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Closing Time for Democracy?
Author(s) -
HARRIS RALPH
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
economic affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.24
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1468-0270
pISSN - 0265-0665
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0270.1983.tb01505.x
Subject(s) - house of commons , democracy , closing (real estate) , commons , law , law and economics , political science , public administration , sociology , political economy , politics , parliament
The rejection of the Shops Bill in the House of Commons reveals the extent to which‘representative’democracy can subvert the wishes of the majority to those of self‐interested pressure groups. Lord Harris of High Cross, who was active in passing the Bill through the House of Lords, details the abuse of parliamentary democracy by Tory and Labour MPs alike, which responds to the noise made by opponents of reform rather than to the numbers who stand to gain.