True Democracy – Which Powers Belong to Whom?

This article is to show how weak the Electorate’s power is in our current democracy. A solution is True Democracy.

MPs

How MPs gain their position

  • During a general election or by-election, the candidate with the most votes from the Electorate in a constituency becomes the MP for that constituency.
  • MPs are the only government figures the Electorate appoint.

How MPs lose their position

  • MPs may resign.
  • The Electorate may recall MPs via petition, but only if certain conditions are met beforehand.
  • There are no term limits, so an MP may serve so long as they continue to be elected.
  • MPs are the only government figures the Electorate may recall.

The powers MPs have

  • MPs may introduce and vote on bills.
  • UK governments continue in office only as long as they have the confidence or support of the House of Commons. This means that they are able to command a majority in the Commons on key matters. Governments do not always have to prove they continue to hold confidence, but governments are expected to resign or seek an election if they clearly lose the confidence of the House of Commons. In between elections, losing confidence happens through particular votes, known as confidence motions, or if a government determines that it can no longer command the confidence of the Commons (for example, if it loses a vote on a major policy issue that is a core part of its agenda).

Lords

How Lords gain their position

  • There are three types of Lords in the UK; the Lords Spiritual, Hereditary Peers, and Life Peers.
  • There are 26 places reserved for archbishops and bishops of the Church of England, they are known as the Lords Spiritual. The Lords Spiritual sit on an ex officio basis, meaning they only remain in the House whilst they hold the office of bishop. The following five are automatically granted a seat: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Durham, and the Bishop of Winchester. The other 21 seats are filled by the remaining bishops in order of seniority, though until 2025 the most eligible female bishop will fill any vacancy ahead of any male bishop.
  • Hereditary peerages are inherited. A maximum of 92 hereditary peers are allowed to be members of the Lords (unless a hereditary peer is also given a life peerage, in which case they do not count towards the 92). When a vacancy opens, a by-election is held in which the hereditary peers in the House of Lords affiliated by party to the departing Lord elect a peer from the Register of Hereditary Peers that has indicated their wish to stand in a by-election. 15 of the hereditary peers are to be elected by the whole House.
  • The Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal are hereditary peers exempted from by-elections. The role of Lord Great Chamberlain rotates between three families; the Cholmondeleys, the Willoughby de Eresbys and the Caringtons. The role of Earl Marshal belongs to the Duke of Norfolk.
  • Life Peers are appointed by the Crown, though it is the Prime Minister who nominates them.Traditionally peerages are awarded to individuals on retirement from important public offices, such as the Prime Minister, Speaker of the House of Commons and the Archbishop of Canterbury and York. The Life Peerages Act 1958 places no limits on the number of peerages that can be awarded.

How Lords lose their position

  • Lords Spirituallose their position in the House of Lords once they turn 70, as all bishops are required to retire at the age of 70.
  • Lords may resign or be expelled or temporarily suspended from the House of Lords for non-attendance or conviction of serious offence.

The powers Lords have

  • The powers of the House of Lords today are limited by the Parliament Acts. The Lords has the power to delay a piece of legislation passed by the House of Commons for up to one year but cannot block a bill altogether. It is also unable to amend or initiate any ‘money bills’, which are bills that the Speaker of the Commons considers related to national taxation, public money or loans, though they may initiate other bills.

The Prime Minister

How The Prime Minister gains their position

  • They are theleader of the party governing the House of Commons.

How The Prime Minister loses their position

The powers Prime Ministers have

  • The many powers of the Prime Minister can be found here.

Ministers

How Ministers gain their position

  • Ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister from the members of the House of Commons and House of Lords.

How Ministers lose their position

  • They may lose their seat in the House of Commons or Lords.
  • They may be dismissed by the Prime Minister.
  • They may resign.

