Tinkering with the Constitution

Now, God help us, Brown tells us he wants to reform the Constitution.

He is apparently looking at the voting system, the Lords, and the balance between the elected members and the executive.

Our system with its unwritten constitution is certainly not perfect but it would be foolhardy to only tinker with aspects of it. The time is probably right for a root and branch review and surely the answer is a Royal Commission.

A system similar to the US, with a Bill of Rights and careful balancing of power between the executive, legislature and supreme court, may be the best solution. It, too, has its faults but it is better than the elected (or unelected in the case of Brown) dictatorship model that we have slipped in to.

The House of Commons has forfeited its long asserted right to primacy. It is too supine, lazy and corrupt - ruled by the Whips, dominated by a huge payroll vote and a mass of wannabe Ministers too scared to step out of line lest they be overlooked. The few really able back bench MPs - and there are some on all sides - struggle to get their voices heard and the select committees have never had the influence of their US counterparts. Power needs to be more equally divided between what is now the Commons and an elected upper chamber.

The greatest risk in embarking on reform is that the Government of the day will cherry pick elements of reform which look most advantageous to themselves, whereas the very essence of an effective constitution is that it comes as a complete package.

Above all, Brown is no Maddison so he must pass the task to someone fit for the role.