Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
First of all, do you think the AV referendum in Britain on May 5 is as big a deal in the popular mind as it should be? Has the media been giving it the attention it deserves?
The media are probably giving it more attention than the public wish. I fear that the campaign is a turn-off for the public, largely because the choices in the referendum have been pre-cooked by the coalition. Most of those who favour electoral change want to see some sort of proportional representation. But that is not on the ballot paper. People cannot understand why this particular proposal is being presented, or what real difference the alternative vote would make. People see it as a politicians' referendum, rather than a popular one.
So will it be more interesting in terms of the effect it has on the coalition than in terms of its actual result?
Yes, the political consequences could be very great, whatever the outcome. The only other national referendum we have ever had, in 1975 – on whether we should stay in the European Community, as the European Union was then called – had major political consequences. The failure of the devolution referendums in 1979 led to the end of the Labour government, and the beginning of 18 years of Conservative rule. The consequences could be almost as great this time.
Let's talk about the first book you've chosen: A V Dicey's Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution.
This is a great classic work, more talked about than read I suspect. Unlike many classics, it is beautifully written and very clear. Although written so long ago (1885), it analyses what one might call the conceptual underpinnings of our unwritten constitution, and therefore remains relevant today. It has often been attacked but never fully superseded, and the arguments in it, particularly the argument about the sovereignty of Parliament, remain very much alive.
Dicey himself was opposed to proportional representation – is that right?
Yes, and he was also opposed to women's suffrage. But he was in favour of referendums. In the eighth edition of his book, the last to appear in his lifetime (in 1915), he argued strongly for the referendum as a check on the arrogance of party politicians. That is also of some relevance today.
Your next choice is The Governance of England, by Sir Sidney Low.
Yes. In contrast to Dicey, Low’s book has been completely forgotten. But it too is beautifully written. It is a kind of sequel to Bagehot's The English Constitution, which is much better known. But I think that it is in some ways even better written than Bagehot’s book. It is particularly fascinating because many of the things we talk about now, such as the excessive power of the Prime Minister and the weakness of the House of Commons, also seemed true in 1904, when The Governance of England was written. These are not new problems, and there probably never was a golden age of parliamentary government. Low asks – if you were to abolish the House of Commons tomorrow, who would notice? He also says that the Prime Minister has much greater power than people imagine, powers sometimes near to those of a dictator. He said that not in 2004 but in 1904!
This book provides a historical perspective, which is always valuable. People sometimes talk as if the problems of government are today's problems or yesterday's problems – often they are very old problems. It is a beautifully written book.
Next is David Butler's The Electoral System in Britain Since 1918.
David Butler was my mentor at Oxford. He has long since retired, but I have learnt a lot from him. One simple but important lesson was never to argue about ascertainable facts. If I say that there is a book in the next room, and you say that there is not, there's no point arguing – let us look! Butler is a great empiricist: he actually looked at how the electoral system worked. This is a factual book, but it ruins many wild generalisations about the electoral system.
You started by asking me about the AV referendum. In the referendum debate, there have been wild generalisations on both sides. People do not really know how the alternative vote actually works, for example, in Australia. This book pours a glass of cold water on generalisations about elections and electoral systems. It is a painstaking work, which I greatly admire. A dose of empiricism would, I believe, cure many of the ills of the world.
Vernon Bogdanor is Research Professor at King's College, London, and author of The Coalition and the Constitution.
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