The powers Ministers have

Secretaries of State:

  • Secretaries of state are responsible for leading departments, approving key decisions, developing policy objectives and monitoring their progress. Beyond their policy work, they are also expected to answer questions in parliament and in front of select committees, take legislation through parliament, build relationships with backbenchers, and negotiate with other parts of government.
  • Secondary Legislation may be known as ‘statutory instruments’, ‘delegated legislation’, or simply ‘secondary legislation’ and the form of which it is issued may be called ‘orders’, ‘rules’, ‘regulations’, ‘schemes’ or ‘codes’. Secondary Legislation can be created where an Act of Parliament or ‘primary legislation’ doesn’t specify the exact details of regulation, but ‘delegates’ the authority to create and modify this legislation to a Government department, with a less onerous process of scrutiny and implementation. This power to create Secondary Legislation is often phrased within the Act as ‘The Secretary of State may by order…’ or ‘Her Majesty may by Order in Council’ , and any Secondary Legislation will cite the section of the Act that provided this authority.

Ministers of State 

  • Each Secretary of State can draw on a team of junior ministers comprised of members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. These are generally known as junior Ministers although a distinction should be made between Ministers of State and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State. Ministers of State are the next rung down the ministerial ladder from Secretary of State. There are usually three or more Ministers of State in each government department. Ministers of State are powerful and may be very experienced ministers with considerable responsibility. They usually have individual responsibility for particular policy areas, and this varies depending on how departments are organised. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office for example, currently has four Ministers of State responsible for different geographical areas: Europe and the Americas; the Middle East; Asia and the Pacific; and Africa, as well as one Minister of State responsible for the Commonwealth and the UN.

Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State

  • Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State are the most junior Ministerial rank. There are usually one or more Parliamentary Under-Secretaries in each Ministerial team but the balance between Ministers of State and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries varies from department to department. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently has no Parliamentary Under-Secretaries and the Home Office has only one. In contrast, the Ministerial team in the Ministry of Defence comprises a Secretary of State, two Ministers of State and two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries. Like Ministers of State, Parliamentary Under-Secretaries may be given responsibility for particular policy areas, although they often have a much broader brief covering a range of issues or activities and generally have less personal responsibility for the development of policy. They are more junior and often less experienced Ministers and their decision-making powers are usually more constrained than those of Ministers of State. Parliamentary Under-Secretaries would be expected to consult before making any significant policy changes or announcements.

Whips

  • Whips are MPs and peers affiliated to a political party appointed to ensure their party colleagues vote according to the leader’s agenda.

Minister Without Portfolio 

  • They are not responsible for a specific department, but attend cabinet meetings.

Privy Counsellors

How Privy Counsellors gain their position

  • Appointments are made by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister and are for life – there is no fixed number of Members. All Cabinet Members are appointed to the Privy Council, as are some senior members of the Royal Family, senior judges, two Archbishops, the Speaker of the House of Commons, leaders of Opposition parties, and leading Commonwealth spokesmen and judges. The Council now numbers over 700 members, and members are entitled to the prefix ‘Right Honourable.’ There is no independent scrutiny of appointees.

How Privy Counsellors lose their position

  • Technically, a Privy Counsellor cannot resign. Over the past century, however, an individual’s request to resign from the Privy Council has been construed as a request seeking the monarch’s agreement to the removal of that individual’s name from the list of Privy Counsellors. This request is usually made following a political scandal or a criminal conviction.

The powers Privy Counsellors have

  • The privy council is the basis for some powers of ministers and is thus a constitutional mechanism through which ministers can give advice to the Monarch on certain matters.
  • The privy council exercises its executive powers through issuing formal documents called orders, which have the force of law. ‘Orders in council’ are personally approved by the Monarch during meetings (albeit after ministers have reached an agreement to recommend approval beforehand). ‘Orders of council’ do not require the approval of the Monarch – only by ministers in their role as privy counsellors.
  • Orders are either statutory or issued under royal prerogative. Statutory orders are issued when an act of parliament delegates power to the privy council. There are more than 400 acts of parliament giving the privy council powers to make orders. Prerogative orders are used on matters for which it is not appropriate for parliament to concern itself or when legislation does not specifically allocate responsibility to a particular minister.
  • For example, it is through the privy council that – on the advice of his ministers – the Monarch grants royal charters, issues proclamations (for instance on bank holidays), deals with matters related to certain professional bodies and universities, and ratifies legislation from, or extends it to, overseas territories and crown dependencies.

