Читать книгу Why Rome Fell - Michael Arnheim - Страница 47

The present-day British constitution provides an apt parallel. The bedrock principle of the British constitution is the sovereignty of Parliament. Parliament, and more particularly the House of Commons, is where the debates take place, and no statute can be passed without a majority in both houses of Parliament, together with the royal assent. However, as Lord Chancellor Hailsham pointed out in his book titled The Dilemma of Democracy, the British system of government is really an “elective dictatorship,” in which a government with even a narrow majority in the House of Commons can push through nearly any legislation it likes because of the iron grip that it has over its party members through the whip system, leaving not only the voters and Queen without any say but also even Parliament itself. So, though the sovereignty of Parliament has validity as a constitutional and legal concept, in practical terms, it is a sham. (Hailsham 1979.)