What is Good Governance?

What is Good Governance?

• Encompasses principles and values for government conduct
• Essential for public acceptance and the legitimacy of government institutions
• Requires mechanisms to ensure those in power adhere to high standards
• Realizing democracy is what governance is about
• Government must be acceptable to the majority
• Those in power must act lawfully, honestly, transparently, competently, with integrity, and selflessly
• Federalist Paper No. 62 (1788) states governance requires fidelity to the people's happiness and knowledge
• The Public Administration Select Committee(2009) identified five prerequisites: good people, good process, good accountability, good performance, and good standards
• "Good People" involves recruiting individuals able to deploy their skills effectively within the government's work
• "Good Process" involves appropriate structures, systems, and procedures
• "Good Accountability" involves adequate arrangements to ensure those in government are held accountable
• "Good Performance" involves effective performance assessment within government, to assess objectives, and improve
• "Good Standards" involves high ethical standards to ensure public trust and confidence, underpinning achievement of high standards
• Good governance is dynamic reflecting social, moral, and democratic changes

Good Governance Values

• Connects to democracy, requiring governments to serve the people's interests
• Governments should advance the public good and avoid self-interest
• Connects to lawfulness, but not comprehensively mandated by law
• As per (Mulgan 2006), it requires governments to protect citizens, promote welfare, enforce justice, promote truth and knowledge
• Good governance values help to focus efforts on collective goals
• The Committee on Standards in Public Life was established in 1994
• It established the 'seven principles of public life': selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership

Responsible Government

• The UK constitutional system can be defined as ‘responsible government’
• ‘Responsible’ means administration responds to public demands
• Response comes from public opinion, pressure, or influence exerted by the public
• 'Responsiveness' needs mechanisms of 'control' such as control by the public or representative bodies
• 'Control' can be power of direction, or mere influence
• Carl Friedrich(1937) stated influence is probably the most important basic concept of political science
• Challenges exist because control and accountability mechanisms themselves arent neutral
• Maurice Vile (1967) stated control isnt neutral, and are patterns of behavior operated by human beings
• Responsible and accountable government necessitates control and accountability mechanisms that act as restraints on government
• It must be accepted in a system of responsible government which contributes to the rationality of government
• "Government in a democracy must possess the capacity to govern" as per LJ Sharpe (1976)

Responsible Government in the UK Constitution

• In the UK constitution, it means the government is responsible to Parliament(House of Commons)
• The government's authority depends on having the confidence of the elected house
• The manifestation of responsibility means the government is liable to be dismissed by a vote of the Commons(subject to an appeal to the electorate)
• As per Dorothy Pickles (1970), it is essential the Parliament retains its power to dismiss the Government
• Dismissals have been rare in the UK, having occurred three times in the 20th century
• The control and accountability rely on an elected house where a majority see it as key to maintain the government in power
• A paradoxical feature of modern parliamentary government is a contingent power
• Other key elements are minority government, breakdown of party solidarity, or separation/failure of parties in a coalition government
• Retaining the confidence of the House imposes constraints, compelling the government to explain, justify, bargain, and concede
• Government defeats in the House dont require resignation unless the House treats it as one of confidence
• Parliament's 'controlling' and 'calling into account' functions depend on Ministers' collective and individual responsibility
• As per Michael Rush (1995), ministerial responsibility underpins all debates, questions, committee activity, and scrutiny

Next steps

• The next lecture is on Political Accountability and Ministerial Responsibility