Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Brown announces his constitutional change proposals

Gordon Brown has announced his package of constitutional reforms.
  • Give MPs power to decide whether to wage war
  • Setting up national security council
  • Parliament to ratify international treaties
  • Commons committees for each English region
  • New ministerial code
  • PM no longer to choose Church of England bishops
  • Elections moving from Thursday to weekends
  • MPs to hold hearings on key public appointments
  • People to be consulted on possible 'bill of rights'
  • Potential lowering of voting age to 16
As always the devil is in the detail. The item which stands out is the committees for each English region. I suppose it might be too optimistic to hope that this might be a potential solution for the West Lothian question might it?

3 comments:

  1. This is without a doubt the most exciting set of proposals i can remember seeing from a Labour government, although my political memory only extends back as far as 1997!

    In particular, MPs being able to vote on declarations of war and international treaties, the moving of elections from Thursdays to weekends, and the possibilities of both a bill of rights and lowering the voting age to 16 are superb news.

    I have to say, i never thought Gordon Brown, the man so often accused of being a control freak, would be prepared to relinquish executive powers and to so wholeheartedly delve into proper, thorough constitutional reform.

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  2. Don't get too excited Leo! There is a lot I have heard both Brown and Harman say that I would certainly applaud.......however, the proof of the pudding as they say..............

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  3. I agree there are clearly things in there which we have long called for and are to be welcomed, and GB is to be congratulated for that.

    But I also think there is a trap in there specifically for us - as I have argued here.

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