It is usually the case that the average person in the UK is quite happy to be disconnected from Parliamentary politics; we vote every four or five years, we go home and forget about it. We are happy to be governed, and this fits with our national 'royal subject rather than citizen' mindset. What these past couple of weeks have proven to me is that this is no longer sustainable. Parliament needs to be renewed, and reconnected with the people.
This offers Gordon Brown a unique opportunity to seize the moment and make his own political weather. He now has twelve months in which to complete the historic reform of the constitution that New Labour promised back in 1997.
1) He should dust down Roy Jenkin's report on electoral reform, which was received during Tony Blair's first term. Delivering fairer votes to the Commons will not only re-energise our politics and bring a huge gust of fresh air into Parliament. It also offers the best chance there is that a progressive government of the people will continue to thrive after the next election.
2) Mr Brown should complete the reform of the House of Lords. That means a fully elected reforming 2nd chamber.
3) There should be fixed term elections. The people no longer trust their politicians, and the right of the Prime Minister to fix the electoral cycle to his own party's advantage needs to be removed.
By enacting these three measures now, Mr Brown can 1) go down in history as a truly reforming Prime Minister, 2) reconnect Parliament with the people and 3) spike the Conservative guns. A Win Win situation, surely?
Wednesday 20 May 2009
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