28 January 2022 | OPINION
Brexit has had and will have continue to have wide-ranging implications. But perhaps one of the less remarked-upon changes that Brexit has caused is that it has altered the relationship between the legislature and the general population. This change has had implications that have negatively affected citizens, especially with regard to the Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Brexit was a unique political event. Under the premiership of Theresa May, parliament’s credibility went through the wringer. There were multiple plots and schemes to thwart Brexit, to undermine the referendum result and water down the meaning of Brexit.
The result of the resentment demonstrated towards the British public saw the downfall of one Prime Minister and the rise of another. The failure to fulfil the will of the people won Boris Johnson the election by a resounding margin.
But Brexit was unique. An actual referendum was held, whose results were to be put into action as the Prime Minister as the time declared. The anger and resentment shown towards Members of Parliament for refusing to act on the referendum result were warranted.
The hangover that resulted from that resentment is not, however. The modus operandi of the Government has now changed and, I believe, for the worse. The anger shown at the time of the referendum has meant that the Government believes its duty is to rely solely on public opinion.
But this is not the role of the Government or Parliament. It is part of the role of the legislature to listen to the listen to the public, but not to be dictated by it. The public was afforded the ability to be directly involved in democracy when the Brexit referendum was announced, but this was never intended to be a permanent state of affairs.
The purpose of Parliament and a parliamentary democracy is to elect members who the public believe are best suited to the role of governance and law-making. They are elected solely to engage themselves in public affairs and to reach conclusions on our behalf.
It has been levelled at the Government that they are basing legislation on opinion polls, rather than their own judgment. This is an issue, because the public are not policy experts, whereas the Government – at least when properly supported by its Civil Service advisers – is at least theoretically meant to be, in the aggregate. The purpose of electing a government rather than establishing a direct form of democracy is to avoid reactionary, ill thought-out policy proposals.
There is also the fact that opinion polls are only going to be answered by the kinds of people who are actually interested in answering opinion polls, and are also in a position to do so. That is emphatically not everyone, as indeed Brexit opinion polling showed only days before the referendum itself.
When it comes to Covid, however, the result of governance by opinion polls is plain to see.
Much has been made about the infamous Downing Street parties. Media outlets wheeled out the families of people who missed the deaths of their loved ones. Piers Morgan displayed his anger about having to remain separate from his son.
All these cases are horrific and they deserve to be highlighted. However, this is supposedly what the people wanted. Opinion poll after opinion poll has shown support for lockdowns and ever-harsher restrictions. Apparently, the Government has accordingly acquiesced.
The parties in Downing Street show that those holding positions of power manifestly did not believe in the restrictions that they themselves imposed. It is also becoming clearer to the lockdown-lovers that the decisions to stop people seeing dying relatives or meeting up with their families, for example, were immoral.
Furthermore, the long-term consequences of Covid restrictions – the loss of education for school children or the inevitable rise in inflation – were all supposed to have been taken into account. While the Government was supposed to take a broad view of the situation, they instead opted for the views espoused in the opinion polls, while seemingly not believing in their own decisions. The result of this will be a stream of entirely foreseeable consequences, which will be felt for generations.
For now, the Government seems to have got a hold of the situation, with most of the remaining Covid restrictions being lifted – in England, at least – this week. An acceptance that the broader societal implications of restrictions need to be taken into account may yet signal a change in attitude among Ministers – but this change has yet be cemented.
The Government must rule based on what is right, and not just on what is popular in the short term. In the context of the referendum, adhering to public demand was essential. But the day-to-day running of the country must be carried out by diligent politicians who take decisions that they deem to be right, even if the consequences may be deemed unpopular. Of course, this is not to negate the concerns of the public, which must always be listened to – but there does still need to be some degree of moderation.
Failure to fulfil their proper role will see the Government lying on a bed of bad decisions that it has made for itself. It must focus on doing what is right, even though it may not seem popular at the time.
By the people for the people. We have had too long to see what happens with those who consider themselves experts. Government should state their case but we will decide. Anything else smacks of totalitarianism.
And what you suggest forecasts the end of common sense and democracy. Government is not meant to be by the people at large but through their elected representatives who are charged to act in the national interest, not the parochial or popular views of their constituents.