Trevor Smith (York, House of Lords): I'm concerned – those who want democratic reform in the UK had better get their act together. The emerging picture is that the Brown bounce came from his making the right signals. These included a strong indication that he wanted to address up-dating UK democracy. But it is beginning to seem that the signals were no more than mood music, designed to lull reformers into passivity - more a Blair-type rhetorical flourish than substance.
Here is a real-world checklist of five undemocratic developments in Brown's first 100 days (by all means add more):
- The decision to allow the US to use Memworth Hills in North Yorkshire for its new satellite monitoring system, despite a previous Labour undertaking to have a Commons debate before any such decision was taken, undermining Brown's proclaimed intention to strengthen and enhance the role of Parliament.
- If the leaked report in The Times (20 August) is correct, the government review of the various electoral systems the UK now enjoys comes down against any element of proportionality for elections to Westminster.
- Lords reform will not be tackled until after the next General Election, even if that is two years or more away, an intolerable delay.
- There will a further attempt to extend detention without trial beyond 28 days.
- The surreptitious appointment of Jack McConnell - the former Scottish First Minister - to be High Commissioner to Malawi in breach of the Nolan requirements, when Brown had said all public appointments would be transparent to avoid accusations of cronyism.
We could add to this the simple fact that Jack Straw, who is not a reformer by nature, has been put in charge of furthering democracy in Britain, something he will not do without constant prodding.
If there is one hopeful sign it comes from Alex Salmond. His initiation of a "conversation" on Scottish independence means that constitutional questions will be on the public agenda and there will be a likely spill-over that will affect the wider issue of the future of UK democracy. Though this is not at all what Brown intended!
But it has one useful lesson. While reformers can welcome the opening the Prime Minister has offered in his Green Paper on the Governance of Britain, the only constructive way of doing so is by challenging him and his colleagues – who so far look to be hopeless at delivering its important promises. Indeed, at present it is the Conservatives who are making the running in terms of democracy, from calls for national and local referendums to specific proposals to strengthen parliament and even discussion of giving special constitutional force to a new Bill of Rights. Questioning their sincerity will get Labour supporters nowhere if, having dramatically opened up the democratic agenda, the government’s own commitments appear to be hollow if not fake.
Moderator: Trevor Smith is Lord Smith of Clifton, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Northern Ireland and for Constitutional Affairs. As the Chair of the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust from 1987-99 he played a major role in initiating and developing the UK's constitutional reform movement.
