Public Elections - reduction in voting age to 16 - States Assembly

Consideration of constitutional reform should include a rigorous examination of the Royal Prerogative and its
unfettered use by subsequent governments.
Since before the Iraq war I have been arguing for a war powers act to require parliamentary approval for a
declaration of war.
But there are other areas where the prerogative’s undemocratic reach should be curtailed: such as Treaty making.
The motion for the Second Chamber of Parliament Bill which I co-sponsored in the House of Commons is an
embodiment of the reforms recommended by Power for the Lords and it is the future shape of the Lords that I
would like to see.
But in the light of recent events it is impossible to consider the reform of the House of Lords independently of the
issue of party finance.
The honours system and the second chamber of parliament must be disentangled.
It may well be appropriate for Honours to be in the gift of the Prime Minister subject to independent audit, but
appointment to the second chamber should certainly not be.
It is perhaps worth reminding the Prime Minister that in his book ‘NEW BRITAIN – My Vision of a Young
Country’, published just before his 1997 election victory, Mr. Blair pledged:
“an end to hereditary peers sitting in the House of Lords as the first step to a properly directly elected
second chamber, and the chance for the people to decide after the election the system by which they elect
the government of the future”.
It is perverse that in evidence given to the Hansard Society individual “Constituency MPs” (of all parties) are held
in relatively high regard.
They are seen to be hard-working, conscientious and people of real integrity.
And yet the Commons – the collective of all those admired individuals – is seen as under the thumb of the Prime
Minister or the Party Whips and incapable of its task of holding the Government to account.
The cause of this is the widespread, and accurate, perception that the institution no longer reflects the nation.
This is hardly surprising since the present government has the support of only 21.6% of those registered to vote.
An unresponsive electoral system is at the centre of this crisis of representation and the so-called ‘democratic
deficit’ in Britain.
Reviving democratic participation in Britain is essential if the institutions are to maintain legitimacy, but also, if
politics is to work as it should.
The argument about the Single Transferable Vote, Alternative Vote or any other voting system is not about
whether it favours one party or another.
In a liberal society it can only be about how it delivers the wishes and preferences of the whole of society,
particularly the disadvantaged and marginalised, into government.
Effective representation is the only way to reconnect our government with the citizens of Britain.
To improve responsiveness further and heighten accountability we need to sever other links in the political
ecosystem.