Tom Griffin (London, OK):At the start of Gordon Brown's premiership, constitutional reform was a major plank of his agenda.The extent to which it seems to have fallen by the wayside was highlighted in yesterday's attack on the Government by his former adviser on the issue, Lord Lester:
He said the government's failures to pursue constitutional reform were "why I decided, with regret, to cease to be a government-tethered 'goat' - that is, one of those flatteringly and misleadingly described as part of a government of all the talents". Lester is understood to be dismayed that Straw has allowed the constitutional reform bill not to find a firm slot in the Queen's speech, and fears the justice secretary is using his plans for a bill of rights and responsibilities to weaken rather than strengthen British commitment to human rights.
The Herald brings us a ray of hope, with a report that at least one profound constitutional change is under active consideration:
The UK Government is working on a detailed plan to change or even scrap the Act of Settlement, which bans Roman Catholics from becoming king or queen and prevents the monarch from marrying a Catholic, The Herald has been told.
In an exclusive interview, Jim Murphy, the Scottish Secretary, revealed how Jack Straw, the Westminster Justice Secretary in overall charge of constitutional matters, is working behind the scenes to change a 307-year-old pillar of the British constitution, which is offensive to many Catholics and non-Catholics, who regard it as unfair and discriminatory.
It has often been argued in the past that the Act of Settlement is too fundamental to the political system to be easily altered. That implies that if the will does exist to change it, it needs to happen as part of a wider constitutional settlement.
