The Need for Reform by Bill Sylvester

In this piece, I am going to suggest that, although the conscienceless Tories and Brexit are problems, they are not the real problem. Yes they need to be sorted, and yes, in the short term, their impact is very damaging, but actually they are symptoms, and their origin is something much more fundamental.

The painful truth is that our system of government is no longer up to the job. Our constitution has turned out to be a gentlemen’s agreement, worthless as soon as one side chooses to ignore it. The seesaw of bilateral politics, based on the pivot of public opinion, can be too easily manipulated by outside forces, be they media, billionaires, ideologists or extremists.

In the US, exactly the same problem allowed Trump to run riot over the institutions of state, to disrupt the tenor of US international relations, and to divide the country more deeply than anything since the Civil War. Biden may now provide a firm hand on the helm, but the political future looks a lot like the past. The Republicans will return, radical swings in policy will continue to waste time, energy and money.

In the UK, our first past the post system has given us a Tory party which has been steered by its own right wing even further to the right. Brexit has been championed by a relatively small number of people, for selfish reasons and through corrupted practices. In the short term, of course we must resist both, but the longer term offers the real potential for change. We have to find a route to a more representative parliament, with something closer to a legally enforceable constitution.

Realistically, the next general election offers three possible outcomes. Unless something extraordinary happens in Scotland, a majority Labour government is the least likely outcome. Another Conservative government, probably with a reduced majority, is the most likely. The third option, a minority or coalition government led by Labour is probably achievable and undoubtedly our best hope.

We need to recognise that there are two distinct lines of attack. On the one hand, we must maintain pressure on the Government and on their handling of Brexit and Covid19. They cannot be given a free ride, even if they continue to ignore all criticism.

Inevitably this is a confrontational approach. For that reason, I think it should be kept separate from the other strand of work which is the creation of a progressive alliance, bringing together all those who accept that we need to overhaul our structures. Many of the opposition parties would already support that aim, as might some Leave-supporting sectors of the electorate.

Such an alliance would need to go into the next election with a shared manifesto and with an electoral pact. The pact speaks for itself, to give the strongest pro-reform party a clear run on a case-by-case basis in each constituency. The shared manifesto would be fairly simple, and time limited. It should include commitments to:
an agreed form of proportional representation
reform of the House of Lords
enactment of the Nolan principles into law
fresh elections under the new system
There may be room to agree other measures, for example on the environment.
As has been said elsewhere and often, the next step is to get motions to the the party conferences which support these or similar aims. There is a separate and continuing need to scrutinise and attack the Government when it goes wrong. But it is worth suggesting that for the reform movement both Brexit and the current Tory government should be treated as irrelevant.