Justices of the Supreme Court

How Justices of the Supreme Court gain their position

  • There are two possible routes to qualification for appointment as a Justice of the UKSC. First, a person is eligible for appointment if they have held high judicial office for a period of at least two years. “High judicial office” is defined in section 60(2) of the CRA 2005 as meaning a judge of the UKSC, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the High Court of England and Wales, the Court of Session, the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland or the High Court in Northern Ireland. Alternatively, a person may be eligible for appointment as a Justice of the UKSC if they have qualified and practised as a solicitor, barrister or advocate in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland for a period of at least 15 years. To do this, they must satisfy either the judicial appointment eligibility condition on a 15 year basis or have been a qualifying practitioner for a period of at least 15 years. A person will satisfy the judicial appointment eligibility condition if they have been a solicitor of the senior courts of England and Wales or a barrister in England and Wales for at least 15 years and have gained experience in law during the post-qualification period (for example, by practising as a lawyer or acting as a judge or arbitrator). A person is a qualifying practitioner if they have been an advocate in Scotland, a solicitor entitled to appear in the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary, a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland or a solicitor of the Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland.
  • The Lord Chancellor convenes an independent selection commission. The selection commission submits a report to the Lord Chancellor stating who has been selected to fill the vacancy. Where a person has been selected under the selection process, the Lord Chancellor may accept the selection commission’s recommendation, reject it, or require the selection commission to reconsider. The Lord Chancellor can only reject the selection or require the selection commission to reconsider in certainc If the selection commission’s recommendation is accepted, the Lord Chancellor notifies the Prime Minister of the name of the successful applicant who, in turn, notifies HM The King who makes the formal appointment.

How Justices of the Supreme Court lose their position

  • They are appointed on a permanent basis, subject to the UK-wide mandatory retirement age for judicial appointments, which is now 75 years.
  • Like other holders of high judicial office, justices hold their appointment “on good behaviour” and can only be removed from office by an address from both Houses of Parliament.
  • They may resign.

The powers Justices of the Supreme Court have

  • Cases that make it to the Supreme Court are usually those with the greatest general public importance. They often have wide-ranging implications for the relationship between government and the public or for the relationship between the different institutions of the UK constitution. For example, the Supreme Court hears cases related to ‘devolution issues’; in other words, if there is a dispute about the powers of one of the devolved governments, it could end up in the Supreme Court.
  • However, whilst the Supreme Court has the power to offer a final interpretation of disputed points of law with significant public or constitutional importance, its powers are still more limited than those of supreme courts in many other countries. In particular, it does not have the power to declare void primary legislation enacted by the UK Parliament. This is because of the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, which means that Parliament has, at least theoretically, the power to make or unmake any law without constraint, even from the Supreme Court.
  • The Supreme Court can issue a ‘declaration of incompatibility’, which formally declares that an Act of Parliament is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. But Parliament is not legally obliged to change the Act as a consequence, although it may often choose to do so. This in contrast to the Supreme Court of the United States, which has the power to strike down laws if they are ruled to be in breach of the US Constitution.

The Monarch

How the Monarch gains their position

  • When a monarch dies or abdicates, the heir apparent automatically succeeds them.

How the Monarch loses their position

  • Through death or abdication.

The powers the Monarch has

  • Officially, the role is symbolic and ceremonial. However, King’s/Queen’s consent is required where a bill would affect the prerogatives or interests of the Crown.