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Parliament does have constitutional limits on it (for example, see timetabling powers or Erskine May), even if it can't pass acts that will bind future Parliaments. The constitution being (largely) unwritten and changeable doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

The result is substantially more democratic, as per the list above.

by UltraSane6 hours ago|

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Please explain the constitutional limits to Parliament in more detail.

The result seems substantially more chaotic.

And then there is the fact that the entire legal frame work is based on The Crown. If the king or queen killed someone they would have to prosecute themselves. This is the exact opposite of democracy.

by dgroshev6 hours ago|

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Parliament is not in control of its own timetable, for one. Bit of a restriction on exercising its sovereignty, innit. And yes democracies can be chaotic.

It's entirely mad to me that I can make a list of easily verifiable, massively important examples of democratic processes in this country in the last few years and someone would just come up with a hypothetical like "but what if King kills someone" like it's somehow not just equal but has more weight than the list. Mad

by zer00eyz5 hours ago|

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> "but what if King kills someone"

Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard would like a word.

by foldr4 hours ago|

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What would the argument even be here? That the UK can never be a democracy because of what Henry VIII did in the 16th century?

by zer00eyz2 hours ago|

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No.

But processes that exist to preserve democracy that arent governed by that democracy are problematic. Saying the "king would never do..." when a king has makes the argument silly.

The UK is not alone in this - a great example is the filibuster in the us (a senate rule).

by foldr52 minutes ago|

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Hmm, so your argument actually is that a politically motivated prosecution in the 16th century that occurred before the UK even existed, before constitutional democracies were much of a thing, and that couldn't occur under present UK constitutional arrangements, is proof that the UK at present is not a democracy. I'm not sure if you're in a position to call other people's argument's "silly".

by UltraSane2 hours ago|

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I'm sorry but someone claiming to have such an amazingly democratic government when they have a monarch who has absolute personal immunity from civil and criminal proceedings under UK law and whose face is on all the bank notes is a bit silly. This is the least democratic thing possible.

Queen Elizabeth used Queen's Consent many many times to prevent or modify laws she didn't like. An investigation by The Guardian revealed that more than 1,000 parliamentary bills were subjected to Queen's Consent or Prince's Consent during Queen Elizabeth II's reign.

The British government feels like a delicate standoff between Parliament and the crown.