These developments present a challenge for parliaments in that they offer alternative forms of representation, accountability and redress. In the first place, the collective representative role of parties and parliament faces competition as citizens can now seek representation in numerous ways through a variety of organizations in civil society. Second, parliament’s traditional role as the route for the redress of grievance is now contested by the variety of statutory agencies and individuals, including ombudsmen, watchdogs and audit agencies. Each is designed specifically to deal with aspects of maladministration and has far greater resources and expertise to deal with such cases than would be available through parliament. Third, the existence of those agencies also means that governments are held to account by a multitude of bodies, including formal inspectorates and regulators whose task it is to challenge government maladministration, and other extra-parliamentary forms of accountability, such as the media, the courts, think tanks and civil society, which has led some to suggest that we now have a form of ‘post-parliamentary politics’.28
1.3. The Resilience of Parliamentary Representation
Parliaments provide the vital link between the public and the system of government, serve as the principal forum for airing issues of public concern and […] perform functions that cannot be replicated by any other institution.
1.3.1. The Unique Roles of Parliaments
Although the three trends outlined above present challenges for parliaments, talk of post-parliamentary politics in the academic and media communities might sometimes be misleading. The public might be sceptical about parliamentary performance and may find other forms of representation attractive, but people and governments alike recognize the need for parliaments. The development of alternative mechanisms for representation and regulation gives citizens more choice and presents parliaments with greater competition. However, they neither remove the need for parliamentary representation nor make it redundant. Parliaments provide the vital link between the public and the system of government, serve as the principal forum for airing issues of public concern and continue to perform functions that cannot be replicated by any other institution. The expansion of alternative mechanisms has occurred partly because citizens are becoming more demanding and partly because the task 28 Keane 2011:212-3.
facing parliaments in calling governments to account is much greater and far more complex than it was 100 years ago. But, if anything, these developments emphasize the central role of parliaments. Unlike any other institution or organization, parliaments derive their legitimacy from the fact that they are elected by popular mandate specifically to reflect and represent the interests of the nation as a whole. The multiple forms of representation within contemporary society, and its complexity, make this role increasingly important in linking citizens to government.
There are still things that a parliament alone can do and that cannot be replicated by other institutions. First, the creation, amendment and approval of law occur principally through the legislature. Although there are various consultative mechanisms for turning citizen concern into policy and executive action, it is parliament that ultimately provides the mechanism by which law is sanctioned. Second, parliaments exist to call government to account. They should provide the forum wherein government ministers and officials are held to account for their policies and actions in public. Third, the parliament is the single most important representative institution. It must aggregate public opinion and make policy decisions on the basis of what is best for the populace as a whole. This is in marked contrast to other forms of participatory democracy, which have obvious attractions for governments and the people, but also have well-documented limitations. Forms of deliberative democracy, for example, are usually only available to a very small proportion of the population and, by their very nature,
Global Parliamentary Report: The changing nature of parliamentary representation
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