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When it comes to having a restricted government, our government is healthy. A restricted government is considered to be essential for a healthy democracy as it ensures that those in power cannot act above the law or make decisions without being held accountable. Critics may argue that during the covid-19 pandemic, the government used emergency powers to pass laws with limited parliamentary scrutiny. A key example of this was the ‘Lockdown and Social Distancing Laws’ that had been introduced using secondary legislation which allowed it to bypass normal scrutiny and led to confusion about what was legally enforceable, highlighting that we do not have a restricted government. However, while the government used their power without much scrutiny, covid-19 was considered to be a global health emergency, causing the government to act fast. Furthermore, the Coronavirus Act 2020 had to be renewed every six months by Parliament, and many of its powers were eventually repealed. Judicial reviews had challenged several lockdown related decisions. This shows that even in emergencies, the government faced restrictions. On balance, the argument that our restricted government indicates a healthy democracy is stronger because even though the government had been able to pass through covid laws without any scrutiny, the laws were still later scrutised and many had been repealed. Therefore, emphasising the fact that our governments powers are restricted, ensures a healthy democracy.

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