Insight
A prime minister unshackled by John Springford 9 May 2017
Checks on prime ministerial power are weak in Britain – and Theresa May’s massive parliamentary majority after the general election will weaken them further. In the context of Brexit, this is dangerous. EU law has been the biggest check on British government power since 1973. It has prevented the British government from coddling favoured industries or discriminating against immigrants from the EU. Theresa May’s decision to pursue a hard Brexit, leaving the EU’s legal framework entirely, will remove an important constraint on executive power in Britain. This will ultimately damage the country’s interests abroad and raise the likelihood of policy mistakes at home. And her decision to call a general election will strengthen the power of Number 10 over parliament, which further raises the risks. Compare and contrast the Westminster system, with its strong governments, weak parliaments and strong party discipline, with the checks and balances of the US. The founding fathers of the US divided executive powers between the President and Congress. In his 2014 book, Political Order and Political Decay, Francis Fukuyama bemoaned this division of authority, as Congress had become gridlocked by polarisation and corrupted by the influence of lobbyists, and the already weak executive branch’s power had been further eroded by the threat of litigation through the courts. Fukuyama argued that the effectiveness of the US government has been hamstrung by the country’s constitution, political polarisation and legions of interest groups; as a result, the country is incapable of responding quickly enough to social and economic change. Fukuyama’s argument presents us with a paradox. The gridlock in Washington opened the door to Trump, whose authoritarian instincts mean that checks and balances are needed more than ever. Donald Trump is being forced to moderate his positions because of opposition from Congress, the civil service and the courts.
CER INSIGHT: A prime minister unshackled 9 May 2017
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