European Affairs

These debates can on occasion become ritualistic, but today's has real significance because it takes place against a background of announced constitutional change. The European issue is, at root, a constitutional question. It is about where power resides, who exercises it and whether it is controlled and accountable. The Prime Minister has picked up the question of constitutional renewal as a possible way to save his Administration. The Labour Government have noticed that they are almost more unpopular than any other Government in history, but instead of changing the Prime Minister or the Government, they have hit on the idea of changing the constitution. We do not yet know what form that will take—whether it will be rigging the voting system or a genuine attempt to reconnect Parliament and the Government with the people. Last week's statement by the Prime Minister contained little new, but I can at least agree with the aims of transparency, accountability and devolution. It is the devolution of power that interests me especially. The Prime Minister said that""there is the devolution of power and the engagement of people themselves in their local communities."—[Official Report, 10 June 2009; Vol. 493, c. 798.]" I do not think that there is, but clearly there should be. The only problem is that we have heard all this before, two years ago, when the Prime Minister first took office. He said then that he wanted""a new British constitutional settlement that entrusts more power to Parliament and the British people."" He went on to announce a lot of gimmicky ideas about citizens juries and what he called a new community right to call for action—we never heard anything more about that. He also said:""The right of all the British people to have their voice heard is fundamental to our democracy". —[Official Report, 3 July 2007; Vol. 462, c. 815-18.]" Almost in the same breath, he denied the British people a vote on the Lisbon treaty, in an almost immediate contradiction between what he said and what he did.