I'm sure
that if Tony Blair decided to turn the UK into a
fascist one- party state, Queen Elizabeth would come down and
say "no, stop, you're being stupid."
This is a long established principle. Bagehot talked of three rights
belonging to the monarch: "the right to be consulted, the right to
encourage, and the right to warn"
She has far more experience than any current politician in the
processes of
government, and her advice would be valuable. But she can do no
more than
warn. If she dismissed the Government and selected another more to her
liking, then without the support of the House of Commons, that
replacement
would soon run out of money.
Yes, but much like Jimbo, the Queen's authority rests in the respect
others have for her. If she dismissed the Government and dissolved
Parliament (she can still do that, right?), how the people of the UK
respond determines the ultimate result. If they overwhelmingly choose
to ignore the Crown and vote the fascists back in, I suspect the
Queen would be over.
This is a big
argument for constitutional monarchies being
better than republics, incidentally.
Well, I dunno. What happens if the Queen decides to turn the UK into a
fascist one-party state? It's not as if it hasn't happened before.
I didn't say it was a good argument. I just said that it was a big
argument, i.e. an argument that holds much weight and is considered
significant in the debate. I don't have strong opinions about good
government, and if I did they'd be completely off-topic to this list.
--
Philip L. Welch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Philwelch