[WikiEN-l] Comparison with other wikis

[Philip Welch]

>> 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