Elective Dictatorship in UK: Issues and Negative Impacts

This article discusses the concept of Elective Dictatorship in UK, its issues, negative impacts, and measurement. It also highlights the problems arising due to the unwritten constitution of UK.

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PUBLIC LAW
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What is elective dictatorship?
The phrase elective dictatorship is a term that has been developed by Lord Hailsham,
an ex Lord Chancellor of United Kingdom. He has coined the term in the year 1976 while
describing the doctrine of Giuseppe Garibaldi. According to him, parliament has become a
shadow of the government and current government has dominated the parliament in every
sphere of their works. This process has been regarded as electorate dictatorship1.
According to the structure, UK has three-tier parliamentary system such as House of
Lords, House of Commons and the Monarch. When a bill has gone to the parliament for
assent, both the Houses should support it and the final consent of the Monarch is necessary.
However, the powers of the houses are not equal and the consent of the monarch has become
a formality. The Monarch has lost its power to reject a bill since 1708 and the Parliament Act
of 1911 and 1949 has suspended the equal power of the House of Lords. According to this
Act, if any collision has been observed regarding a bill between the two houses, the House of
Common has the power to accept the bill and send it to the Monarch, where the monarch is
compelled to give their consent. In this process, the assent of the House of Lords is not
necessary. Further, almost majority of the Member of Parliaments in Commons are the
representative of the government. Therefore, it can indirectly be stated that government
drives the core processes of the parliament. This term has been known as electorate
dictatorship2.
1 Albertus, Michael, and Victor Gay. "Unlikely Democrats: Economic Elite Uncertainty under Dictatorship and
Support for Democratization." American Journal of Political Science 61.3 (2017): 624-641.
2 Higashijima, Masaaki, and Eric CC Chang. "The Choice of Electoral Systems in Dictatorships." Manuscript,
Version 5 (2016).

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Issues relating to elective dictatorship:
The term elective dictatorship has become a burning topic in the countries like UK. In
modern era, most of the countries are democratic in nature and according to the structure of
democracy; it has been observed that people are the main resources. They elected the
representative for handling the administrative works and those administrative are act for the
best interest of the citizen3. They can pass or amend the bill for the development of the public
policy and maintain the entire statutory obligation regarding the matter. However, in United
Kingdom, a different approach can be observed. According to the government system of the
country, Monarch has the supreme power. However, there are certain problems and criticisms
observed regarding the political transmission of UK. The first problem is based on the
parliamentary supremacy and absence of separation of power. The high rise of parliamentary
supremacy has given birth of the notion relating to the present topic, i.e. elective dictatorship.
In this system, House of Commons is positioned in the supreme power for passing the bills.
The role of the other house and the monarch is minimal in nature and the interference of the
government in the sections like administrative, legislative and judiciary is quite critical in
United Kingdom4. All these features are against the democratic nature and therefore, certain
political problems have been cropped up. It has been observed that the current government is
enjoying the rights to pass any bill they want because of the parliamentary system.
According to the parliamentary system related to the passing a bill, it can be stated
that consent of the monarch is just a formality5. Further, due to the implementation of the
Parliamentary Act 1949, the House of Lords has been suppressed by the House of Commons
3 Schedler, Andreas. "Electoral authoritarianism." Emerging trends in the social and behavioral sciences: An
interdisciplinary, searchable, and linkable resource (2015): 1-16.
4 Roberts, Tyson L. "The durability of presidential and parliament-based dictatorships." Comparative Political
Studies48.7 (2015): 915-948.
5 Schedler, Andreas. "Electoral authoritarianism." Emerging trends in the social and behavioral sciences: An
interdisciplinary, searchable, and linkable resource (2015): 1-16.

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and in case of any contradiction with the House of Commons, the power of the House of
Lords will not be exercised. Therefore, it can be stated that most of the powers are imposed
and enjoyed by the House of Commons. Further, according to the parliamentary system, if
the majority of the members give their assent to the bill, they will be regarded as accepted by
the House of Commons6. In this case, it is to be stated that most of the members of the House
of Commons are the representative of the current government and therefore, it can be stated
that the government is driving the whole process of bill passing indirectly. The power of the
House of Lords regarding the legislative matters is being restricted and they can impose a
temporary veto on the public bills7.
Measurement on electorate dictatorship:
The rapid application of the electorate dictatorship has created negative impression on
certain grounds. According to certain critiques, judicial review is required to determine the
authority of the adjudication board to exercise the power properly8. According to the English
Common rule of law, no one can exercise their power by exceeding their statutory limit; else
it will be regarded as ultra vire of the power. This process is important to discuss the
consequences when the will of the government clashes with the will of the public. Further, in
UK, there is a rule that states that only that person who has immense of knowledge on the
legal aptitude can exercise his judicial knowledge on the subject9. The similar rule relating to
the same has been engraved under section 31 of the Supreme Court Act 1981.
6 Miller, Michael K. "Electoral authoritarianism and human development." Comparative Political Studies 48.12
(2015): 1526-1562.
7 Knutsen, Carl Henrik, Håvard Mokleiv Nygård, and Tore Wig. "Autocratic elections: Stabilizing tool or force
for change?." World Politics 69.1 (2017): 98-143.
8 Frantz, Erica, and Andrea Kendall-Taylor. "Pathways to democratization in personalist
dictatorships." Democratization24.1 (2017): 20-40.
9 Edgell, Amanda B., et al. "When and where do elections matter? A global test of the democratization by
elections hypothesis, 1900–2010." Democratization 25.3 (2018): 422-444.

