[1] The phrase is found a century earlier, in describing Giuseppe Garibaldi's doctrines,[2] and was used by Hailsham (then known as Quintin Hogg) in lectures in 1968 and 1969.
Parliament operates without restraints such as, for instance, an obligation to legislate in accordance with fundamental constitutional rights.
The apparent exceptions to this rule are situations in which Parliament has chosen to limit itself as with the case of implementation of European Union law, where British courts can "disapply" UK legislation that is in conflict with EU law (see Factortame), but could withdraw such authority, as it has by and large done since leaving the European Union.
The governing party should consequently be able to pass any bill they wish through the Commons, provided that voting discipline is enforced amongst their Members of Parliament (MPs).
The dominance of Parliament's legislative programme by the majority party is such that 95 per cent of bills are initiated by the government.
Hailsham borrowed the expression "elective dictatorship" to describe this situation in which control of the Commons (and thus of Parliament) by the government is actually weak.
Some groups, such as Unlock Democracy, have argued that a codified, written constitution with appropriate checks and balances is also essential to solving the problem of executive dominance, but again without popular success.