The legislature passes legislation and the role of the executive branch is to administer it precisely and faithfully. Executive officers should generally be indistinguishable from ordinary bureaucrats except for their direct responsibility to the voting public. Members of the executive should not be members of the legislature, nor should they hold legislative power. The executive should only have the power to make regulations governing the conduct of bureaucrats, never for governing the conduct of the people.

This article is an extract from the book ‘Principles of Good Government’ by Matthew Bransgrove