Tag: parliamentary reform

Evading scrutiny?

Government blocks evidence session with Cabinet Secretary

The Government have blocked the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, and Government ethics chief, Darren Tierney, from appearing before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Tuesday 24 May.

The session was confirmed several weeks ago as part of the Committee’s inquiry into the propriety of governance in light of Greensill. It was due to discuss the management of conflicts of interest and unregulated appointments in the Civil Service, the Downing Street parties and the recent announcement on the Government’s intention to reduce the size of the Civil Service by almost 100,000 jobs.

The Committee has been told by officials that ministerial approval for the Cabinet Secretary to give evidence on Tuesday has been pulled. The session will not take place on 24 May and has been rescheduled for the 28 June.

Chair of PACAC William Wragg MP said: “The session with the Cabinet Secretary was an important one considering the number of propriety and ethics issues on the agenda. We had also hoped to get clarity on the Government’s plans for civil service reform, public scrutiny of which was much needed after they were briefed to the press last weekend.

“The intervention to pull the session at such short notice evades timely parliamentary scrutiny of these plans and puts government transparency in a poor light.”

Constitution Reform Group launches a ‘Third Way’ for the future of the United Kingdom

– Replace the House of Lords with a National Parliament
– Establish an English Parliament
– Create a UK Central Bank
– Reset the mechanisms of the United Kingdom’s constitution
– Protect and maintain this historic and successful Union 
The Constitution Reform Group (CRG) has launched its new Act of Union Bill 2021, which would establish a new political and financial framework for equal cooperation between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Bill has been launched to initiate a much-needed nationwide conversation on a ‘third way’ for the future of the United Kingdom, to break the restrictive dichotomy of ‘status quo versus independence’ being maintained by regional separatist movements. 

The CRG is calling on all pro-Union political parties to express their support for its core aim, which is to debate, introduce and complete any reform necessary to save the Union.

It is also calling on all separatist movements to confirm publicly whether they would seek to renegotiate the framework of the United Kingdom before supporting its dissolution. 

For the past six years, the CRG has worked with leading constitutional lawyers and experts to draft this extensive legislation, which is comprehensive and internally logical and consistent.

The Bill’s implementation would provide the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom a clearer view of their local autonomy and clearly define the scope and purpose of their cooperation.

It includes options for consideration by Parliament and the electorate to replace the House of Lords with a National Parliament and another to establish an English Parliament.

It also includes provisions to reset the mechanisms of the Union, such as the creation of a UK Central Bank, which would better and more equally serve the interests of all parts of the United Kingdom.

Before Royal Assent, the Bill would be put to the people of the United Kingdom for approval in a referendum. 

Robert Salisbury, Chairman of the CRG’s Steering Committee, said: “The Group is convinced that the break-up of the United Kingdom would be a tragic and fundamental strategic blunder and end an intimate partnership that has been astonishingly successful, culturally and economically, and which has stood as a powerful defence of its people’s values and liberties in a dangerous world.

“If the Union is to endure and prosper, the U.K. must be refashioned, and a new constitutional settlement is a necessary part of that refashioning.” 

The CRG was established after the 2014 Scottish independence referendum to devise a new path for the Union by addressing existing and developing constitutional inequalities between the four parts of the United Kingdom.

Its membership includes former First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and senior figures from across the political spectrum, who cooperate with the common belief that the United Kingdom is stronger together.

The Group believes that reform of the United Kingdom’s constitution, although complex, is a significantly more desirable task than negotiating its undoing.
They are therefore trying to raise awareness of the feasibility of a ‘third way’ and of the need for a wider national conversation on what must be done to ensure the United Kingdom stays together as one family. 
Constitution Reform Group Steering Committee:

Marquess of Salisbury KG KCVO PC DL, Chairman
Bim Afolami MP
David BurnsideThe Rt Hon the Lord Campbell of Pittenweem CH CBE QC
Shana Fleming OBE
Joanna George
Daniel Greenberg CB
The Rt Hon the Lord Hain
The Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM
Sir Andrew Large
Lord Lisvane KCB DL FLSW
Seema Malhotra MP
The Rt Hon the Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale
David Melding AM CBE
Sir Paul Silk KCB FLSW
The Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston
The Rt Hon the Lord Trimble 

Constitution Reform Group Sub-Committee on Public MoneyMembers include:

Sir Andrew Large (Chairman) – Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and a member of its Monetary Policy Committee from September 2002 to January 2006.
Sir John Gieve KCB – Former British civil servant, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability of the Bank of England and ex officio member of the Monetary Policy Committee, 2006 to 2009.
Lord Macpherson of Earl’s Court GCB – Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, 2005 to 2016.
David Peretz CB – Former Under Secretary for Home Finance and Monetary Policy HM Treasury, Executive Director of the IMF and World Bank, G7 Financial Sherpa, and Chair of Bermuda’s independent Fiscal Responsibility Panel.

Lazarowicz: Axe the House of Lords

Lazarowicz calls for new elected Senate of Nations and Regions

lordsSpeaking in a debate at Westminster on House of Lords reform called by SNP MP Pete Wishart yesterday, Mark Lazarowicz MP called for it to be axed altogether and replaced with a new elected Senate of the Nations and Regions to be created following a major Constitutional Convention.

Speaking afterwards, the North & Leith MP said: “I strongly welcome Labour’s plan for a new elected Senate of the Nation and Regions to be created by a major Constitutional Convention: I believe it should be 100% elected by PR to represent fully the nations, cities and regions of the whole of the UK.

“The Commons would remain preeminent but as well as acting as a platform for all parts of the UK to make their voices heard the Senate would hold over-mighty governments to account and make governments think again on legislation.

“We need to act now to move to an elected second Chamber which is why the Constitutional Convention is so important to thrash out the exact form it will take and not take decades to reach a new settlement.”

Ed Miliband announced Labour’s plan for a new elected Senate of the nations and regions in November. Mark Lazarowicz is a longstanding supporter of an elected Second Chamber and proportional representation and he intervened in the debate today to make the case again. He said the Government’s response showed no urgency to move towards a more democratic Second Chamber, let alone a fully elected one.