Bøger af Edward Fellowes

The foundation of the modern state lay in the establishment of a strong Executive Government. In England that foundation was laid in the 16th century when the Tudors established a strong executive not by force of arms because they had no standing army, but with the general assent of their people and by the help of Parliament. With the accession of the House of Stuart the Executive and Parliament came inta conflict and for a century the struggle between Crown and Parliament continued. It ended in a com­ promise. The Executive, but not the Crown, remained strong but on the con­ dition that its power was exercised in accordance with the wishes of the House of Commons. The 19th century saw the franchise gradually widened until soon after the start of the present century, the Government seemed to have become responsible not to the Representatives of the people but to the people themselves. General Elections however only take place every 4 or 5 years, and if the House of Commons is reduced to a rubber stamp, a dicta­ torship is practically established for that length of time. I hope that I have shown that this is not in fact true and that although the control may not be as strong as some people would like, it nevertheless exists.