Anthony Barnett (London, OK): Iain Dale has asked me and Lib-Dem Sephen Tall to start an all party (and no party) campaign for FIXED TERM parliaments with the aim of getting all parties to sign up for it. My hope is that the next election is the last one ever held under current rules. Or even better, that the snipped election of 2007 was the last. The website is just under construction but go to it and sign up, and tell all your friends and foes to do so too, or link up to it via facebook. Here is the short summary of what its about,
The electoral machinations of September/October 2007 have demonstrated a fundamental flaw in our constitution. It's time we had a proper debate on whether the Prime Minister should be able to call an election at a time of his or her choosing. Political and electoral realities mean that all prime ministers - whatever their party affiliations - call an election when they think they can best win it. They would be inhuman - not to say very bad politicians - if they didn't. But in the 21st century can we really justify this constitutional anomaly any longer?
As Jon Bright posted yesterday, Harriet Harman has said that Labour is thinking about this. Watch out! In his roll-call of prerogative powers that he was shedding in the name of 'strengthening parliament' the Prime Minister made a commitment to give the Commons the power he currently has, to call an election. I hope this fools no one. Would the ruling party vote against have an election if its Prime Minister asked for one? Parliament needs to be strengthened as an independent institution not have its role as an extension of No 10 reconfirmed.
Harman said there needed to be some flexibility, and this is right. Norway has a parliamentary system with rigid fixed terms, I'm told, and this can leave it rudderless (though this does not seem to have harmed Norway too much). In Germany there are fixed terms but if a motion of no-confidence is passed then an election can be held, ie the government must be brought down. This has happened deliberately, it being Germany. But it works, combining flexibility with clear democratic rules over the politicians. This is what we need here.
I hope there will be a wide support and debate over this excellent initiative of Iain's. There are more important reforms, such as a fair voting system, and when I get back from the States where I am heading for a short break, I hope to stir some more argument about this. But this one will tell us a lot about ourselves - and especially the English as the Scots and Welsh already have them, not to speak of Northern Ireland .
To put it simply, it is about growing up and making our politicians grow up. Of course, if they have the power to call an election at the time of their choosing they can't but be tempted. But this turns the press, the media and us, the so-called citizens of the United Kingdom, into dependent children too, speculating about will he, won't he, looking to the leader and accepting, and even repeating, a lot of blah about 'the lonely decision'. It is our election. We should be electing them, not letting them fix us up. It is time for FIXED TERM parliaments.
