March 19, 2004

Stay of Constitutional Execution

Tony Blair has been forced to shelve his plans to dump the remaining 92 hereditary peers from the House of Lords. All but this remnant were kicked out in 1999 and the self-appointed destroyer of the British constitution had pledged to dismiss the rest before next General Election.

It is the Lords themselves (both hereditary and life peers) who have made it clear that these latest changes would not get though their House successfully. They have forced the bill to create a Supreme Court into committee, sending a clear message to the Government that dismantling one house of the legislature without something to put in its place is not going to work.

Tony has wanted the House of Lord to be comprised entirely of his appointees, as that is the only way to get some of his personal agenda imposed on the British public. His excuse for getting rid of the hereditaries is that someone shouldn't be born into a role in government. Apparently it is better to have someone appointed in his patronage, rather than the great-great-grandson of someone appointed in someone else's patronage. He says the situation now is unacceptable in a democratic society and wants to replace it with a decidedly undemocratic solution.

However, with too much opposition to pure cronyism, Tony has no back-up plan. He wants to leave the British constitution floundering. Given the track record of his Government, he is very experienced at floundering.

Posted by david at March 19, 2004 03:14 PM | TrackBack
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