What is the effect of a hung parliament? Constitutional reform is the objective of everyone except the Tories. But the problem is that there will be a coalition government in the coming months. If the Lib Dems and the Tories combine in a coalition and there is a referendum on electoral reform, then the Tories cannot claim that coalitions will not work if they are in one. They need to avoid that trap. So Ken Clarke claims (this evening) that if the UK adopts another electoral system, then uncertainty like that we are experiencing now will happen after every election. This is the beginning of the Tory spin, which is part of their forcing a coalition on Labour, the Lib Dems and other minority parties. But it is in the interests of member of a minor party and every member of a party that may not be in the majority in the future to reform the electoral system. The Conservatives are in retreat (probably for good reasons arising from their electoral and parliamentary base). But that does not solve the problem. The problem is solved by a LibDem-Labour coalition.
13 May 2010: Okay, so I got this one wrong. But isn't Ken Clarke now in an interesting position?? Maybe the referendum on AV should take place later rather than sooner in the new Parliament--perhaps preceded by Lord Reform. As David Cameron said yesterday, 'We're all going to have things thrown back at us.' Strident statements concerning constitutional reform will not be de rigueur in the new parliament.
Friday, 7 May 2010
Friday, 5 March 2010
The House of Lords and Autonomy in the Church of England
The debate and division on Lord Alli's amendment to the British Equality Bill reflect a number of really interesting things about the British government. First, the House of Lords is sometimes not as ridiculous as it would appear to be to someone who is not British. As with the (elected) United States Senate and the (unelected) United States Supreme Court, the House of Lords is a veto player that can drive policy closer to the status quo (especially in the run-up to a general election) and can even introduce new ideas into the political debate.
The news is not as positive for the Church of England. While a group of senior clergy (bishops and dignitaries in Anglo-speak) supported the amendment to allow non-Anglicans to hold religious ceremonies in connection with civil partnerships on religious premises, others like the Bishop of Winchester seek continuing protection of the church. Only the most attenuated arguments support a threat from outside the Church of England based on hypothetical application of EU anti-discrimination laws. More likely are the possibility that (1) the Church of England will be forced to debate whether to allow such ceremonies to take place in its churches or (2) a renegade rector will conduct ceremonies in a church, where he holds a parson's freehold. The strict hierarchical structure of the Church of England is not always as strong as it appears, and traditionally local clergy have had a great deal of power. S.J. Brown has referred to the nineteenth century financial provision for local churches as creating local establishments in each parish; his point is illustrative.
What we can hope for is rational debate. As long as people of differing opinions can argue about principles, then there is hope for a reasoned outcome. My fear is that fuzzy thinking and slippery slope arguments will be emotionally persuasive and will carry the day.
The news is not as positive for the Church of England. While a group of senior clergy (bishops and dignitaries in Anglo-speak) supported the amendment to allow non-Anglicans to hold religious ceremonies in connection with civil partnerships on religious premises, others like the Bishop of Winchester seek continuing protection of the church. Only the most attenuated arguments support a threat from outside the Church of England based on hypothetical application of EU anti-discrimination laws. More likely are the possibility that (1) the Church of England will be forced to debate whether to allow such ceremonies to take place in its churches or (2) a renegade rector will conduct ceremonies in a church, where he holds a parson's freehold. The strict hierarchical structure of the Church of England is not always as strong as it appears, and traditionally local clergy have had a great deal of power. S.J. Brown has referred to the nineteenth century financial provision for local churches as creating local establishments in each parish; his point is illustrative.
What we can hope for is rational debate. As long as people of differing opinions can argue about principles, then there is hope for a reasoned outcome. My fear is that fuzzy thinking and slippery slope arguments will be emotionally persuasive and will carry the day.
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Who Cares about British Consitutional Reform?
At Power 2010 there has been a recent poll to determine what are the top priority issues for constitutional reform in the coming election. The top five are: 1. Proportional Voting; 2. Eliminating ID Cards and Rolling Back the 'Database State'; 3. Replacement of the House of Lords with an Elected Chamber; 4. Allow Only English MPs to Vote on English Laws; and 5. Draw Up A Written Constitution. The suggestions are interesting but not necessarily coherent and reflect the problems with prioritizing issues. Indeed, I would argue that No. 2 is not a constitutional issue at all.
If, as by all counts is likely, there is a Conservative government following the general election, then the only really likely candidates are 2 and 4. (1 disserves the party in power, 3 ended up being practically impossible even under a Labour government, and 5 is probably impossible at any time.)
The elimination of ID cards is an easy call for Tories who can capitalize on the appeal of the policy to Libertarians who oppose government identification. It carries a cost, however, because every time the now-Opposition Labour Party can identify a criminal who is not caught or who cannot be identified properly when he/she is, they will be able to claim that better identification cards would have solved the problem. This is particularly true in areas like benefit fraud and other financial and bureaucratic areas, control of which is particularly appealing to Conservative voters. Moreover, the actual costs to a given individual of having highly accurate identification are nearly zero. I should not be able to avoid being identified properly, if I am claiming to be someone. The reciprocal benefits are great, insofar as I am less likely to be the victim of identity theft. The difficulty is with what government may do with my identity: I object to a police officer being able to ask for it without a good reason. But that's a different question and one that can be answered independently of the ID issue.
English votes for English laws is another difficult case. Who decides what laws are English? And is it possible that in a new parliament in the future the government of the United Kingdom will lack a majority in the English subdivision of the legislature? People worry about bicameralism creating deadlock if the House of Lords is strengthened, but this seems like a potential nightmare. Until we are willing to devolve power to regional governments and adopt a really federal system, tinkering along these lines is likely to lead to problems.
All of these problems have long been obvious and were undoubtedly debated at length in the voting discussion boards on Power 2010. But it's surprising how often the same old arguments get trotted out, and people simply talk past one another.
In short, although the process was interesting, it looks more like a dead end than anything else. Perhaps there is a reason to have Royal Commissions after all.
If, as by all counts is likely, there is a Conservative government following the general election, then the only really likely candidates are 2 and 4. (1 disserves the party in power, 3 ended up being practically impossible even under a Labour government, and 5 is probably impossible at any time.)
The elimination of ID cards is an easy call for Tories who can capitalize on the appeal of the policy to Libertarians who oppose government identification. It carries a cost, however, because every time the now-Opposition Labour Party can identify a criminal who is not caught or who cannot be identified properly when he/she is, they will be able to claim that better identification cards would have solved the problem. This is particularly true in areas like benefit fraud and other financial and bureaucratic areas, control of which is particularly appealing to Conservative voters. Moreover, the actual costs to a given individual of having highly accurate identification are nearly zero. I should not be able to avoid being identified properly, if I am claiming to be someone. The reciprocal benefits are great, insofar as I am less likely to be the victim of identity theft. The difficulty is with what government may do with my identity: I object to a police officer being able to ask for it without a good reason. But that's a different question and one that can be answered independently of the ID issue.
English votes for English laws is another difficult case. Who decides what laws are English? And is it possible that in a new parliament in the future the government of the United Kingdom will lack a majority in the English subdivision of the legislature? People worry about bicameralism creating deadlock if the House of Lords is strengthened, but this seems like a potential nightmare. Until we are willing to devolve power to regional governments and adopt a really federal system, tinkering along these lines is likely to lead to problems.
All of these problems have long been obvious and were undoubtedly debated at length in the voting discussion boards on Power 2010. But it's surprising how often the same old arguments get trotted out, and people simply talk past one another.
In short, although the process was interesting, it looks more like a dead end than anything else. Perhaps there is a reason to have Royal Commissions after all.
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