The telegraph
today reported that 70 Tory MPs are leading a rebellion to defeat the Bill.
Clearly Cameron is putting his leadership on the line over this issue, at best,
in order to appease the junior partners across the cabinet table. Or at worst,
because he actually believes an elected House of Lords serves the best
interests of the country. Either way it is foolish for any government to
attempt constitutional reform without the consent of the public. It is more foolish to do so without first ensuring they are carrying the party
with them.
Cameron conceding House of Lords reform in the coalition agreement is unforgivable.
Constitutional change is something which should kept out of back-door negotiations between the two parties. Democratic institutions must be protected from politicians playing party politics. The legacy
of such reforms is permanent and impossible to reverse. Whilst electoral reform
was borderline inexcusable, at least it was put to the public, in the form of a
referendum, to decide whether or not AV was something the country wanted. The
conduct of the Coalition over Lords Reform however, has nothing to spare any integrity.
Clegg was able to justify an expensive referendum for
changing the electoral system in 2011, yet doesn’t see fit to put the biggest
constitutional change the country has seen in modern times to the vote. This is
ludicrous hypocrisy and demonstrates pure political opportunism in order to
force through changes to the Upper Chamber which nobody really wants, other
than liberal dogmatists, taking advantage of their rare opportunity in
government, who hold only a simplistic understanding of democracy.
It is astonishing that Cameron has failed to intervene and stop
this proposal going any further. Lords reform is something that nobody is
calling for, least of all now. The pursuit of an elected House of Lords is
something which is alienating Conservative voters and members. Cameron has
failed to gage the mood amongst his own backbenchers who have been put in the
undue predicament of putting the Governments unity in jeopardy, and his own
premiership on the line.
Government rebellions are never taken lightly in the
Conservative Party. This is more the case than ever with the reluctant rebellion
of Nicholas
Soames, a Tory MP who has only once in his long parliamentary career, voted
against his own party. This is indicative of the mood of Tory backbenchers
whose patience again is being stretched to the full by Cameron’s leadership.
Cameron is playing with fire with his own backbenchers. This is something a
leader can only get away with so many times before it comes back to haunt them.
Not even Tony Blair was immune. Cameron is clearly not in touch with his own
party over this issue if he believes he can come out of this unscathed.
Never before has a government attempted such drastic
constitutional reform. Therefore Cameron is on unchartered territory. Whether
or not it gets passed remains narrow, but either way, Cameron is surely putting
his standing within the party in danger.
Attempting constitutional reform, without being put to the electorate,
represents a clear betrayal of the public. Never should a government attempt to
change the goalposts over the countries democratic system without the mandate
of the British people. Therefore out of principle, all MPs must realise their
abuse of power and oppose the Bill. This
is unlikely to be the case, but what upholders of democracy can hope for is a
sufficient tory rebellion.
