December 2008

Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01am Sunday 7 December

Think tank calls for voters to be able to recall MPs who fail to live up their promise and convene grand juries to indict public figures

A new report from independent Westminster think-tank Civitas is calling for measures that could lead to the recall of political leaders who fail to keep their promises.

In Total Recall: how direct democracy can improve Britain Nick Cowen argues for a range of measures, including referendums, initiatives, recalls, term limits, local charters and grand juries to restore elements of ultimate control to the people themselves, instead of full-time members of the political class.

There is currently a widespread disillusion with politics that manifests itself in low turnouts at elections, especially amongst younger voters.

This is mainly due to a feeling that voting changes nothing. The extent to which private citizens can have any impact on the system is minimal. This negative view of politics is compounded by the way in which politicians inevitably escape prosecution for breaches of their own rules and codes of conduct. As these decisions about the prosecution of politicians are taken by other politicians, with no input from members of the electorate, an easy ride is almost guaranteed.

Learning from Switzerland and the USA

Nick Cowen uses the examples of Switzerland and the USA to show how modern, developed countries can give their citizens much more direct input into the political process through a range of mechanisms.

In most states of the USA referendums are required before any changes can be made to the constitution, and in many states citizens can initiate referendums on legislative proposals that attract support from more than a certain percentage of the electorate.

Perhaps the most famous recent example of this aspect of direct democracy is the issue of gay marriage in California. In 2000 citizens of California voted to ban gay marriage, but in May 2008 the California Supreme court overturned the ban by declaring that it violated the Equal Protection requirements of the California State constitution. However, citizens in California can amend the State constitution if more than eight per cent of voters call for a vote. In November 2008, on the same day as the presidential election, Californian voters amended their state constitution to ban gay marriage. They simultaneously voted for Barack Obama as president by a large majority, demonstrating how direct democracy can allow voters to pick and choose, voting conservative on some issues and liberal on others, rather than having to accept a party's or candidate's complete package of policies (pp.32-33).

Many US states also permit the recall of elected state officials, including the governor. The most famous use of this procedure occurred in 2003 when the voters of California recalled Governor Gray Davis. He was replaced in the resulting election by Arnold Schwarzenegger (pp.37-38).

Why not in the UK?

None of these mechanisms exist in the UK, where voters have very little input into the political process from one general election to the next. A simple majority in the House of Commons is sufficient for the passage of any legislation, including changes to the constitution. Not only that, but parliament can vote away its own powers to outside bodies such as the European Union (pp.61-4).

In possibly the worst recent example of MPs voting to undermine their own parliament, the 2006 Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill (known to its critics as the Abolition of Parliament Bill) would have allowed any government minister to amend or abolish any Act of Parliament using a statutory instrument. Any piece of legislation, including Habeas Corpus, could have been abolished by simple ministerial fiat without going through the safeguarding processes of parliamentary debate. The Law Society warned that parliament would be able to delegate powers to the police, professional associations and pressure groups. Following criticism in the Lords the Bill was amended to carry safeguards but not abandoned, and it represents a striking example of the way in which the supremacy of a majority in parliament could actually undermine parliament itself.

For this reason Nick Cowen urges the introduction of direct democracy into the UK, including:

• Referendums on all constitutional changes;


• People's initiatives to call for referendums to challenge existing laws and to pass new ones;


• Recalls to dismiss MPs and hold by-elections;


• Re-introduction of grand juries to investigate public officials and initiate prosecutions.

Under such a system, voters would feel they had a real part in the legislative process:

• Tony Blair and others could be called before a grand jury to decide if anyone should be prosecuted for accepting cash for peerages, rather than leaving the decision to the Crown Prosecution Service (p.90).


• Derek Conway could be recalled by the voters of Old Bexley and Sidcup and forced to face the electorate in a by-election, after paying large sums to members of his family who did little or no work (p.85).


• Wendy Alexander could be summoned before a grand jury to decide if she would be prosecuted over accepting undeclared donations as well as a donation from a non-UK registered voter. In her case the prosecutors found that bringing formal charges was 'not in the public interest' (p.90).

Recall sub-standard MPs?

The need for public accountability has never been clearer, owing to the demands for investigation of the circumstance surrounding the arrest of Conservative MP Damian Green, and the searching of his parliamentary office, with the agreement of the speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin MP.

David Green, director of Civitas, said:

'The Government of the day has almost unchecked power, and Parliament has proved to be weak and ineffectual in holding it to account. It is an unavoidable structural weakness of a parliamentary system in which Government ministers are drawn from the legislature. We urgently need new checks and balances to counterbalance the power of the ruling party. The right of voters to change their minds about MPs without having to wait for the next election and the right to initiate a referendum are not alternatives to representative democracy but indispensable supports for its continued legitimacy.'

Notes for Editors

i. Civitas is an independent social policy think-tank. It receives no state funding either directly or indirectly and has no links to any political party.

ii. 'Total Recall: How direct democracy can improve Britain', by Nick Cowen is published by Civitas, 77 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2EZ (tel. 020 7799 6677) and can be downloaded here or ordered in hard copy for £ 10.25 inc. pp.