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However, it has been observed in the reality that the parliamentary process of the UK
has allowed the government to exercise their power on their majority and therefore, it is quite
impossible to apply the judicial review power on them. Therefore, the government passes
certain unreasonable bills. According to Lord Hailsham, this practice opposes the proper
application of the natural justice and in this manner; the governmental structure of the United
Kingdom is hampered. In his word, the doctrine related to the electorate dictatorship should
be restricted and certain premises are required to be decided up to which the government can
entertain their power related to the implementation of the bills or can amend the same.
The English court's recognized the proper application of the Diceyan idea of
parliamentary, where it has been implied that the legal process could not be challenged the
substance of enactment. Further, certain legal survey are constrained regulatory court that
can challenge the assigned power if acted past the given power by the demonstration. It has
been mentioned that the court cannot strike down even this statues in some regard
unjustifiable and court cannot likewise move some privilege powers. Legal audit has been
stretched out by utilizing regulation of proportionality under the Human Rights Act 1998 to
survey of managerial activity to decide its similarity with Convention prerequisites anyway
this likewise constrained10. The power of judicial review provides an opportunity to the courts
to challenge the delegated legislation to certain extent so that the member of parliaments and
other state authorities could not exceed their power while dealing with the primary
legislation.
Negative impact of electorate dictatorship:
In the case of the Westministers [1980], it has been observed that the government
should have to think about the well-beings of the common people so that their interest could
10 Bell, Emma. "Introduction: A Liberal Manifesto." Soft Power and Freedom under the Coalition: State-
Corporate Power and the Threat to Democracy. Palgrave Pivot, London, 2015. 1-6.

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not be hampered. However, if the government has ample of power to exercise, they will be
arbitrary in nature. In UK, the legislative wings have no power to question the validity of any
Acts or bills. This weakens the governmental structure and the administrative authority gets
all, the scope to interfere in every sphere of the parliamentary position. Further, it has been
observed that the government does not want to include the judiciary with the administrative
power11. The main reason behind the same is to restrict the courts so that they could not
interfere in their policies and implementations of those policies. Therefore, a strong negative
sense has been shown by the government to include principle of judicial review in the
parliamentary system of UK. Further, this is the reason why the government do not support
the separation of power. Considering this, it can be stated that all these policies are against
the democratic nature of the government.
Certain problems have been arisen regarding the application of the prerogative powers
in UK. It has been observed in the case of Keyser’s Royal Hotel, where the court has denied
the exercise of prerogative powers for the suspension of the statutes. However, the electorate
dictatorship has again created certain contradictory adversary problem in this case. In certain
recent cases, it has been observed that the government has implemented certain policies
regarding the labour power over the trade unions by applying the prerogative powers and it
becomes quite troublesome for the judges to restrict the application of those powers. Further,
due to the majority, the government has certain opportunity to make the path of passing the
bills easier and certain obstacles have bben created in the democratic contexts of the state.
Hailsham has criticised the problem regarding the elective dictatorship and according
to him, this process has made the whole system of government weak. All the policies taken
by the government of UK has reflected the undemocratic views and this process is required to
11 Finlayson, Alan. "" What Is the Point of Parliamentary Debate?" Deliberation, Oratory, Opposition and
Spectacle in the British House of Commons." Redescriptions: Political Thought, Conceptual History and
Feminist Theory 20.1 (2017): 11-31.

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be restricted immediately. The reformers have made certain reformation policies and voices
have risen by the Liberal Democrats against those policies12. However, due to the arbitrary
nature of the government, such allegations are remained in vain. A report has been submitted
in the year 2006, where certain policies have been adopted regarding the power to the people.
Further, certain recommendations have been made in this regard where the power of the
government authority has been identified and restricted.
One of the main problems for the implementation of all the policies is the unwritten
constitution of UK. Certain proposals have been made in the Charter 88. According to the
Charter, a proposal to codify the constitutional rules and Articles has been made. The main
purpose of the Charter was to solve the problem relating to the executive dominance.
However, application of this rule remained impossible due to electorate dictatorship. Elective
autocracy alludes to the combination of forces of the official and the lawmaking body, where
the council is drawn from the official in this manner bringing about predominance of the
official over the assembly. Right off, the official's larger part in the House of Commons
fortifies the administrator’s strength. Elective autocracy happens in concurrence with this
situation and that of the administering party that are named as the official. The assembly in
power by definition has more seats, i.e. more voting power compared to all the confrontation
parties. This reveals any ratification or movement proposed by the overseeing congregation
could be passed except if government MP's differences, on the position that exclusive a
straightforward lion's share is required. The reason for the quality of the thrash outline to
keep MP's of the representing party casting vote against it, virtually stating supervision bills
are to a great degree infrequently vanquished in the House of Commons. The legislature
12 Moran, Michael. Politics and Governance in the UK. Macmillan International Higher Education, 2015.

