Almost every day in recent months, newspapers and social media has focused on the honesty and integrity of politicians. Did ministers break their own lockdown rules? Have they lied to parliament and the British people? Can democracy be trusted at all?
On 21 June, Policy Press publishes a book that could hardly be more timely, as it suggests practical ways that we can hold politicians to account for their words and actions. The book, The Rules of Democracy by Marcial Bragadini Bóo, proposes that democracy, just like every other sector, should be better regulated to make sure that people stick to agreed rules, with enforceable sanctions if rules are broken.
In his book, Bragadini Bóo, who for over six years ran the MPs’ expenses watchdog IPSA and now chairs the UK’s Institute of Regulation, equates democratic regulators to referees in sport. In football or tennis, rules must be enforced so the game is played fairly, with no cheating. Democracy is no different, he argues. In fact, the rules are more important for politicians because the stakes are higher. Regulators of democracy include the courts, the National Audit Office, the Electoral Commission and the Boundary Commission. They make sure that the politicians who represent us, play by the rules, and make decisions fairly on behalf of us all.
But ‘The Rules of Democracy’ outlines why the existing rules, and how they have applied, are no longer adequate for a society that has fundamentally changed since the current ‘rules of the game’ were devised over 100 years ago following the impact of the Industrial Revolution. Today, our globalised, technological world is more complex, more interconnected and more vulnerable than when democracy last evolved. And the challenges we face are different too: of beating global health pandemics, of regulating global technology, of creating wealthier communities without destroying our environment, of providing better local public services even with less money, and of making international decisions fairly and in the interests of everyone, without letting an unaccountable elite make decisions only in their own interests.
Bragadini Bóo sets out seven existing rules that govern democracy, the first of which is that “People are born with equal rights, including to freedom and safety from harm”. He then proposes six new ones to meet the challenges of globalisation and the technological revolution. One of these is relevant to today’s debate about honesty: that “Politicians must adhere to the rules … including by being accountable for their words, their actions and the impact of their decisions”.
He points out that, at the moment, there are few incentives for politicians not to lie or make unmeetable promises. They calculate that people will forget their lies or promises, or at least have no way to hold them to account for them. And, if one politician achieves success by lying or cheating, then other politicians, however honourable, may be tempted to do the same. This risks a downward spiral where politicians with intelligence and integrity are defeated, and we are left with only chancers and cheaters in power.
The book outlines how stronger rules could be enforced. Election Courts, which successfully prosecuted Phil Woolas and Lutfur Rahman for telling lies in their 2010 and 2015 election campaigns respectively, could be strengthened and used more often. The legal burden of proof could shift to politicians to convince the court that they made a true statement rather than, as now, put the burden on the listener to prove them a liar. Political promises could be independently verified to encourage candidates not to make impossible promises. More use could be made of recall mechanisms, so voters have opportunities between elections to change their minds about those who represent them. And parliamentary select committees should be strengthened to force greater accountability on decision-making ministers.
Bragadini Bóo accepts that his solutions are legal and institutional and that they won’t prevent late-night tweets or insults. But he argues, with reference to the way democracy evolved after the Industrial Revolution, that the law and the creation of institutions are the tried-and-tested ways that, over centuries, the democracy has grown stronger, and that this slow evolution is better either than inaction or having to accept that politicians will forever meet lie with lie, promise with promise, and insult with insult. This steady fairness of the law and of institutions, independently refereed by the courts and regulators, is an effective way to hold politicians to account for their words and deeds.
He accepts that the stronger regulation of democracy, so that politicians are more accountable, may lead to more boring politics: fewer lies, fewer exciting promises, and decision-making that gives greater weight to the longer-term. But he suggests that democracy is humanity’s most complex social creation, and we should invest in improving it. When choosing someone to represent us, we are not picking a game show host, but someone to represent our interests and to do their best when our communities face complex unknown future challenges, such as those brought about by Covid-19, globalisation or a technological revolution. And then we should simply ask them to be accountable to us for their decisions.
The solutions proposed in ‘The Rules of Democracy’ may not be easy to implement. But how long should we be prepared to accept the status quo? Read the book yourself to see what you think.
Rebecca Tomlinson is Commissioning Editor at Bristol University Press/Policy Press.
The Rules of Democracy by Marcial Bragadini Bóo is available on the Policy Press website. Order here for £12.99. Browse all of Peter’s books published with Policy Press here.
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