Quote of the Week
In anticipation of our interview with the Lord Chancellor we thought this was appropriate...
"There is, I believe, a dissonance between our values as citizens of a liberal democracy and some of our constitutional arrangements. We should not ignore that dissonance. If, for example, we believe in equal opportunity and do not accept that education or jobs should be distributed according to which family you were born into, then why should our legislature include hereditary peers? Shouldn't we have the courage of our convictions, especially when it comes to deciding something so fundamental as our constitutional arrangements?"
Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor
Constitutional Reform Speech University College London, 8 December 2003
Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor
Constitutional Reform Speech University College London, 8 December 2003
In effect - dissonance in values between the constitution and the values of a Liberal Democracy combined with "what's good for the geese is good for the gander".
Will he agree that it follows - if everyone outside of Parliament is subject to a healthy dose of statutes regarding misrepresentation of facts, misleading statements etc. our elected representatives should be ?
We'll find out soon enough.
Will he agree that it follows - if everyone outside of Parliament is subject to a healthy dose of statutes regarding misrepresentation of facts, misleading statements etc. our elected representatives should be ?
We'll find out soon enough.
He must mean dissonance in values between a Liberal Democracy and an Elective Dictatorship.
ReplyDeleteShurely shome mishtake
Falconer said, "Why should the legislature include hereditary peers". He doesn't go on to say, "why should the legislature be filled with donors to the Labour Party" does he ?
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how everyone can go around banging on about "The Constitution" when its such an untangible floating group of ideas. "The Constitution" can, like government stats, be interpreted to suit the speaker as he/she wishes. Isn't it about time we codified it. Writing has been around for about 4000 years after all.
ReplyDeleteYou may want to ask Falconer why the Attorney General - legal advisor to the government, is also the head of the Crown Prosecution Service - they're the guys who'll ultimately decide on whether to bring Blair and Levy to trial for the Cash for Honours debacle.
ReplyDeleteDon't you need to have convictions before you can have courage in them ?
ReplyDeleteIt should be very interesting to hear exactly what he has to say on representatives being subject to the same penalties as the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteOf course, after your encounter with DJ 'Fly' MP and MC Pendry, and knowing how well these guys spin, I wouldn't be surprised if he could turn that quote into an endorsement of thought policing and the gestapo...
slow down legal eagle, the role of the Attorney General is currently under debate - thank god but lets wait and see the outcome. Its a bit of damned if he does, damned if he doesn't scenario in truth.
ReplyDeletedebate/shebate. Talk is cheap, monet pay da rent.
ReplyDeleteWith all the accusations of cronyism floating around, perhaps the Lord Chancellor could explain why Labour "supporters" in the Upper House is any better than having hereditary peers. I hope the irony of doing away with one group of non-elected individuals only to be replaced by another group of non-elected individuals is not lost on him.
ReplyDeletelordships two for a pound
ReplyDeletecome on any colour ya like
honours two for a pound!!
shut up am eating me wings.
There is nothing to touch the taste of a torched radical. The smell. Delicious. I love the smell of godawful hippies flailing against the reality of government. Don't stop now. Let it sap the life from you. Just before you leave us, be sure to examine what you've achieved with your nonsensical quest.
ReplyDeleteI'll be watching.
I find it bizarre that at this day and age, the constitution is so ill-defined, and hence leaves, for a lack of better word, a lot of room for “reinterpretation”. Perhaps, the current administration is largely responsible for awaking the public from the dream of liberal-democracy that was eloquently described by his lordship. Therefore, it is abundantly clear that power is addictive and must be separated accordingly, which of course can only be done through a proper definition of the game rules, i.e. a written constitution (as the “lawbunny” pointed out the irrefutable fact that humans had the ability to do so for about 4,000 years). I, sincerely, hope that many will agree with me, when I stress the importance of this document not just for the people but for the entire country, as it seems to be stuck in the past of her former “glory & power”, which has now, arguably, sadly passed away.
ReplyDeleteWhile I take the point that the current administration has abused the flexibility of our consitutional arrangements, I don't believe that having a written document will solve the democratic "dissonance" and bring back the "glory and power". We have never had a written constitution throughout our political history and therefore, presumably, throughout our former years of "glory and power." The point of an unwritten constitution is that, in the right hands, it allows for greater public freedom. Do you not think that having a written constitution set in stone, under the influence of the current administration, would simply place further limits on our liberty and simultaneously erase the hope for enhanced democracy in the future?
ReplyDeleteAsk Martin Luther King - ain't no such thing as a peaceful revolution. Getta grip, get on board and GET IT ON.
ReplyDelete