- The Observer,
- Sunday June 15, 2003
If the withdrawal of the Law Lords from the legislature also triggers, as it should, a new look at the case for an elected House of Lords, New Labour can be justly proud of its achievement. Britain will have an independent Supreme Court and Central Bank; an elected second chamber; devolved Parliaments in Scotland and Wales, entrenchment of freedom of information and incorporation of the European Convention of Human Rights into British law. No government in modern times has such a remarkable record; you might almost believe New Labour was a great reforming government.
Why, though, have such reforms not been accompanied by a narrative of how the various initiatives hang together and how they will improve British government, justice and democracy? Each initiative is rolled out piecemeal, almost in the hope that nobody will notice the cumulative ambition. The abolition of the office of Lord Chancellor, a move for which this newspaper called last week, is a classic of the genre. It should have been the subject of a consultation paper, with time allocated for debate.
The responsibilities of the Welsh and Scottish Secretaries, massively diminished, should have been clearly delineated. The transition to a Supreme Court should have been the subject of a public-education campaign, as should the role of Lord Falconer, the new Secretary of State of Constitutional Affairs.
Instead, the announcement, made in the context of a Cabinet reshuffle, had all the hallmarks of a hastily concocted political compromise, exposing the Government to the accusation that it was making major constitutional change on the hoof. The spectacle of Lord Falconer being sworn into an office that earlier we had been told was abolished, while Peter Hain informed the nation that he retained functions as Secretary of State for Wales, which earlier we had been led to believe no longer existed, made the Government look amateurish.
Nor did the character of the reshuffle inspire confidence in a long-term strategy. Filling holes left by resignations with the ultramobile troubleshooters Peter Hain and John Reid, and defensively cross-promoting Ministers within the middle ranks, illustrates the problem. In the absence of a theme of where Labour is taking the country, around which the party can cohere, politics becomes the art of keeping everyone onside rather than the pursuit of a vision. Even bold reforms, such as creating a Supreme Court, become hostage to factional infighting rather than celebrated as they deserve to be. The Government has much to be proud of, but it has to regain a sense of purpose, and quickly.
