As the problems continue to mount for Boris Johnson, I cannot but help think about our third demand ‘A Separation of Power’ which would see our cabinet or executive sitting outside parliament and a Prime Minster who was elected by a popular vote.
Currently party leaders are in the main selected by their parties but if and when they become Prime Minister, they get voted into office on the back of a number of considerations not directly related to their own individual ability including: -
1. The party the majority want to win the election.
2. The party the majority don’t want to run the country.
3. The personality and ability of individual MPs in each constituency.
4. Finally, the comparison and abilities of the respective party leaders.
In the last election all these considerations came into play in that the majority didn’t want Corbyn or his Labour party and preferred Boris and the Conservatives.
We cannot discount the ‘Boris’ effect but it is certainly also true Corbyn’s Labour lost the election.
I have no problems with parties choosing their leaders but I object strongly to them becoming Prime Ministers without an election as Major did from Thatcher, Brown from Blair, May form Cameron and initially Boris from May.
However, having said that I also strongly favour potential Prime Ministers standing for that position at General Elections in their own right.
A further ingredient to ensure all MPs do their primary job of holding the executive to account is to reconfigured our parliamentary chamber in the form of a hemicycle which exists in virtually all other government chambers around the world. This structure encourages cooperation rather than confrontation.
Finally, as an when our governance incorporates a ‘Separation of Power’ with an executive outside parliament and an elected Prime Minister I believe our democracy will be far better served.
Addendum.
1. Please note that this petition, on the government’s £3 trillion Net Zero policy, is still up and running until April next year which I hope you will support and promote. The aim here is not to debate the Net Zero policy itself but the lack of a democratic mandate for it.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/599602
"..as an when our governance incorporates a ‘Separation of Power’ with an executive outside parliament and an elected Prime Minister I believe our democracy will be far better served."
ReplyDeleteI cannot see how we can have a separate executive without an elected Prime Minister, so, on balance, I would support that. (We do need a separation of powers)
Having been in the USA through several elections, I would hate to see us fall into the USA's way of making Presidents which is all about obscene amounts of money, favours and the power of big donors/corporations and TV companies. You don't get the best President but the one able to raise the most cash during those terrible Primary Campaigns.
On the subject of the shape of the Parliamentary chamber, let's just build a new parliament in the centre of England somewhere, or preferably just rent a disused warehouse far far away from toxic Westminster.
The problem would arise if we elected a prime minister without a majority in Parliament. David Starkey said such a situation only leads to stalemate and political games like we saw before the 2019 election.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are many problems with the demands of the THA but then we have a parliamentary and 2 party system that is totally broken and not fit for any purpose apart from feathering its own nest. Something must be done and the demands provide a good way to force a step forward,
DeleteAs you state our current system is broken and reform of our governance is long over due. The key to THA's demands is that the people are sovereign and thus our politicians become our servants and not our masters. This reform alone would change the whole feel and character of our governance.
DeleteThere are a great number of associated issues that would need to be considered and resolved, in connection with our demands, to make our governance more democratic. One of these associated with a Separation of Power is to create a parliament of MPs, form all parties, who fulfill their primary role of holding the executive to account hence the reason for a hemisphere shaped chamber to encourage cooperation rather than confrontation.
WRT your claim that;
ReplyDelete'The party the majority want to win the election'
Can you point to a General Election where a party won the majority of the vote?