Ben
05-24-2010, 12:15 AM
News (http://www.guardian.co.uk/)
Politics (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics)
Nick Clegg (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/nickclegg)
Nick Clegg promises 'biggest shakeup of our democracy since 1832'
Deputy PM says reforms, which include ditching the national ID card scheme and electoral reform, are the most significant in 178 years
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Patrick Wintour (http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/patrickwintour), political editor
guardian.co.uk (http://www.guardian.co.uk/), Wednesday 19 May 2010 15.07 BST
Article history (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/19/nick-clegg-shakeup-democracy-1832#history-link-box)
Video: Clegg promises to 'transform politics' Link to this video (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2010/may/19/nickclegg-liberaldemocrats) Nick Clegg (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/nickclegg) today said he planned for the next general election to be held under a new voting system, but, in a major speech setting out his proposals to decentralise power in Britain, he could not give a date by which a referendum would be held.
In contrast to his pre-election criticism of the alternative vote system, the deputy prime minister described it today as a major step forward that would break decades of deadlock over voting reform.
Before the election he voiced doubts about AV, saying it was not proportional and describing it as a "baby step".
Unveiling a wide-ranging and ambitious reform programme, Clegg promised that he would attempt to introduce an elected second chamber with proposals drawn up by a commission by the end of the year. He declared that his aim was to break up the concentrations of power in Britain.
In what he described as the most significant reforms in 178 years, he pledged to abolish the national identity card scheme, biometric passports and the Contact Point children's database, ensure CCTV was "properly regulated" and place restrictions on DNA storage.
"I'm talking about the most significant programme of empowerment by a British government since the great enfranchisement of the 19th century. The biggest shakeup of our democracy since 1832, when the Great Reform Act redrew the boundaries of British democracy, for the first time extending the franchise beyond the landed classes," he said.
Clegg said he regarded the measures as so important that he was taking personal responsibility for implementing them, and promised that the new government would not be "insecure about relinquishing control".
He promised that a planned commission into the future of human rights legislation would not end up with the principles of the European convention on human rights (ECHR) being abandoned in Britain.
The Tories have previously said they would review how the Human Rights Act entrenches the ECHR in British law. Any new British bill of rights would "incorporate and build on the European convention on human rights and the way that those rights are enshrined in British legislation."
Asked why he was backing a referendum on a voting system that was not proportional, Clegg acknowledged that AV was "not as fully proportional as other systems". But he nevertheless claimed that AV represented "a major, major breaking of the deadlock that has prevailed for so many decades".
He said he was "relaxed" about the fact that he and David Cameron would be arguing different cases when the issue was put to the public, while at the same time stressing that he believed that reform was essential.
Clegg's failure to set a timetable for a change to the voting system alarmed some reformers, especially since he said the reform would be linked to a potentially lengthy constituency boundary review designed to reduce the number of MPs. Such a review could take many years to complete. Asked if he planned, as reported, to allow the Lords to be filled with 100 new Liberal Democrats (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/liberaldemocrats) and Tory peers, he said he "wanted to reform rather than stuff the Lords".
In his first set-piece speech as deputy prime minister, Clegg told an audience of students in north London that he would oversee a major transfer of power from central government to local communities, promising to support reforms that would give local councils power to raise and keep more money.
Clegg used his speech to respond to critics of plans to make it harder for MPs to force out the government if it is defeated on a vote of confidence. A proposed requirement for a 55% majority of MPs to agree to a dissolution of parliament before the end of its five-year term would help ensure stability, he said.
"That is a much lower threshold than the two-thirds required in Scottish parliament but it strikes the right balance for our parliament, maintaining stability, stopping parties from forcing a dissolution to serve their own interest," he said.
He criticised Labour former ministers such as Jack Straw and David Blunkett who have attacked the plan – but his comments also risk antagonising Conservative MPs who have voiced opposition.
"This last week, former Labour ministers who were once perfectly happy to ride roughshod over the rights of parliament are now declaring that this is somehow an innovation which is a constitutional outrage. They are completely missing the point."
Clegg also promised to go ahead with reforms to the funding of political parties to end the culture of big donors, adding that he wanted to see people given powers to remove corrupt MPs.
He also stood his ground against the deportation of terrorist suspects if there is a serious risk the suspect would be seriously mistreated, tortured or killed. "We, like any other civilised nation, abide by the very highest standards of human rights," he said.
It was a "source of great regret" that the lack of a formal agreement with Pakistan had resulted in a tribunal ruling yesterday that a man described as an "al-Qaida operative" could not be deported there.
Bilateral agreements with Pakistan and other states would need to be "properly verified so the assurances given are not just paper assurances", Clegg said.
Any suspect not deported would be kept under surveillance and under control, he said. Before the election, the Lib Dems were in favour of the abolition of control orders.
In other reforms, Clegg promised not to go ahead with the identity card scheme, so ending the "culture of spying" in Britain. "It is outrageous that decent, law-abiding people get treated as if they have got something to hide."
He also promised to regulate CCTV, limit state access to the DNA database, and properly implement the Wright committee reforms to give backbenchers greater power.
