Will
the parties build enough trust to bind themselves in to an agreed reform
programme before the election to enable them to work together after the
election?
I have argued
for some six months and more that the Liberal Democrats should be in the
forefront of a campaign for voting and constitutional reform and that to enable
this to happen a cross-party Convention needs to be established. The aim being to
agree a progressive reform programme say by early 2018.
So I am
delighted that the SNP, Greens and Welsh nationalists have united to call for
an electoral pact with Labour and the Liberal Democrats to agree sweeping
changes to the voting system for Westminster elections.
In a letter published in The Independent on Sunday,
the leaders of the three left-of-centre parties call for an agreement on
electoral reform to be included in each of their manifestos in 2020.
In
the letter, the SNP leader in Westminster, the parliamentary leader of Plaid Cymru,
and the Green MP Caroline Lucas welcome the talks that seem to be going on between
Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Although I have read somewhere that Tim
Farron has downplayed them!.
The three MPs
write :
“By working
together we believe it’s possible to transform British politics – and that a
fairer voting system will help deliver a fairer Britain.
“We would like
to see Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the parties we represent joining
together at the next general election in a joint manifesto pledge to introduce
proportional representation for the House of Commons. This would give every
voter a say in future elections and provide a mandate for the early
introduction of legislation.”
The three MPs
pledge to work with other party leaders further “about how this pledge can be
achieved”.
But what are
the views of the other party leaders?
Jeremy Corbyn
He has admitted that he is “open” to an electoral pact with other
parties to force through electoral reform.
Asked if he would be willing to talk to the Liberal Democrats and other
parties about agreeing changes to the voting system, the Labour leader said he
“could be”. But pressed whether he was open to it, he replied:
“Obviously.”
Tim Farron
Well it is reported that Tim’s aides are talking to a Labour MP, someone
who is a close ally of Mr Corbyn and who is acting as a conduit between the two
leaders. .
A senior Lib Dem source!! Said “Tim has always said electoral reform is
a key part of reshaping British politics. He will work with anyone, in all
parties and none, to deliver that.”
It is also claimed that the Liberal Democrats are understood to want a
respected elder statesman in the Labour Party to take on a formal role as a
go-between between the parties.
UKIP
UkIP also backs electoral reform, but is unlikely to enter into a pact
with Labour or the Liberal Democrats.
One senior figure who has raised over recent
months the need for a progressive alliance and a cross-party constitutional convention
and last week in a post on this blog is David Owen. I found his post constructive
as to the way forward.
He says:
‘Labour can win the next election in
2020 – but only through a “progressive alliance”. But this demands
realistic compromises from Corbyn, the party conference, the National Executive
Committee and the PLP. It means creating a constitutional convention in 2017
alongside the SNP (the likeliest next-biggest party), the Liberal Democrats (if
they will change their policy on a market in health), Plaid Cymru, the Green
Party and any MPs from Northern Ireland. Agreed reforms in their respective
manifestos could then be legislated on in the first session of parliament.’
The question now is Will the Wagon roll?!
Two earlier posts on this blog: