovereignty resides in Parliament (Parliamentary sovereigntyParliamentary sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. In the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, a legislative body has absolute sovereignty, meaning it is supreme to all other government institutions—including any executive or judicial bodies...
). Parliament may pass any legislation on any subject it wishes. Parliament operates without restraints such as, for instance, an obligation to legislate in accordance with fundamental constitutional rights. The apparent exceptions to this rule are situations in which Parliament has chosen to limit itself as with the case of implemention of European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
law in which Parliament has given the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
authority to strike down UK legislation that it deems to be contrary to EU law (see Factortame case
Factortame case
The Factortame litigation led to a series of landmark decisions in United Kingdom and European Union law. The case confirmed the supremacy of European Union law over national law in the areas where the EU has competence...
), but could withdraw such authority.
Parliament consists of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
and the Monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
. The customary common law rule is that in order for a bill to become an act of Parliament, it is necessary for it to be passed in both the Commons and the Lords. The bill will then go before the Monarch who has formal discretion whether to assent to the bill. On receiving Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
, it will become an Act of Parliament and will be applied by the courts.
Such is the theory; in practice Royal Assent has become a formality, the monarch has not refused (or threatened to refuse) assent to a bill for some 300 years (Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
in 1708
Scottish Militia Bill 1708
The Scottish Militia Bill is the usual name given to a bill that was passed by the House of Commons and House of Lords of the Parliament of Great Britain in spring 1708, but vetoed by Queen Anne on the advice of her ministers on 11 March 1708 for fear that the proposed militia created would be...
). Further, since 1911, the House of Lords has lost its position of equality with the Commons. The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 reduced the power of the Lords from an absolute veto to a suspensive veto. Once the same bill has been passed by the Commons and rejected by the Lords in two different sessions of Parliament, a third introduction of the bill will require only the consent of the Commons. Such a bill will then go for Royal Assent and will become law, irrespective of the view of the Lords. The Commons have, therefore, become the dominant component of Parliament - whoever controls the Commons controls Parliament, the primary legislative body of the land.
Operation
The party which commands a majority in the House of CommonsBritish House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
forms the government. The governing party should consequently be able to pass any bill they wish through the Commons, provided that voting discipline is enforced amongst their Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs). This is accomplished largely through the whip system
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
. The dominance of Parliament's legislative programme by the majority party is such that 95% of bills are initiated by the government. Rebellions, whilst not unknown, are rare.
The government, so long as they can keep their MPs on-side, stand an excellent chance of getting their legislation through the Commons. The Lords may or may not also approve the legislation, however a combination of judicious compromise from the government, combined with the Salisbury Convention
Salisbury Convention
The Salisbury Convention is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom which puts forward that the House of Lords will not oppose the second or third reading of any government legislation promised in its election manifesto.Following a landslide Labour general election victory in...
and the overarching threat of the Parliament Act means that most legislation also manages to get through the Lords. Royal Assent then invariably follows.
Hailsham coined the expression 'elective dictatorship' to describe this situation in which control of the Commons (and thus of Parliament) by the government is actually weak. His paper was published as a criticism of the Labour government of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. He saw these weak governments as undemocratic, as despite their slim hold on the Commons they were able to pass a large number of their bills. He saw this as undemocratic as they didn't reflect, as Hailsham saw it, wide enough support in the country. Many have interpreted Hailsham's criticism as being one against large majorities. In fact, he actually saw these as more democratic, as they had commanded more support at elections.
Proposals for reform
A common proposal from reformers to reduce this executive dominance is to reduce the power of the majority party by adopting an electoral system based on proportional representationProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
for the Commons. The Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
have consistently supported PR for the Commons, although without noticeable support from the other parties.
Some groups, such as Charter 88, have argued that a codified, written constitution with appropriate checks and balances is also essential to solving the problem of executive dominance, although again without popular success.
The Power Inquiry
Power Inquiry
The POWER Inquiry was established in 2004 to explore how political participation and involvement can be increased and deepened in Britain. Its work is based on the primary belief that a healthy democracy requires the active participation of its citizens....
in its 2006 report Power to the People made recommendations on how to deal with the democratic deficit
Democratic deficit
A democratic deficit is considered to be occurring when ostensibly democratic organizations or institutions are seen to be falling short of fulfilling the principles of the parliamentary democracy in their practices or operation where representative and linked parliamentary integrity becomes...
inherent in the UK system of governance.
See also
- Democratic centralismDemocratic centralismDemocratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
- Democratic deficitDemocratic deficitA democratic deficit is considered to be occurring when ostensibly democratic organizations or institutions are seen to be falling short of fulfilling the principles of the parliamentary democracy in their practices or operation where representative and linked parliamentary integrity becomes...
- Democratic deficit in the European UnionDemocratic deficit in the European UnionDemocratic deficit in the European Union is a term used to refer to the view that the EU lacks democracy, arguably due to a lack of legitimacy in its institutions and/or lack of influence on the part of its citizens. Opinions differ on how to remedy this, and it is also argued that the deficit is...