Johnson’s plans for our democracy
Sarah Clarke, Unlock Democracy
Hung parliaments and coalition governments can obscure the true power of the British state. The ruling party, with no majority, is forced to make concessions - either to their opposition in parliament, or to coalition partners - to get a majority that will progress their legislative agenda.
Boris Johnson now governs the UK from London with a thumping majority. In the UK, the principle of parliamentary sovereignty coupled with an uncodified constitution means that the government of the day, with the backing of compliant government benches, can change anything it wants to.
The Conservative’s manifesto used the language of democracy and fairness to mask an agenda that would, if enacted, most likely see the power of the UK’s overcentralised government enhanced, at the expense of already limited scrutiny, accountability, and political participation.
Preserving a rigged electoral system
The Conservative’s manifesto set out the goal of making sure “every vote counts the same” but aims to do this through reforming constituency boundaries. This will very likely result in the number of MPs being slashed. When it comes to making votes matter, the Conservatives are avoiding any changes to the UK’s rigged electoral system. In fact, they explicitly pledged to keep First Past the Post on the inaccurate basis that it “allows voters to kick out politicians who don’t deliver”. In reality, First Past the Post creates safe seats that deprive millions of voters of having a real say at elections and holding politicians to account.
Cracking down on political participation
For years the Conservatives have tried to introduce voter ID at elections. This promise was made again in the 2019 manifesto, and with a majority in parliament there is nothing to stop the government from rolling it out. It is hard to see voter ID as anything other than a trojan horse for voter suppression. In 2018 Unlock Democracy joined a coalition of organisations that wrote to the Minister for the Constitution Chloe Smith to express concern that introducing voter ID would disenfranchise vulnerable people. The integrity of elections is critically important in a democracy but there is no evidence that personation (where someone turns up to vote claiming to be someone else) - the only form of voter fraud that would be stopped by voter ID - is a widespread problem in the UK. Rolling out voter ID requirements is likely to cost taxpayers millions, and unless plans are made to provide voters with free IDs then the 3.5 million that don’t have ID could well be disenfranchised.
Rolling back our rights
The Conservative’s manifesto promises to “update” the Human Rights Act, with a desire to create “a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government”. Such vague commitments to tinker with our fundamental rights sets off alarm bells. According to They Work For You the most powerful players in government - Prime Minister Boris Johnson, effective Deputy PM Michael Gove, Chancellor Sajid Javid, Home Secretary Priti Patel, and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab - have all generally voted against laws to promote equality and human rights. If the government does proceed with ‘updating’ the Human Rights Act we will likely see the true might of the British state on show - a government installed by not even a majority of voters watering down all of our rights.
Decision-making in the cover of darkness
Parliament’s recess is going to be at least 64 working days this year - four weeks longer than in 2019 - with the summer break being the longest for a decade. After MPs voted to let ministers negotiate trade deals behind closed doors and sign new treaties without scrutiny, fewer sitting days means less scrutiny and less accountability. This means more chances for a highly overcentralised government to use far-reaching powers to rollback our rights. The devil will be in the detail, and these deals could mean that our NHS, hard-won rights, and standards that protect our collective wellbeing are put on the negotiating table to appease multinational corporations and dark money interests.
Overhauling democracy?
Establishing a Constitution, Democracy & Rights Commission was set out as a priority for the first year of government. Right now both the focus and remit of the Commission is not clear, but the sweeping themes of exploring the “relationship between the Government, Parliament and the courts; the functioning of the Royal Prerogative; the role of the House of Lords; and access to justice for ordinary people” were earmarked as focal points. Despite well-tested models of public engagement like Citizens' Assemblies becoming increasingly popular as a way to put people at the heart of decision-making, the Conservative’ Manifesto made no mention of what role the people will play in deciding out democratic future. It remains to be seen whether an unconstrained government will use this Commission as an opportunity to put decisions about democracy to the people of the UK - many of whom feel alienated and disenfranchised from the Westminster bubble - or whether this process will be used to double-down on the overcentralised power of the British state.