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proposes for the most part around 95% of the bills passed. Further, certain new provisions
have been observed in this regard13.
Since 1997, when Tony Blair was chaired in the Prime Minister post, it has
invigorated restored banter about the region of power inside the authority and the association
between the Prime Minister and the agency. Blair's presidential style is reflected in his
dresser organization. The social occasions are short, and are held less regularly. The Prime
Minister rules official decision, settling on key decisions without directing the department14.
For instance, an "Elective Dictatorship" inferred Tony Blair was prepared to proceed with the
Iraq war regardless of the way that a vast bit of his bureau could not resist negating him, and
two of his chest of drawers ministers, Robin Cook and Claire Short surrendered. Anyway,
faultfinders can in like manner say that a Prime Ministerial style government has been around
before Blair. Margaret Thatcher similarly had a Prime Ministerial style government; for
example, she clashed with a vast speck of her bureau in key decisions. As needs be, Britain
can be said to have had an "Elective Dictatorship" before the Blair government.15. Further,
House of Lords still have certain powers to exercise certain powers on the executives and
there are certain rules that prevent the executives to exercise their powers arbitrarily.
However, the House of Lords is enjoying less power compared to the House of Commons
and the majority vote passing system is still applied in England. Therefore, it can be stated
that UK still has elected dictatorship in the present time.
13 Escribà‐Folch, Abel, Covadonga Meseguer, and Joseph Wright. "Remittances and Protest in
Dictatorships." Unpublished paper (2017).
14 Frantz, Erica, and Andrea Kendall-Taylor. "Pathways to democratization in personalist
dictatorships." Democratization24.1 (2017): 20-40.
15 Blick, Andrew. "Devolution in the UK: Historical Perspective." King’s College London (2016).

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Bibliography:
Albertus, Michael, and Victor Gay. "Unlikely Democrats: Economic Elite Uncertainty under
Dictatorship and Support for Democratization." American Journal of Political Science 61.3
(2017): 624-641.
Bell, Emma. "Introduction: A Liberal Manifesto." Soft Power and Freedom under the
Coalition: State-Corporate Power and the Threat to Democracy. Palgrave Pivot, London,
2015. 1-6.
Blick, Andrew. "Devolution in the UK: Historical Perspective." King’s College
London (2016).
Edgell, Amanda B., et al. "When and where do elections matter? A global test of the
democratization by elections hypothesis, 1900–2010." Democratization 25.3 (2018): 422-
444.
Escribà‐Folch, Abel, Covadonga Meseguer, and Joseph Wright. "Remittances and Protest in
Dictatorships." Unpublished paper (2017).
Finlayson, Alan. "" What Is the Point of Parliamentary Debate?" Deliberation, Oratory,
Opposition and Spectacle in the British House of Commons." Redescriptions: Political
Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory 20.1 (2017): 11-31.
Frantz, Erica, and Andrea Kendall-Taylor. "Pathways to democratization in personalist
dictatorships." Democratization24.1 (2017): 20-40.
Frantz, Erica, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, and Natasha Ezrow. "Autocratic Fate: How Leaders'
Post-Tenure Expectations Influence the Behavior of Dictatorships." Seton Hall J. Dipl. &
Int'l Rel. 15 (2014): 39.

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Higashijima, Masaaki, and Eric CC Chang. "The Choice of Electoral Systems in
Dictatorships." Manuscript, Version 5 (2016).
Knutsen, Carl Henrik, Håvard Mokleiv Nygård, and Tore Wig. "Autocratic elections:
Stabilizing tool or force for change?." World Politics 69.1 (2017): 98-143.
Miller, Michael K. "Electoral authoritarianism and human development." Comparative
Political Studies 48.12 (2015): 1526-1562.
Moran, Michael. Politics and Governance in the UK. Macmillan International Higher
Education, 2015.
Roberts, Tyson L. "The durability of presidential and parliament-based
dictatorships." Comparative Political Studies48.7 (2015): 915-948.
Schedler, Andreas. "Electoral authoritarianism." Emerging trends in the social and
behavioral sciences: An interdisciplinary, searchable, and linkable resource (2015): 1-16.
Schedler, Andreas. "Electoral authoritarianism." Emerging trends in the social and
behavioral sciences: An interdisciplinary, searchable, and linkable resource (2015): 1-16.