British politics are in as much of a mess as the British economy. Just as before, we face a general election of empty platitudes as two tribes fight for absolute power while avoiding the key issues: climate change, failed policies, deteriorating public services, and getting closer to Europe.
Nothing works as it should. Scandals appear weekly, sometimes daily, and the younger generation, especially, have lost all heart and see no point in voting.
The irony is that Britain prides itself on being a beacon of democracy yet its political system stems straight from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and, in effect, has simply seen the absolute power of Government replace the divine right of kings.
Constitutional changes that give the elite more power remain in effect while those that work to disperse power more evenly are usually abandoned.
Such is the gap in accountability that the Government elected in 2019 has passed legislation undeclared in its manifesto.
In short, whoever has power can do almost as they like, and our current political system only goes so far as to periodically allow two tribes to fight for that prize.
Throwing out one ruling party at the polling booths to install another shows little promise since the Opposition will actively avoid any possible hostages to fortune in their bid to retain full control.
This, I believe, is at the heart of Britain’s continued decline. In the complex world of the 21st century, such power concentration simply cannot cope.
Politically advantageous short-termism is favoured over longer-term rationality in policy and this narrowness of view is just as manifest in the Government’s position on the nations that comprise the UK.
Our political system muddles ‘British’ with ‘English’ governance, displaying an outrageous Anglo-centric bias, while the powers of the devolved governments vary.
Change is urgently needed and there is to my mind only one viable solution. It is past time to recognise that the United Kingdom should be a federal state, balancing powers and encouraging cooperative competition.
A consistent, applied separation of responsibilities – certainly at the national level but also potentially regional – would, for the first time, make every member government accountable to its electorate.
And it is a truth that decisions need to be made at the most appropriate level for them to be sound. Defence is, of course, a matter for the entire United Kingdom. But home affairs? Immigration and work visas? Why centralise them? There are four nations here, coexisting uneasily as one country.
The four nations – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales – need to set their own economic priorities. One may prefer expansionist policy with incentives for business while another may prefer restrictions on development.
Yet we need to go further still to set in place a political ecosystem favourable to growth and productivity.
We need to turn the pyramid of power upside-down. Instead of sovereignty being the Crown in parliament, redefine it as the people of each nation. Crown prerogative only allows autocratic governments to do as they like. It is inherently undemocratic.
Royal assent to legislation is, frankly, pointless, allowing the Westminster autocrats to impose their will. The House of Lords, meanwhile. only exists to fix the Government’s own legislative errors. It has no real power.
And, worse, a backdoor channel exists to legislate without any parliamentary input whatsoever, via the Privy Council. Orders in Council are anti-democratic legislation by administrative fiat.
Only a completely new political settlement can stop the decline. We need five parliaments –one federal, the others for each of the nations – with federal responsibilities clearly defined in a proper, written constitution.
Here are the main elements for consideration, as set out in my latest book Reinventing Democracy: Improving British political governance.
A representative federal assembly might consist of eight Northern Irish members, 13 Welsh members, 21 Scottish members, and 34 English members – 76 in total (plus a small number for the Overseas territories).
England should not use its numbers to overrule the other nations. Taxation powers have to be divided, for example by making VAT and some other taxes federal, but income taxes should be national.
Mutual financial support could be achieved with a two-way transfer fund between governments, aiming to achieve reasonable parity of living standards, in lieu of the multitude of specific funds that now exist.
As stated in Reinventing Democracy, both the Privy Council and House of Lords need to be swept away, replaced with a People’s Council that is democratically elected.
The People’s Council would replace Royal assent by the People’s assent. There could be a four-step process for it to decide, by national members for national legislation and all members at the federal level:
1. If the legislation has been fully described before an election (instead of meaningless words like ‘review’ and ‘balance’) and only technical changes have been made, the People’s Council could approve the law without further formality.
2. The People’s Council could consider whether a vote of its elected members would be sufficient to settle a non-controversial matter. For national legislation, only members representing that nation would vote. Internal legislation could diverge, because the federal government would have no blocking power.
3. The People’s Council could call a citizens’ jury to debate and vote on the proposed law, by nation or for the entire United Kingdom as appropriate.
4. In controversial cases, the People’s Council could call a referendum.
The People’s Council would have much wider scrutiny functions that the present House of Commons. Its design is intended to provide both skills and wide representation throughout society.
It would have investigation rights for matters of general concern and provide a channel for the people to place topics on the political agenda. Abuse of state power in individual cases would be investigated by a new ombudsperson service, supervised by the People’s Council.
The draft constitution included in Reinventing Democracy sets out how this would work. All citizens would be citizens of one nation, determined by birth, naturalisation, or parentage, and have unrestricted rights to live and work anywhere in the United Kingdom.
Citizenship could be changed voluntarily, for example if someone’s parents were of different British nationalities. Citizens would vote for national elections in their own nations; everyone for United Kingdom elections.
Other points that are essential parts of the whole are to allow hypothecation of taxes (that is, allocate them to specific purposes). This involves the people.
The Treasury and Home Office would be divided into central skills for the nations to draw upon, and specific federal and national responsibilities.
Take visas as an example. Tourist visas are best issued centrally, so that tourists can visit the entire United Kingdom, but the nations and regions should be able to authorise work visas, granting residence rights.
Another essential change is to require political and government communications to always be clear, fair, and not misleading, ending the era of spin, lies, and deception.
The chances of a federal Britain appearing in any main party manifestos for the foreseeable future are slim but the call for reform will only grow louder as more voters come to recognise one key point: until the people drag Britain out of the 17th century, nothing will change.
Reinventing Democracy: Improving British political governance by David Kauders (Sparkling Books) is available now for pre-order on Amazon in hardcover and eBook formats, and on Kobo in eBook format, priced £24.50 and 99p (UK only, rising to £4.99 after the 2024 General Election). The hardcover version will be available from all good bookstores and the eBook from all main eBook stores. David Kauders is also the author of The Greatest Crash: Avoiding the financial system limit , Understanding Brexit Options: What future for Britain? and The Financial System Limit: Britain’s real debt burden. For more information, visit www.sparklingbooks.com.
