BIG Changes

Chapter Three of "The Governance of Britain" is entitled "Re-invigorating our democracy". At its heart is "Renewing the accountability of Parliament".

• House of Lords reform - the Government is committed to removing the 92 remaining hereditary peers. Cross party discussions are continuing over the makeup of the House of Lords. A statement is expected before the summer recess.
• House of Commons - the Modernisation Committee Report has been welcomed by the Government.
• The Structure of the United Kingdom - the principle of a single class of MPs has been forcefully restated. A campaign by opponents of the Government to have Scottish (and Welsh) MPs excluded from participating in matters affecting England is rejected. Devolution of powers is supported and Mr Brown has already appointed Regional Ministers. The Green paper describes their role and suggests the establishment of nine regional select committees.

An Important Day in Britain's Constitutional History

The Prime Minister has made a very significant statement on Constitutional Reform (available at http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page12274.asp and the Ministry of Justice has produced a Green Paper (Consultation Paper) called 'The Governance of Britain' giving further details. It is available at http://www.pm.gov.uk/files/pdf/TGoB_print.pdf

Many of the proposals will be familiar to those who follow the American system

• (paragraph 25) There are few political decisions more important than the deployment of the Armed Forces into armed conflict. The Government can currently exercise the prerogative power to deploy the Armed Forces for armed conflict overseas without requiring any formal parliamentary agreement.
  (26) The Government believes that this is now an outdated state of affairs in a modern democracy. On an issue of such fundamental importance to the nation, the Government should seek the approval of the representatives of the people in the House of Commons for significant, non-routine deployments of the Armed Forces into armed conflict, to the greatest extent possible. This needs to be done without prejudicing the Government’s ability to take swift action to protect our national security, or undermining operational security or effectiveness. The Government will therefore consult Parliament and the public on how best to achieve this.
  US Constitution Article I Section 8. "The Congress shall have power to ... To declare war" - see also The War Powers Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-148)
  


• (31) Every year, the UK becomes party to many international treaties. These result in binding obligations for the UK under international law across a wide range of domestic and foreign policy issues. It is right that Parliament should be able to scrutinise the treaty making process.
  (32) The Government’s ability to ratify treaties is currently constrained in two ways. Treaties that require changes to UK law need the enactment of prior legislation which, of course, requires the full assent of Parliament. Examples in recent years have included the Statute of the International Criminal Court6 and European Union accession treaties. Many other treaties are covered by a convention, known as the Ponsonby Rule...
  (33) The Government believes that the procedure for allowing Parliament to scrutinise treaties should be formalised. The Government is of the view that Parliament may wish to hold a debate and vote on some treaties and, with a view to its doing so, will therefore consult on an appropriate means to put the Ponsonby Rule on a statutory footing.
  US Constition Article II Section 2 (The President) "shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, ..."

• In addition there are proposals for

Confirmation style hearings - paragraphs 74-78

A National Security Strategy - paragraph 97

A National Security Committee - paragraph 98 "to ensure that its policies and their delivery are coordinated and appropriate to the changing nature of the risks and challenges facing us in the 21st century. The Committee will meet regularly, under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister, and omprise senior Cabinet colleagues from relevant departments, supported by relevant senior officials and a secretariat in the Cabinet Office"

The Prime Minister said to the House of Commons "In Britain we have a largely unwritten constitution. To change that would represent a fundamental and historic shift in our constitutional arrangements. So it is right to involve the public in a sustained debate whether there is a case for the United Kingdom developing a full British Bill of Rights and Duties, or for moving towards a written constitution."

There's much more in the Green Paper - and many consultation papers to come. How much will Westminster learn from Washington?

Ratifying Treaties

In the United States, the President "shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur" (Art II Section 2). In the UK the ratification of treaties is a matter of the Royal Prerogative. The Executive decides whether or not to ratify a treaty, Parliament has no right to decide.

In practice, the 'Ponsonby Rule' has been applied. Mr Arthur Ponsonby (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) announced in 1924 that "It is the intention of His Majesty's Government to lay on the table of both Houses of Parliament every treaty, when signed, for a period of 21 days, after which the treaty will be ratified and published and circulated in the Treaty Series. In the case of important treaties, the Government will, of course, take an opportunity of submitting them to the House for discussion within this period. But, as the Government cannot take upon itself to decide what may be considered important or unimportant, if there is a formal demand for discussion forwarded through the usual channels from the Opposition or any other party, time will be found for the discussion of the Treaty in question." - in other words, for important treaties, or when parliamentarians request it, a treaty may be discussed before it is ratified.

(for more on the Ponsonby Rule:- http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/ponsonbyrule,0.pdf)

It is anticipated that today Gordon Brown will announce an important change. Parliament will be given the RIGHT to ratify treaties (and, another import from the USA, will be able to hold confirmation hearings for appointments to senior public positions)

Coming Legislative Business

The two Houses of Congress will not be sitting this week, as they are both on a break for the July 4th Holiday.

It was going to be a busy week anyway in Parliament, with a statement on Constitutional Reform on Monday - and the first full week of the new Government. Events have of course intervened. The discovery of two car bombs in London and the attack on Glasgow Airport which has led to the level of security being raised to "Critical" ['an attack is expected imminently'] - will dominate this weeks proceedings. The Constitutional Reform statement has been postponed and the new Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, will make a statement on the events at 3.30pm (10.30am Washington time) this afternoon.

The New Government

The full list of the new Government has been published, and is available at http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page12240.asp

There are three main levels of minister

Secretary of State - the most senior minister, usually a member of the Cabinet. Has overall responsibility for a Department

Minister of State - the second level of minister.

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - the most junior level of minister.

Most ministers are paid a salary - but Statute limits the number of paid ministerial positions, so a small number receive no pay

Ministers may be supported by a PPS (Parliamentary Private Secretary). This is an unpaid position - sometimes described as the 'ears and eyes of the Minister'. Their job is to communicate with other MPs and carry out other tasks for the Minister. It is often seen as a position where potential ministers are tried out - and if they prove to be good, paid appointment as a Minister may follow.

One of my favourite pieces of dialogue in 'Yes Minister' deals with positions within a Government Department.

James Hacker: Who else is in this department?
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Well briefly, Sir, I am the Permanent Under Secretary of State, known as the Permanent Secretary. Woolley here is your Principal Private Secretary, I too have a Principal Private Secretary and he is the Principal Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary. Directly responsible to me are ten Deputy Secretaries, 87 Under Secretaries and 219 Assistant Secretaries. Directly responsible to the Principal Private Secretary are plain Private Secretaries, and the Prime Minister will be appointing two Parliamentary Under Secretaries and you will be appointing your own Parliamentary Private Secretary.
James Hacker: Do they all type?
Sir Humphrey Appleby: No. Mrs. McKay types. She's the secretary."