Andrew Blick (London, Democratic Audit): The foreign policy aspects of Gordon Brown's constitutional reform programme have got very little attention. Exception (excuse own trumpet blowing) is myforeignpolicytoo which now has a detailed analysis of their implications (see here for who we are). We welcome the general thrust of the proposals, but with concerns about the devilish smallprint. For instance we hope that the right of Parliament to vote on going to war will be put on a statutory basis (not left to a convention, please!) and we note that the Attorney General will still be able to interfere in decisions over prosecutions if they are deemed to involve national security.
There is a broader problem. If Parliament is going to exercise its new won oversight of foreign policy effectively it will need to develop different practices, have better resources and develop a new culture: one of partnership with not subordination to government. But because the still unwritten constitution remains so executive-loaded and parliament does not have its own statutory powers, it will continue to need the cooperation of the government. Even if this is forthcoming, which will be a considerable test for the new PM, won't this mean a return to informal understandings that have proved so easy to break?
However, it is a great relief to think that foreign policy and treaty making are now being treated as something that belongs to the parliamentary process and are not just the private property of the Foreign Office and No 10.
