Brown pledges to 'clean up politics' with vote reforms
Wednesday June 10 2009
GORDON BROWN will today promise an elected House of Lords and open the door to electoral reform as part of a sweeping package of changes to "clean up politics" after the MPs' expenses scandal.
In a Commons statement, the British prime minister will announce that a separate Bill to bring in independent regulation of MPs will be fast-tracked through the Commons by the autumn. The measure, which will set up a new watchdog to oversee MPs' expenses, was originally going to be part of a wider Constitutional Renewal Bill but this will now take longer to become law.
He will promise a detailed blueprint to reform the second chamber, reflecting last year's vote by MPs for 80 or 100pc of the House of Lords to be elected. A Bill could be published to allow a public debate. It is unlikely to become law before a general election as it would face strong opposition from peers. However, it would be included in the Labour manifesto.
The move is aimed partly at outflanking the Tories, who support a largely elected Lords but would not make it a priority if they win power, not least because many Tory peers oppose the idea.
Voting
Mr Brown will make clear he has an open mind about voting reform for general elections. He has appointed several ministers who support change to a new National Democratic Renewal Council, whose first meeting he chaired yesterday.
There is a growing consensus in the UK cabinet for a switch to an Australian-style alternative vote (AV) system under which people mark the candidates in order of preference. The bottom one drops out until one enjoys majority support.
But the cabinet is unlikely to endorse the Home Secretary Alan Johnson's call for an 'AV-plus' system of proportional representation, under which between 100 and 200 MPs would be elected in line with the votes cast on top of those chosen in constituencies by AV.
Mr Brown will call for a public debate on electoral reform. He will accept that any change would have to be approved in a referendum.
The Labour leader is keen to push ahead with a wide range of changes to the way Britain is governed as he tries to rebuild his authority after seeing off a backbench Labour plot to oust him. The two other planks of his policy-based fightback will be ensuring a rapid economic recovery and further public services reforms. (© Independent News Service, London)
- Andrew Grice in London
