The Redress of Grievances

Abstract

The increasing power of the Executive in modern times is only too apparent; yet in Britain law, strongly reinforced by custom, secures essential freedoms for the citizen. More over, the long struggle for supremacy between the monarchy and Parliament in the seventeenth century was based in the first place on the principle that there should be ‘ redress of grievances before supply’. In defending its own constitutional rights so zealously Parliament was also fighting the war on behalf of the individual citizen. It is obvious that Parliament was not a fully representative institution in the seventeenth century, and was not to be so until universal franchise was achieved in 1928, yet some of the principles secured during the struggle with the Stuart Kings, such as freedom of speech in Parliament, the abolition of prerogative courts, and the removal of royal authority to levy taxes, concerned the citizen as much as they concerned the position of Parliament in the constitution. In demanding that redress of grievances should pre­cede supply the Parliamentarians were thinking of their own position in relation to the monarchy; the benefit to the mass of the citizens was incidental but no less real.

Historical basis for the redress of grievances. Methods of ex­pressing grievances and an assessment of their worth: letters, lobbying, Parliamentary Questions, petitions, pressure-groups. The possibility of legislative action. The historic freedoms and their present-day relevance. Additional protection needed for the citizen in modern conditions. The Parliamentary Commissioner.

THEME: The traditional guarantees of citizens’ freedoms are losing their effectiveness and new forms of protection are required.