Anthony Barnett (London, OK): Just last night I was talking with an influential Labour advisor and we asked ourselves, 'Where are the Lib-Dems?'. I was arguing that one of the problems with the Government's approach, reinforced by the mood music (sleepy, lulling, intermittent) from the Ministry of Justice which is supposedly in charge of the great national conversation, is that it seems to be in denial about the problems with British democracy which all this effort is supposed to put right. If Gordon Brown wants to see a democratic equivalent of Make Poverty History, which he highlighted again in his speech on Monday and in his answers to the questions, then there needs to be agreement that there is indeed an equivalent to the problem of world poverty in terms of the UK's democratic deficits.
Finally, the Lib-Dems have broken the silence on this, which the two main parties still seem to be colluding in. "British politics is in crisis" says their leader Menzies Campbell in today's Guardian, "this is make or break time for our democracy".
I have to go to a meeting now, but will return as soon as possible to the Lib-Dem proposals themselves - for a written constitution and how this can be achieved. But just as important as the answers has to be the debate over the problem. What's it all for and why does it matter?
