Jon Bright (London, OK): Ed Balls was quoted fairly widely for coming out in support of a written constitution at a Fabian fringe in Bournemouth, and his remarks have now been published:
'I do not underestimate how difficult it is. It would take years and be hard', said Balls. With the issue currently being debated within government, Balls said his personal view was that they should take the plunge and embark on a written constitution.
'My instinct is to think that if you want the public to trust government to take difficult decisions in the face of changing events, the right way to do that is to have a clarity of objectives and a division of responsibility which everybody understands, and that certainly takes you in the direction of a written constitution', said Balls.
The part transcript also has quotes from Linda Colley who makes the same point Sunny Hundal did in Prospect this month (at the bottom of the page) - a written constitution might help provide "the glue of a shared society". David Blunkett meanwhile proclaims himself unconvinced, preferring to focus on citizenship lessons. Have a read.
