The European Union and British Democracy; Towards Convergence

by Mather, Janet

• ISBN13: 9780312235772
• ISBN10: 0312235771
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2000-11-25
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book looks at evolving trends in democracy at EU and UK levels, pointing out the primary shortcomings of both. It examines the relationship between democratic practices of the EU and the UK, explaining the paradox of the way in which the EU, despite the poor quality of its own democracy, has enabled devolved decision making in a novel multi-layer polity. The book also considers future prospects for converged Western European democracy in light of the Labour government's popularizing agenda.

Author Biography

Janet Mather is Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	xiv
List of Figures	xv
List of Abbreviations	xvi
Introduction	1	(7)
Why Democracy?	8	(27)
The Origin of democracy	8	(3)
Participatory democracy	8	(1)
Representative democracy	9	(2)
Democratic benefits	11	(11)
Minimalist democratic outcomes	12	(2)
Instrumentalist democratic outcomes	14	(3)
Organic democratic outcomes	17	(4)
Democratic outcomes reconsidered	21	(1)
Democratic inputs (1)--representation	22	(6)
Non-elected representation	22	(1)
Defining electoral representation	22	(1)
Theories of electoral representation	23	(1)
Types of elections within representative systems	24	(1)
Electoral representation and democratic benefits	25	(3)
Representative systems reconsidered	28	(1)
Democratic inputs (2)--participation	28	(6)
Problems for participatory democracy	28	(2)
Problems and opportunities offered by participatory forms	30	(2)
What is democratic decision-making?	32	(1)
Participatory democracy and democratic benefits	33	(1)
Conclusion	34	(1)
Pre-Blairite Democracy in Britain	35	(26)
Development of the UK Parliament	35	(1)
The UK's constitution	36	(4)
Parliamentary sovereignty	36	(1)
Parliamentary democracy	36	(1)
The composition of Parliament	37	(3)
Democracy within the British constitution reviewed	40	(1)
The British House of Commons and representative democracy	41	(11)
Introduction	41	(1)
The UK's electoral system and democracy	41	(2)
The British House of Commons as a representative body	43	(9)
The UK parliament and democracy	52	(1)
Central and local government in the UK	52	(9)
The constitutional position of local government	53	(1)
Parliament and local government before 1979	54	(1)
Parliament and local government 1979-1997	55	(3)
Centralisation, decentralisation and democracy	58	(3)
The UK, The European Union and the Legitimacy Deficit	61	(15)
The prima facie case for reducing the UK's democratic deficit	61	(1)
European Union influence over the UK	62	(1)
The European Union and legitimacy	63	(2)
The European Union and the British public	65	(2)
European Union institutions and repairing the democratic deficit	67	(4)
The European Council	68	(1)
The Council of Ministers	68	(2)
The European Commission	70	(1)
The European Court of Justice	71	(1)
The European Parliament and the democratic deficit	71	(2)
Other prospects for democracy within the European Union	73	(3)
Power and the European Parliament	76	(15)
Relations of power	76	(1)
Power, legitimacy and the European Parliament	76	(1)
Status of the European Parliament	76	(1)
Formal powers	77	(6)
The Treaties of Paris and Rome	77	(2)
From Rome to the Single European Act	79	(1)
The Single European Act	79	(1)
Treaty on European Union (Maastricht)	80	(2)
The Treaty of Amsterdam	82	(1)
Has the European Parliament sufficient formal power?	83	(1)
The European Parliament's use of power	83	(5)
Parliamentary Assent before the accession of new countries	84	(1)
Budgetary scrutiny	85	(1)
The European Parliament and the Commission	86	(2)
Use of power reconsidered	88	(3)
Democracy and the European Parliament	91	(26)
Kratos and Demos	91	(1)
European elections and popular power	92	(1)
Electoral systems and the European Parliament	93	(1)
Democratic input: European Parliament elections	94	(6)
European Parliament awareness and electoral turnout	94	(1)
Voter effectiveness	95	(1)
Voter efficacy	96	(1)
Voting levels	97	(1)
The European Elections 1999	98	(2)
Towards a representative system or a representative democracy?	100	(2)
Democracy in input--alternative means of expression	102	(1)
The democratic significance of European Parliament elections	102	(1)
Towards democracy in outcome	103	(11)
Virtual representation	105	(1)
Individual representation	106	(2)
Judgmental representation	108	(2)
Political representation	110	(3)
Mandatory representation	113	(1)
The European Parliament and democracy in outcome	114	(1)
MEPs and demos	115	(2)
The European Union: Vehicle for Participatory Democracy	117	(24)
Subsidiarity	117	(6)
The Committee of the Regions	123	(7)
Prospects	123	(1)
History of the Committee of the Regions	124	(2)
Allocation of members	126	(1)
Selection of members	126	(1)
The basis of appointment of representatives	127	(3)
Organisation of the Committee of the Regions	130	(1)
Challenges for the Committee of the Regions	130	(1)
Meeting the challenges	131	(10)
The corporate character	131	(4)
The meaningful role	135	(1)
The Committee of the Regions relationships	135	(2)
Committee of the Regions effectiveness	137	(1)
The future of the Committee of the Regions	138	(3)
The European Union's Options for Participatory Democracy	141	(12)
Options for participation	141	(1)
Potential for participation	141	(2)
Involving all of the people	143	(2)
Public debate	143	(1)
Referenda	144	(1)
Involving some of the people	145	(1)
Involving only the people affected (``Associative Democracy'')	146	(6)
Interest groups and the European Union's institutions	147	(2)
Interest groups and increased popular participation	149	(2)
UK Interest group activity at European Union level	151	(1)
Multi-sector or multi-level governance?	152	(1)
The European Union in Britain: Towards Multi-Level Governance	153	(27)
Multi-level governance, local government and democracy	153	(2)
The European Union and the status of sub-national government	155	(2)
``The empire fights back''--the response of the UK government to regionalisation 1993-1997	157	(1)
Sub-national government, funding and the European Union	158	(2)
A study of Structural Funds and north west Cheshire	160	(5)
Allocation of European Union funds	161	(1)
Involvement of local elected persons	162	(3)
Local government and the European Union	165	(13)
Is funding the only significant factor?	166	(2)
How has sub-national government reacted?	168	(2)
A study of two Councils	170	(7)
Significant factors for councils	177	(1)
Conclusion	178	(2)
Converging Democracy: Blair's Britain and the European Union	180	(20)
The 1997 Labour government, constitutional reform and the European Union	180	(1)
Individual rights and powers	181	(6)
Human Rights Act 1998	181	(2)
Draft Freedom of Information Bill 1999	183	(2)
Quangos	185	(2)
National institutional reform--The House of Lords	187	(3)
Regional devolution	190	(3)
Local government reform	193	(3)
Electoral reform	196	(3)
Referenda	196	(1)
Proportional representation	197	(2)
Conclusion	199	(1)
Conclusion: Snapshots and Photographs	200	(3)
Bibliography	203	(17)
Index	220