Sir Jeffrey Jowell drove through the topic – Does the UK’s Unwritten Constitution Safeguard Our Democracy?’- with clarity and energy. His outrage at the insouciant, demeaning and dangerous breaches of constitutional trust between the government and the citizens and institutions of the country was contained but evident. Jowell believes that reform is urgently needed, re-emphasising the principles of the rule of law, the sovereignty of parliament and the interpretation of laws by the courts, laid down by A.V. Dicey in 1885 and re-stated for the 21st century by Lord Bingham in 2006. Such reform may be incremental, addressing particular issues rather than attempting to write a constitution for the UK.
Following the lecture, plenty of questions came from the floor, ranging from the quality of today’s politicians, through the human rights of minority communities, the danger of sunsetting EU law that protects the environment and working conditions, to the need for specific education in schools on the workings of the society and governance in the UK today. An audience member’s critique of politicians – ‘narcissistic chancers’ – took no account of the fact that MPs are elected, not appointed. We, the collective electorate, are responsible for the quality of politicians; we are responsible for giving the Conservative party a large majority in the House of Commons; and we have the responsibility, if that’s how we feel, to elect different ones.
The audience was largely people like us, and the sense that ‘something needs to be done’ tended to rebound around the walls. There were few young people. Suggested ways forward were somewhat ‘top down’. A chilling reference point raised in the lecture was a poll showing a majority opinion of the (broad) 16-44 demographic that efficiency of government was more important than democratic scrutiny. Refreshed contextual education is utterly vital – we need to know from school onwards, where we are, how we got here, socially, politically and economically. Professor Linda Colley, who chaired the event, suggested that MPs should be paid more to professionalise the role; I think they’re paid quite enough. We should triple the salaries of teachers, particularly in history departments.
Recent Comments