Voices of the people : popular attitudes to democratic renewal in Britain / Patrick Dunleavy ... [and others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Dunleavy, Patrick.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy--Great Britain--Public opinion.

Democracy.

Politics and government.

Public opinion.

Great Britain--Politics and government--1979-1997--Public opinion.

Great Britain.

Great Britain--Politics and government--1997-2007--Public opinion.

Public opinion--Great Britain.

Physical Description:

148 pages : illustrations ; 19 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Politico's, 2001.

Contents:

About the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust 11

Part 1 Analysis, or what the pollsters say 12

Human rights, tolerance and asylum 15

Electoral reform 24

Simulating the results of alternative voting systems in Britain 34

Trust in government 40

Opening up and devolving government 47

British democracy 54

Table 1 Does Britain need a Bill of Rights to protect the liberty of the individual? (1991-2000) 19

Table 2 Public attitudes towards protests and governance (October 2000) 21

Table 3 Alternative voting systems for elections to the House of Commons 25

Table 4 Seats won in the House of Commons (by party) under alternative electoral systems and their Deviation from proportionality (1997) 35

Table 5 Public perceptions of different sleaze and governance issues as a problem (2000) 41

Table 6 Public views on different options for handling accusations of serious professional misconduct by government ministers (1995 and 2000) 48

Table 7 Public views on when government policy papers should be released (1996) 52

Table 8 What is the right level for handling employment, transport and similar issues

regional or national? (2000) 53

Table 9 Is government power in Britain too centralised? (2000) 53

Table 10 How much power do people want between elections

and how much power do they believe they have? (1994-2000) 55

Figure 1 What rights should be included in and excluded from a Bill of Rights? (1995 and 2000) 17

Figure 2 How justified are different types of protests? (2000) 20

Figure 3 Public views on which categories of asylum-seekers should be given entry to the UK (2000) 23

Figure 4 How people would vote in an election on electoral reform (1997 and 2000) 29

Figure 5 Regional breakdown of voting in mock referendum on electoral reform (2000) 30

Figure 6 How public responses on electoral reform vary with the questions asked (1992-2000) 32

Figure 7 Should local councils be elected under a proportional voting system (2000) 33

Figure 8 Trust in government ministers and advisory committees on issues of public safety (2000) 44

