The State We Are In

There was a time when GB system of government was a model for the world. Although a democracy, it could certainly be argued that it was not fully democratic in the modern sense. The upper house of the two house parliament was not elected, but sustained by a combination of patronage and inheritance. The lower house was elected by a first past the post electoral system dominated by two parties, one of which generally secured a majority sufficient to govern. Minor parties existed, but after the demise of the Liberals and rise of Labour between the World Wars, had little political power. The outcome was strong and stable government few countries could equal and none could better.

If a government lost a vote of confidence it fell there and then, not when the fancy took it. The system for changing prime ministers when a party was in power took hours, not weeks and at all times and in whatever crises, government was strong and powerful.  Parliament was focussed and politicians respected. Unlike America, where the Federal government  has traditionally been seen as some kind of enemy, in GB government was on the side of the people and trusted by them.

So what on earth has happened? The answer is many things, none of which is either that big or that important, but in combination they have become a destructive mass which has overwhelmed the system which has, to all intents and purposes and certainly by the high standards set in the past, collapsed.

Devolution without organising a Union parliament separate to the English one was a big mistake. This ended with deal breaking blocks of Ulster Unionists and Scottish Nationalists and reduced the actual numbers of Tory and Labour MPs. That increased the likelihood of hung parliaments. Indeed over the last three elections, only one has delivered a working majority. Next came the Fixed Term Parliament Act, which muddled the definitions of the royal prerogative and thus the powers of the executive. The Act altered the very concept of what a parliament actually was, from something that could be got rid of at any time to something you are stuck with until a certain date. Unless various procedures are followed, which challenge the previous bedrock of the unwritten constitution. Also, like so much modern legislation, it is badly drafted so that nobody quite understands how it works when things go wrong. Perhaps it doesn’t work at all.

Add to that a political class which, as the Queen herself is reported to have complained, cannot govern, and you end up in the mess we are in. Do not expect me to predict what will happen next, other than there are doubtless more surprises to come.

Oh and there’s Brexit.