4 Conclusion
96. Constitutional reform is technical and rarely urgent. Yet it matters enormously, as the Prime Minister has recognised. Overcoming disengagement from our political processes and institutions is one of the greatest challenges faced by politicians today. We hope that all sides of the House will engage constructively with this agenda: this is not a matter for partisan politics.
97. The language of the green paper on the Governance of Britain was commendable, as is the goal of constitutional renewal. We welcome the fact that there is a Minister dedicated to this agenda. We also welcome the decision to legislate in those important areas of power held by the executive without Parliament's approval. The clauses on the civil service—although they could be improved—are a major step towards meeting a long-standing gap in the legislative framework. There are disappointingly limited measures proposed for the other prerogative powers in which we have taken an interest. There are a number of parts of the draft bill that fall outside our remit. We have not considered these at all, and trust that other Committees will examine them closely, not least the specially appointed Joint Committee.
98. When the Prime Minister announced the Governance of Britain programme, he talked about entrusting more power not just to Parliament, but also to the people. There is only one measure in the draft bill that would give power to individual citizens. This is the power to demonstrate in the vicinity of Parliament. It is not a new power: indeed it was limited only in 2005. In this context, we welcome the Prime Minister's announcement that the Government will consult on "a major shift of power directly to citizens themselves" and will bring forward measures on community empowerment, "to give people greater power to influence local decisions".[93] Measures of this kind were notably lacking in the draft bill, and we look forward to seeing the detail of the proposals.
99. The Constitutional Renewal Bill, when it is finally presented to Parliament, should be a seminal piece of legislation, reshaping the relationship between Government, Parliament, the courts and the people. Our recommendations are designed to help ensure that this is the case.
93 HC Deb 14 May 2008, c 1389 Back
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