Jon Bright (London, OK): Another hat tip to Gareth Young for flagging up this YouGov poll. It makes negative (if not entirely unexpected) reading for those interested in constitutional reform: asked to choose 4 government priorities from a list of 13 options, only 2% picked "Reforming the constitution" - equal bottom with 'none of the above'. This really gives me pause. Given the option, 2% of the respondents would rather have the government do nothing at all than reform how we are governed (these people must be big fans of the summer recess).
The key point, as Gareth says, is that the issue of constitutional reform has not been successfully linked to things that actually matter to people, and I think we need to try and emphasise more how much the decision making process affects the outcome. For example: almost everyone has an opinion on the Iraq war. But should we focus on blaming Blair (if you do think it was an error) or the system that allowed Blair such a free hand? What scrutiny controls of the pre-war intelligence could have been in place? What requirements for post-war planning should have been met? (this is a key question whether you supported invasion or not). If our pre-war intelligence is wrong - who should be accountable? Resolving questions like these could provide some control over future military engagements, whether they are agreed upon or not - and they are constitutional questions. It is things like this that need emphasising if we are to increase that 2% figure.
