Andrew Blick (London, Democratic Audit): The revolution from above continues. Gordon Brown has broken with more precedent by making a "legislative programme statement" to the House. It sets out the broad lines of the government's thinking about what it will include in the next Queen's Speech this coming November. The previous understanding was that her statement should not be pre-empted. By hiding behind the august, untouchable aura of the crown, all previous governments have avoided public process in setting out their priorities.
There are proposals on education, pensions, house building, more affordable mortgages, a Climate Change Bill; children in care; and human tissues and embryos. Those with an interest in civil liberties and security should take note that the government intends to seek all-party consensus on 'new measures to ensure more successful prosecutions against terrorist suspects' - which could include lifting the absolute ban on the use of domestic intercept evidence in open court. It is also planned to in effect introduce terrorism as an aggravating factor in sentencing; and reviewthe length of the period of pre-charge detention of terrorist suspects, but make sure it is subject to rigorous judicial scrutiny. I detect the influence of Lord Carlile - former reviewer of counter terrorism legislation and now adviser to Brown - in this approach.
The Prime Minister says the idea of this pre-Queen's Speech statement is to make "initial thinking, previously private...subject to widespread and informed public consultation". This motive is admirable; the sanctity of the Queen's Speech has long been an unacceptable barrier to democratic involvement in policy. But any consultation must be genuine - the government will have to demonstrate not just that it has listened but that it has changed its mind in some degree or improved its approach by doing so. Otherwise, why bother to listen at all? And cynics will argue that Gordon Brown has merely replaced briefing the press with trailing announcements to Parliament instead.
