Britain has accumulated government without accumulating democratic power. A citizen trying to discover who is responsible for a major decision can now encounter ministers, councils, combined authorities, mayors, regulators, agencies, commissioners and public-private partnerships—often with overlapping responsibilities and no obvious person whom an election can remove. 

This is not simply a problem of having too much government. It is a problem of power becoming difficult to see and therefore difficult to control. The liberal answer is neither centralisation nor another wave of institutional invention, but to make the state smaller where possible, stronger where necessary, and democratic wherever public power is exercised. Ten Liberal Democrat policies could begin that process. 

1. Reform both Houses of Parliament simultaneously

A 300-member House of Commons should be elected by pure proportional representation, making it the chamber of political representation and government formation. A smaller Commons remains ample in a system with powerful devolved government, while allowing MPs and Parliament to be much better resourced. Alongside it should sit around 300 voting members of the Lords elected by first past the post in territorial constituencies, giving the second chamber a deliberately different mandate rooted in place. Appointed experts and others could remain as non-voting members. 

2. Give Parliament the institutional power to govern

A smaller Parliament should be a stronger one. Representative institutions need sufficient capacity to hold the executive and wider state to account. The libraries of both Houses should become formidable independent centres of research, quantitative analysis, legal scrutiny, policy evaluation and legislative expertise. MPs and peers should not depend overwhelmingly on ministers, Whitehall, lobbyists or outside organisations for the knowledge required to scrutinise government.  

3. Restore Parliament’s authority within the political constitution

Britain needs a renewed political constitution in which Parliament can hold its own against the executive, courts, agencies and other centres of public power. Judicial independence and the rule of law are indispensable, while political conflicts should ultimately be resolved through democratic institutions with the authority, expertise and capacity to perform that role. 

4. Give political parties a recognised constitutional role 

Modern representative democracy cannot function without political parties, yet constitutionally we still treat them as private clubs. A proportional Commons would make their representative role still clearer. Parties should receive formal recognition alongside requirements for transparency, internal democracy and responsible governance. Healthy parties are essential intermediary institutions connecting citizens to government. 

5. Publicly fund democratic politics and political foundations

A modest system of state funding should reduce parties’ dependence on wealthy donors and opaque or foreign-linked money, while tighter rules constrain large contributions. Smaller British versions of Germany’s political foundations could support political education, policy development, civic participation and international democratic cooperation. Parties should again become civic and intellectual institutions, not merely election machines. 

6. Reconstruct English government around recognisable counties 

England needs a uniform, intelligible system of democratic devolution built around places people already know. Existing counties should be the building blocks: some could govern alone, while others could combine where scale, geography and local democratic consent make that sensible. These governments should possess powers comparable in seriousness to Scotland and Wales, while appropriately local functions remain below them.  

7. Make democratic accountability the long-term defence against corruption 

This territorial settlement is not merely tidier administration. Clear democratic responsibility is the strongest practical long-term defence against corruption and capture. When decisions are fragmented among agencies, partnerships, overlapping councils and bespoke authorities, accountability becomes theoretical. We can create regulators to supervise regulators, but no architecture of oversight substitutes for citizens knowing who made a decision and being able to throw them out. 

8. Apply subsidiarity all the way down

Power should presumptively belong at the lowest level capable of exercising it effectively. Strategic transport or major infrastructure may require large territorial government; other services belong with counties, towns or parishes; many choices should remain with families, communities, voluntary organisations and markets. Higher levels of government should have to justify taking power upwards rather than lower levels continually pleading to receive it back. 

9. Give England institutional expression

England does not need another large parliament or bureaucracy – power should be dispersed across England rather than concentrated in a new English centre. Yet a Council of England bringing together leaders of its territorial governments could provide expression alongside the other home nations where needed.  

10. Rationalise the administrative state 

Agencies, regulators and arm’s-length bodies have important roles in providing technical expertise and administering policy at appropriate distance from ministers. But they should not become alternative centres of political authority. Political choices should ultimately belong to elected institutions. Democratic institutions decide; expert institutions inform and administer. 

Conclusion: Redeeming Britain and its constitution of liberty 

These reforms share one principle: public power should be visible, dispersed and contestable, while the institutions entrusted with it should be strong enough to perform their functions well. Where public power is necessary, citizens should be able to see it, understand it and ultimately remove those who exercise it. Britain has spent decades accumulating government. It is time to accumulate democratic power. 

* James Dennison is a Liberal Democrat member, parish councillor in Waterbeach and Professor at the European University Institute.