Lib Dems set out 'bold blueprint' for constitutional reform
Wednesday, 19 September 2007 12:00 AM
Liberal Democrats today attempted to wrestle the claim to constitutional reform from Gordon Brown by endorsing their own "bold vision" for Britain.
Plans for a written constitution - drafted by members of the public and parliamentarians and approved through a nationwide referendum - were approved by delegates at the Lib Dem conference in Brighton.
The Lib Dems also renewed their calls for reform of the House of Lords, arguing it should be replaced by a wholly elected senate to be completely refreshed every 12 years.
They also renewed calls for reform the existing voting system - considered by many as the principle barrier to a Liberal Democrat government - arguing for the single transferable vote system for both houses of parliament.
Liberal Democrats argue constitutional reform is necessary to combat a "serious crisis" in democracy, shown by increasingly low turnouts at elections.
Mr Brown also moved to address this issue in one of his first statements as prime minister, however, it remains to be seen whether either party will reengage the public by discussing the technicalities of constitutional reform.
Justice spokesman David Heath told delegates today: "People have become alienated from politics. The only way to revive our representative democracy is to inspire the public into participating in its radical reform."
Mr Heath said For the People, By the People sets out a "bold vision" for Britain, where the people are directly involved in the political process rather than "consulted".
He continued: "If Gordon Brown is serious about constitutional reform he will follow this blueprint.
"The government and the Tories are obsessed with the centralisation of government and executive power. The Liberal Democrats would return all powers to parliament that have not expressly been conferred on the executive."
Gordon Brown has also promised to transfer many of the executives' powers to parliament, but the Liberal Democrats argue his constitutional green paper is "welcome but inadequate".
Lib Dems want to see every new government subjected to parliamentary approval, while parliament should be dissolved after fixed four year terms.
Power should also be devolved so decisions are taken as close as possible to the people they would effect, the policy states.
The Liberal Democrats, who consistently struggle to attract the level of funding enjoyed by Labour and the Conservatives, also called for limit on political donations and spending by political parties.
The policy paper backs calls for a British Bill of Rights, but argues this cannot be at the expense of the Human Rights or Freedom of Information Acts.
Opening this year's Lib Dem conference, Menzies Campbell promised to defend the language of human rights against the "unholy trinity" of Labour, the Conservatives and the right wing media.
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