We should beware unelected bodies censuring our politicians.
I have heard it said that one of the great symbols of democratic government is the sight of a removal van outside Number 10 Downing Street. Ours is still, more or less, an era of peace, freedom and plenty. This means we easily lose sight of how remarkable it is that the chief executive of our government, who manages tens of thousands of armed men and is constantly attended by sycophants and police bodyguards, can be turfed out, literally overnight. Admittedly we have not had a PM ejected as a result of a loss at the ballot box since David Cameron in 2016; all three prime ministerial casualties since then have been knifed by the reliably regicidal Tory backbenches. Nevertheless, whether the Order of the Boot, First Class, is awarded by the people directly via a general election, or by their representatives via a palace coup, the lesson is the same.
In general Christians can and should rejoice at this. Believing as we do in the waywardness of the human heart, and the moral vulnerability of even the best of men, scepticism of power and those who seek it should run deep. “Put not your trust in princes” as the Psalmist reminds us. In the Magnificat, Our Lady praises God for having cast the mighty from their thrones.
More recently, however, in Britain we have been seeing a different form of accountability for allegedly wayward rulers. Instead of the rough and ready but time-tested method of popular vote, leaders are being subjected to investigations by police, or senior lawyers, or quangocrats. These investigators are making essentially political decisions with potentially large ramifications, without the need to justify themselves to the public. Boris Johnson was forced from office last summer after various quasi-judicial investigations found he had lied about violations of the Covid-19 regulations. Keir Starmer’s own alleged breaches of those rules were thoroughly investigated by the police, with the result that no action was taken. Dominic Raab had to leave his post at the Ministry of Justice when an investigation found that some civil servants had found his management style overly demanding. Other government ministers have faced trial by media via leaks from the civil service about their supposed bullying. It is very hard not to see these leaks as ultimately motivated by ideological opposition to the government from within the civil service.
Obviously these cases have important differences. But they do share a common thread: elements within elites taking it upon themselves to neuter the power of elected MPs whom they find uncongenial. Before this is written off as a party political point, I should say that Jeremy Corbyn – a man with whom I have little moral or political sympathy – was a target of this shadow justice system, of public bodies who have been empowered to undertake investigations and issue reports, but have minimal democratic oversight. The Equality and Human Rights Commission inquiry into Labour anti-Semitism during Corbyn’s time as leader was used to fatally undermine his standing, even though many of its final conclusions were tenuous.
The policing of politicians via non-political or anti-political means in this way is not unusual globally. Even in parts of Europe it is hardly unknown for leaders to face criminal prosecution after leaving office, often on manifestly dubious charges or using laws that are applied in a highly uneven fashion depending on who happens to be in power at that moment. It is a new phenomenon in Britain, however, and Christians of all stripes should be concerned by it, for at least two reasons. First, it removes predictability and transparency from the enforcement of the law and the parameters of public life. If a member of Parliament can be censured or deprived of office and influence, because of a senior barrister’s interpretation of the vague provisions of the Ministerial Code, we are in some important sense an oligarchy. If someone can be deemed guilty of a damaging but poorly-defined offence despite not being formally charged with an actual crime, that is an offence against due process. The Church has always taught strongly in favour of due process. Without it, true justice cannot exist, and people’s reputations and freedoms cannot be safeguarded.
In addition, the shadow justice system can be, and is, used against Christians. Teachers who are too vocally opposed to modern ideas about sex and gender are barred from the profession. Nurses who conscientiously object to abortion can be punished. Christian police officers, like so many public servants, must constantly watch their step, lest they fall afoul of the political watchdogs who monitor most forces for sins against equality and diversity.
Open and fair justice as an ideal is a regular theme throughout the Bible. “You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality”, insists Deuteronomy. And of course Our Lord’s own teaching lays out to the mighty – as to all of us – that final accountability will be not to their peers, or to a committee, but to a just and holy God.
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