Democratic audit: Executive democracy in war and peace

Parliamentary Affairs

Volumn 57, Issue 2, 2004, Pages

  Byrne, Iain ^a,b   Weir, Stuart ^b  

^a Interights ^*  (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84862397579     PISSN: 00312290     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/pa/gsh036     Document Type: Review

References (36)

1. See further D. Beetham, Auditing Democracy in Britain, Democratic Audit Paper No. 1, Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, 1993; and D. Beetham, S. Bracking, I. Kearton and S. Weir, The International IDEA Handbook on Democracy Assessment, Kluwer Law International, 2001.
2. See further D. Beetham, Auditing Democracy in Britain, Democratic Audit Paper No. 1, Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, 1993; and D. Beetham, S. Bracking, I. Kearton and S. Weir, The International IDEA Handbook on Democracy Assessment, Kluwer Law International, 2001.
3. Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice, announced his concern at the recent pace of change and expressed the need for a written constitution to protect the country from major changes being made without going through due legal process, in a lecture in Jerusalem in December 2003. Conventions which protected the constitution, the judiciary 'and therefore the citizen' should be enshrined in statute.
4. D. Beetham, I. Byrne, P. Ngan and S. Weir, 'Democratic Audit: Towards a Broader View of Democratic Achievement', Parliamentary Affairs, 2003/2.
5. J. Kampfner, Blair's Wars, Free Press, 2003.
6. HC Debs, 401, 17 March 2003, c. 64.
7. D. Blunkett and J. Straw gave orchestrated testimony later that they would have resigned along with Blair had this target not been achieved. See further, A. Watkins, Independent on Sunday, 14.5.03.
8. G. Allen's views are set out in his book, The Last Prime Minister: Being Honest about the UK Presidency, available from the author at the House of Commons or at lastpm@hotmail.com.
9. In an answer by the Attorney General to a written question from Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale, 17.3.03.
10. In his Tom Sargant Memorial Lecture at the Law Society, October 2003.
11. P. Craddock, Know Your Enemy, John Murray, 2002.
12. Foreign Affairs Committee, The Decision to go to War in Iraq, HC 813, 2002-03.
13. Intelligence and Security Committee, Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction: Intelligence and Assessments, Cm. 5972, September 2003.
14. Figures given by Sir Andrew Turnbull at a recent seminar.
15. The government for long produced misleading figures on how many special advisers dealt with the media. See N. Jones and S. Weir, Memorandum G2 and oral evidence to Public Administration Committee, 'These Unfortunate Events': Lessons of the Recent Events at the former DTLR, HC 303, 2002-03; and N. Jones, The Control Freaks, Politico's, 2002, 2nd edn.
16. The government for long produced misleading figures on how many special advisers dealt with the media. See N. Jones and S. Weir, Memorandum G2 and oral evidence to Public Administration Committee, 'These Unfortunate Events': Lessons of the Recent Events at the former DTLR, HC 303, 2002-03; and N. Jones, The Control Freaks, Politico's, 2002, 2nd edn.
17. Committee on Standards in Public Life, Defining the Boundaries within the Executive: Ministers, Special Advisers and the permanent Civil Service, Cm. 5775, April 2003.
18. See The Times, 12.9.03.
19. HL Deb, 1 May 2002, c. 708.
20. See D. Beetham, I. Byrne, P. Ngan and S. Weir, Democracy under Blair, Politico's, 2002.
21. J. Watson, Something for Everyone, British Institute for Human Rights, 2003.
22. Northern Ireland has had a Commission since 1998 and proposals for a Scottish commission are well advanced.
23. See e.g. B. Hepple, M. Coussey and T. Choudhury, Equality: A New Framework, Report of the Independent Review of the Enforcement of UK Anti-Discrimination Law, Hart, 2000.
24. Public Administration Committee, Government by Appointment: Opening up the Patronage State, HC 165-I-II, 2002-03.
25. Guardian, 15.6.03.
26. A v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, 1 All ER 816, 2003.
27. See F. Klug, K. Starmer and S. Weir, The Three Pillars of Liberty, Routledge, 1997.
28. Interview on Breakfast with Frost, 21.9.03.
29. 1 All ER 731, 2003.
30. 1 AC 1163, 2003.
31. 1 AC 1163.
32. UKHL 4, para. 26.
33. R on the application of S & Ors v Home Secretary, EWHC 1941, 2003.
34. Lord Goodhart and P. Tyler, Britain's Democratic Deficit: Constitutional Reform, Unfinished Business, Centre for Reform, London, 2003.
35. The last-minute shift initially included a merger of the Scotland and Wales Offices into the newly-created DCA, but the merger was called off when Peter Hain, the Secretary of State for Wales, asserted publicly that the Wales Office would continue in being. See R. Hazell, 'Merger, What Merger?', Public Law, Winter 2003. The shift also left the DCA without other significant responsibilities, apparently to accommodate other colleagues - criminal justice remained with David Blunkett, regional and local government with John Prescott.
36. ICM Limited interviewed a random sample of 1,012 adults aged 18+ countrywide between 26-28 September 2003. A summary of the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust's ten-year State of the Nation polling series on democracy is contained in P. Dunleavy et al, Voices of the People, Politico's, 2001.