9 Conclusion
86. The role and powers of the Prime Minister are
notoriously difficult to define conclusively, because they have
evolved and continue to evolve over time.Some regard this as an
advantage of the United Kingdom's constitution, arguing that it
leads to flexibility and responsiveness; others as a disadvantage,
arguing that it results in a lack of clarity and the potential
for the Prime Minister to acquire ever-more power.Whichever view
is taken, our inquiry has demonstrated that there is scope to
improve the checks and balances on the Prime Minister and the
mechanisms by which he or she is held accountable.
87. Everyone would benefit from this, not least the
Prime Minister.Dr Heffernan, discussing the vote in the House
of Commons on 29 August 2013 on military action in Syria, in which
the majority of Members of Parliament voted against the Prime
Minister's motion, stated:
The actual interesting thing about it was that
I thought Cameron came out of it strengthened rather than weakened
largely because he had the sensible policy of saying, "I
understand Parliament's view and I accept it". The ceiling
did not fall in; the clouds did not collapse; the constitution
did not fall apart. He was strengthened and most people say, "Oh,
if you defeat the Prime Minister, if you question his authority,
if you challenge his authority, you weaken the party, you damage
the party, you damage the Government". This did not happen
at all. I think Back Benchers gave him more credit as a result
of his sensible reaction to their decision that war was not sensible.[108]
88. Effective checks and balances, and strong
accountability mechanisms, ultimately lead to better decisions.This
is good for Parliament, for the Government, for the Prime Minister,
and, most importantly, for the public.We have suggested several
practical reforms to improve accountability mechanisms, such as
placing more prerogative powers on a statutory footing.During
the course of our inquiry, we have also discussed some much more
contentious and radical reforms.Our intention has been to provoke
debate about the role and powers of the Prime Minister, and how
they should change in the years to come.
108 Q306 Back
|