Figure 9 Public faith in the British system of government (1973-2001) 46

Figure 10 The disclosure of ministerial and official policy papers (2000) 50

Figure 11 Should devolved governments have less or more powers? (2000) 51

Part 2 Poll data, or what the people say 58

List of State of the Nation and other Polls 58

List of reports on electoral studies 62

The poll data

Labour's constitutional agenda (1997) 63

Table 1 Labour's constitutional policies 64

UK democracy 66

Table 2 How democratic is Britain? 67

Table 3 Democratic values 68

Table 4 How much power do people want between elections

and how much do they have? 68

The governing system 68

Table 5 Faith in the governing system 69

Table 6 British government is out of date 70

Table 7 Britain needs a more European style of government 70

Table 8 British government is too centralised 71

Table 9 Strong versus consensual government 71

Table 10 Constitutional checks and balances 71

Table 11 Written constitution 72

Table 12 Important institutions in Britain 72

The powers and role of the monarchy 73

Table 13 A more continental monarchy? 73

Table 14 The Queen's constitutional roles 74

Table 15 The status of the Church of England 75

The role of Parliament 75

Table 16 Parliamentary control of the executive 76

Table 17 Parliamentary performance 76

Table 18 Fixed-term Parliaments 77

Reform of the House of Lords 77

Table 19 Support for an elected second chamber 78

Table 20 Reform options for the House of Lords 78

Table 21 Who should make law in the new second chamber? 79

Table 22 An elected or partly elected, partly appointed second chamber? 79

Table 23 Blocking powers of the second chamber 80

Table 24 Protecting human rights in the second chamber 81

The role and duties of MPs 81

Table 25 Who should MPs be loyal to? 81

Table 26 The duties of MPs 82

Policing the conduct and interests of ministers and MPs 81

Table 27 The legitimacy of MPs' interests 83

Table 28 Prohibitions on MPs' activities 84

Table 29 Making and enforcing the MPs' rule-book 86

Table 30 Responsibility for the conduct of ministers 86

Table 31 Ex-ministers' job opportunities 87

Perceptions of sleaze under the Blair government 87

Table 32 What kinds of sleaze are a problem in Britain today? 88

Trust in government and politics 90

Table 33 Trust in government advice 92

Table 34 Choice between government and independent advice 92

Electoral reform 92

Table 35 Proportional representation 93

Table 36 Mock referendum on electoral reform 94

Table 37 Public referendums on electoral reform 94

Table 38 Views on the current voting system 95

Table 39 Public responses to various views on electoral systems 96

Table 40 First-past-the-post and unrepresentative government 96

Table 41 First-past-the-post and single-party government 97

Table 42 Proportional representation in local elections 97

Table 43 Options under different electoral systems 98

Referendums, electoral mandates and electoral power 99

Table 44 Electoral mandates 100

Table 45 Electoral power over government 100

Table 46 Parliament and referendums 101

Table 47 Petitioning for a referendum 101

Table 48 Compulsory voting 102

Funding of political parties and election campaigns 102

Table 49 State funding for parties' election campaigns 102

Table 50 Trade union and corporate funding 103

Table 51 Limits on election spending 103

Coalitions 104

Table 52 Single-party, minority and coalition government 105

Table 53 Public perceptions of a 'hung' parliament before the 1997 election 105

Table 54 What kind of government do people want? 107

Devolution, pre-legislation 108

Table 55 Levels of governance 109

Table 56 Scottish devolution 109

Table 57 Referendum on Scottish assembly with tax and spending powers 110

Table 58 Welsh devolution 110

Table 59 Devolution to Northern Ireland 111

Table 60 Regional government in England 111

Table 61 Regional or national government in England 111

Devolution, post-legislative opinion 112

Table 62 Giving people a choice on elected regional government in England 112

Table 63 Choice between national, regional and local governance on selected issues, England and by region 113

Table 64 Who should make policy in London? 117

Table 65 Who should make policy in Scotland? 117

Table 66 Who should make policy in Wales? 118

The civil service 118

Table 67 Responsibilities of civil servants 119

Table 68 Civil service evidence department 119

Table 69 Civil service whistle-blowing 120

Table 70 Post-service employment opportunities 120

The role of the judiciary 120

Table 71 The use of judges' powers 121

Quangos 122

Table 72 Making quangos more accountable 124

Table 73 Who should run local services 124

Freedom of Information 126

Table 74 Support for a Freedom of Information Act 127

Table 75 Release of cabinet and policy papers 127

Table 76 How long should papers be kept secret 128

Table 77 Policy advice; disclosure vs secrecy 129

Table 78 Who should decide what official papers should be disclosed? 130

Human rights 130

Table 79 Belief in a Bill of Rights 131

Table 80 Weakness of individual citizens' rights 132

Table 81 Protection of rights in Europe and the UK 132

Table 82 Political opinion as a safeguard of rights 133

Table 83 Relying on politicians to protect rights 133

Table 84 Danger to rights from large parliamentary majorities 134

Table 85 What rights should be protected in a Bill of Rights? 134

Table 86 What rights should not be protected in a Bill of Rights? 135

Table 87 Police powers and the right of silence 137

Asylum policy 138

Table 88 Britain's approach to different categories of asylum-seekers 138

Popular protest 140

Table 89 What kinds of protest are

justifiable? 140

Table 90 Are protests a legitimate way of expressing popular concerns? 142

Table 91 How should governments respond to protests? 143

The National Health Service 143

Table 92 Giving the NHS a constitution of its own 144

Table 93 How open and consultative is the NHS? 144

Table 94 Patients' power over medical treatment 144

European integration 145

Table 95 Effects of economic and political union 146

Table 96 Predictions on developments in the EU, 1991 146

Table 97 Views on possible developments in Britain's relations with the EU, 1996 147.

ISBN:

1842750216

OCLC:

48528660