Politics (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics)
Nick Clegg (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/nickclegg)
Nick Clegg promises 'biggest shakeup of our democracy since 1832'
Deputy PM says reforms, which include ditching the national ID card scheme and electoral reform, are the most significant in 178 years
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Comments (269) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/19/nick-clegg-shakeup-democracy-1832#start-of-comments)
Patrick Wintour (http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/patrickwintour), political editor
guardian.co.uk (http://www.guardian.co.uk/), Wednesday 19 May 2010 15.07 BST
Article history (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/19/nick-clegg-shakeup-democracy-1832#history-link-box)
Video: Clegg promises to 'transform politics' Link to this video (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2010/may/19/nickclegg-liberaldemocrats) Nick Clegg (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/nickclegg) today said he planned for the next general election to be held under a new voting system, but, in a major speech setting out his proposals to decentralise power in Britain, he could not give a date by which a referendum would be held.
In contrast to his pre-election criticism of the alternative vote system, the deputy prime minister described it today as a major step forward that would break decades of deadlock over voting reform.
Before the election he voiced doubts about AV, saying it was not proportional and describing it as a "baby step".
Unveiling a wide-ranging and ambitious reform programme, Clegg promised that he would attempt to introduce an elected second chamber with proposals drawn up by a commission by the end of the year. He declared that his aim was to break up the concentrations of power in Britain.
In what he described as the most significant reforms in 178 years, he pledged to abolish the national identity card scheme, biometric passports and the Contact Point children's database, ensure CCTV was "properly regulated" and place restrictions on DNA storage.
"I'm talking about the most significant programme of empowerment by a British government since the great enfranchisement of the 19th century. The biggest shakeup of our democracy since 1832, when the Great Reform Act redrew the boundaries of British democracy, for the first time extending the franchise beyond the landed classes," he said.
Clegg said he regarded the measures as so important that he was taking personal responsibility for implementing them, and promised that the new government would not be "insecure about relinquishing control".
He promised that a planned commission into the future of human rights legislation would not end up with the principles of the European convention on human rights (ECHR) being abandoned in Britain.
The Tories have previously said they would review how the Human Rights Act entrenches the ECHR in British law. Any new British bill of rights would "incorporate and build on the European convention on human rights and the way that those rights are enshrined in British legislation."
Asked why he was backing a referendum on a voting system that was not proportional, Clegg acknowledged that AV was "not as fully proportional as other systems". But he nevertheless claimed that AV represented "a major, major breaking of the deadlock that has prevailed for so many decades".
He said he was "relaxed" about the fact that he and David Cameron would be arguing different cases when the issue was put to the public, while at the same time stressing that he believed that reform was essential.
Clegg's failure to set a timetable for a change to the voting system alarmed some reformers, especially since he said the reform would be linked to a potentially lengthy constituency boundary review designed to reduce the number of MPs. Such a review could take many years to complete. Asked if he planned, as reported, to allow the Lords to be filled with 100 new Liberal Democrats (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/liberaldemocrats) and Tory peers, he said he "wanted to reform rather than stuff the Lords".
In his first set-piece speech as deputy prime minister, Clegg told an audience of students in north London that he would oversee a major transfer of power from central government to local communities, promising to support reforms that would give local councils power to raise and keep more money.
Clegg used his speech to respond to critics of plans to make it harder for MPs to force out the government if it is defeated on a vote of confidence. A proposed requirement for a 55% majority of MPs to agree to a dissolution of parliament before the end of its five-year term would help ensure stability, he said.
"That is a much lower threshold than the two-thirds required in Scottish parliament but it strikes the right balance for our parliament, maintaining stability, stopping parties from forcing a dissolution to serve their own interest," he said.
He criticised Labour former ministers such as Jack Straw and David Blunkett who have attacked the plan – but his comments also risk antagonising Conservative MPs who have voiced opposition.
"This last week, former Labour ministers who were once perfectly happy to ride roughshod over the rights of parliament are now declaring that this is somehow an innovation which is a constitutional outrage. They are completely missing the point."
Clegg also promised to go ahead with reforms to the funding of political parties to end the culture of big donors, adding that he wanted to see people given powers to remove corrupt MPs.
He also stood his ground against the deportation of terrorist suspects if there is a serious risk the suspect would be seriously mistreated, tortured or killed. "We, like any other civilised nation, abide by the very highest standards of human rights," he said.
It was a "source of great regret" that the lack of a formal agreement with Pakistan had resulted in a tribunal ruling yesterday that a man described as an "al-Qaida operative" could not be deported there.
Bilateral agreements with Pakistan and other states would need to be "properly verified so the assurances given are not just paper assurances", Clegg said.
Any suspect not deported would be kept under surveillance and under control, he said. Before the election, the Lib Dems were in favour of the abolition of control orders.
In other reforms, Clegg promised not to go ahead with the identity card scheme, so ending the "culture of spying" in Britain. "It is outrageous that decent, law-abiding people get treated as if they have got something to hide."
He also promised to regulate CCTV, limit state access to the DNA database, and properly implement the Wright committee reforms to give backbenchers greater power.