The government has promised to narrow a proposed a new law that would allow it to rule by decree. New powers to amend or repeal laws without the agreement of parliament would now be limited to to regulatory matters, according to cabinet office minister Jim Murphy.
The Financial Times said that the extraordinary law “would allow government by executive decree. After a short and non-binding consultative process and a parliamentary procedure that might involve no debate on the floor of either House,” the newspaper added, “a minister could simply change or repeal almost any law”.
There is no constitutional limit to the power of government in the UK. This and a culture that attaches little importance to the people as the source of political legitimacy may have led the government to believe it could act in this way.