Achieving accountable government
Parliament has relatively weak war powers compared to legislatures in other democracies
Parliament is today being recalled from its summer recess to discuss the possibility of British military intervention in Syria. In the 2012 audit of UK democracy, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Andrew Blick, and Stephen Crone considered Parliament’s powers in this area. Although Parliament has debated Britain’s involvement in recent conflicts it has no formal role in decisions over whether to deploy military force. In this […]
Has the Office for Budget Responsibility achieved genuine independence from government?
Having been established by the government to take the politics out of fiscal and economic forecasting, the independence of the Office for Budget Responsibility is fundamental to its credibility and legitimacy. The appointment of Robert Chote as Chair in 2010 appears to have enhanced the OBR’s standing in this regard, but has not completely swept […]
The drive toward outsourcing public services is bypassing democratic oversight
The Coalition Government has fully and enthusiastically embraced the practice of ‘outsourcing’ through the Open Public Services agenda. But what are the democratic implications? Daniel Silver of the Social Action & Research Foundation argues that, despite protestations to the contrary, the evidence shows that outsourcing allows accountability to effectively bypass democratic control, often leaving service […]
Democratic round-up: the Prince of Wales
An analysis of palace records has shown that the Prince of Wales has held no fewer than 36 meetings with Cabinet Ministers on matters of his choosing. What are the democratic implications of a meddling monarch? And is HRH correct that he has a right to make his voice heard on ‘any issues he chooses?’ […]
The Public Service Industry: A constitutional blasphemy and a democratic perversion
One third of current public spending on services, £80 billion, is channelled through private sector companies. Although they deliver services demanded and paid for by taxpayers, their employees are not ‘public servants’. They are not subject to the disciplines, procedures and expectations attached to government employees. Instead they are part of an industry growing in […]
The decline of the political party: what comes after?
The decline in political party membership in the UK is a recipe for a crisis of legitimacy. The parties continue as the monopolists of access to political careers and to political office, but in a context in which 99 per cent of citizens now do not belong to a political party. Parties can re-invent themselves and open […]
The new open data tool for government spending can be used for more than just hunting waste
The government has released a new open data tool to help people explore public spending. Jonathan Gray of the Open Knowledge Foundation explains how the tool expands the availability of government information. He argues that open data is essential for democracy and accountability, even if the government only sees it as an opportunity to identify […]
The UK could take some lessons from Australia on fixed terms for party leaders so that election winners are guaranteed a full term in office
The Australian Labor Party has approved proposals from the party’s new leader Kevin Rudd, that the party’s leadership selection rules be changed so that parliamentarians and party members are able to elect party leaders. Anika Gauja writes that the UK’s political parties could consider another aspect of the reforms that ensure party leaders cannot be […]
The Lobbying Bill is a missed opportunity
In response to recent lobbying scandals, the government has introduced the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill, which had its first reading in Parliament earlier this month. The Bill seeks to introduce a register of consultant lobbyists and deals with issues relating to election finance. Robert Barrington, Executive Director of Transparency […]
Book Review: Policy Without Politicians: Bureaucratic Influence in Comparative Perspective
In Policy without Politicians a leading expert on public policy has devoted four years to interviewing middle-ranking civil servants in three languages over six jurisdictions, to construct a comparative survey of bureaucratic influence on secondary legislation. The venture may sound worthy at best, but Patricia Hogwood finds that Edward C. Page has produced a little gem: an intellectually honest, well-constructed, impeccably […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.