Brown "not closed" to electoral reform

Anthony Barnett (London OK): We sat at the back of the young audience attending the leadership debate hosted by the Fabians (see entry below). After it was over Brown worked the crowd. When he got to us I introduced him to Guy Aitchison OurKingdom's new intern and he said to me, "Where are the questions on the constitution?". Well, Gordon, I'm not a Labour member and did not have the chance to put one. But it was striking that no one asked "What is a new constitutional settlement" or "What about the threat of ID cards to our fundamental liberties?" or "What about Scotland and the national question?", or, indeed, about the state of our democracy. It was a Fabian crowd! So it was left to the moderator Steven Richards to ask Brown, in a follow up to a question about a "progressive consensus", for his view on PR. "I am not closed to electoral reform", Brown replied, before going on to stress the need to retain the constituency link for MPs, ensure the accountability of parliament and enshrine rights and responsibilities that will "safeguard our civil liberties". Electoral reform is not, of course, the same as proportional representation, and Brown's words seem to suggest that he favours an "AV" system.