After the Referendum: Now is the Time for Radical Political Reform

“A revolutionary moment in the world's history is a time for revolutions, not for patching.” – William Beveridge

The Scottish Referendum

Scotland has just voted to remain a part of the United Kingdom by 55% to 45%. The Scottish referendum has been the most extra ordinary display of democracy and political engagement. The turnout figure of 85% in itself has broken all modern records for British electoral turnouts. Now the UK will never be the same again. Britain must see radical political reform in the aftermath of the Scottish referendum.

                                                              

Time for a Constitutional Convention

This radical political reform must come across the United Kingdom. The move towards Scottish Home Rule is now inevitable, but power must also be shifted to Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions. Britain is on its way to becoming a federal country. In the aftermath of the Scottish referendum, the constitutional settlement of the UK must be renewed. This can only be achieved by establishing a Constitutional Convention.

The Constitutional Convention should aim to disperse power away from Westminster towards all the other parts of the UK, but it should also make British politics fit for the 21st century. England is one of the most centralised nations in Europe; therefore it is necessary to give power to England on a regional basis. This would take account of the English North-South divide. It could take the form of Regional Assemblies or the form of empowered English city regions and empowered English counties. 

In time, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions should have full federal powers. This would leave the Federal Parliament in Westminster to have authority over issues such as foreign affairs, defence, immigration, national security, foreign development, international trade, Constitutional affairs, national economic policy and national welfare policy. The states of a federal Britain would have control over the other policy areas.

The cornerstone of this federal system would be a formal written constitution accompanied by a Bill of Rights. A Bill of Rights should not only protect political and civil rights, but also social rights. Social rights such as a right to free health care, a right to a free education, a right to have access to social security, a right to join a trade union and the right to be paid a fair wage. When scare stories about federalism are told they usually refer to the inequality of the American system. A federal Britain would not be viable without the very commitment to social rights that the American Constitution is lacking. As a centre-left liberal I could accept nothing less.

A British Constitutional Convention should also determine whether it is acceptable to have a second chamber made up of aristocrats, bishops and political appointees. Surely, the House of Lords will have to be elected and accountable to the British people. This also raises questions about what voting system should be used to elect the Houses of Parliament. First past the post is clearly an outdated and unfair voting system a move towards a more proportional system such as the single transferable vote (STV) is much more desirable.

Finally, one of the outstanding successes of the Scottish referendum debate was the decision to give 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote. The momentum behind votes at 16 is now unstoppable. 16 and 17 year olds should be fully enfranchised and entitled to vote in time for the next general election in 2015.

                                               

A Voice for the Disenfranchised

            Thousands of voters who had never voted before were engaged by the Scottish referendum debate. These were not just 16 and 17 year olds but thousands of adults who have never been willing to vote before. It is vital that politicians from across Britain realise that they need to engage with a disenfranchised minority who do not believe that the main parties represent them. This is most notably the case in poorest areas of Britain. A process of federalisation and constitutional reform is certainly a means to engage more people in politics. Hopefully the decentralisation of power will make politicians at the grassroots level more responsive to the concerns of those disenfranchised voters who feel they haven’t got a stake in our political system.

            People should avoid the dog whistle politics of English nationalism coming from UKIP and the Tory backbenchers. Nationalism only seeks to divide people. It is up to the progressive parties namely the Liberal Democrats and Labour to oppose this nationalism and actively seek to engage with disillusioned working class voters.

The Liberal Hour has come               

                                                                   

As of this morning, political reform is in the mainstream. MPs of all the main parties are talking about reforms to the British Constitution. What is a liberal party for if not to champion political reform. The Liberal hour has truly arrived. The Liberal Democrats for so long have been the masters of political reform and they must lead the debate to come. Liberal Democrats are the vanguard of constitutional reform; now is the time for a more liberal and a more democratic Britain to emerge.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to overhaul the entire British constitution and it is an opportunity that the Liberal Democrats cannot miss. For decades Lib Dems have been discussing constitutional reform now it is being discussed at the highest level. There may not be another opportunity like this again for several more decades. Hence it is up to senior Lib Dems to ensure that Britain makes a bold break from the past and that British politics is fit for the 21st century.

It is now very likely that in the 2015 general election the West Lothian question (also called the English question) will be a key issue. The Lib Dems must answer this question with a single word: federalism. The Lib Dems must position themselves as the party of federalism. Political reform and federalism must be a central pillar of the 2015 General Election campaign.

The Last 24 Hours

            After the last 24 hours no one can say that British politics is boring. Scotland might have voted to stay a part of the United Kingdom but the whole British Constitution is now up for review. The Scottish referendum which was so long represented the possibility of breaking up the UK now has the potential to renew it. Only Liberal Democrats can lead this change because we have political reform in our blood. The Scottish referendum reinvigorated democracy in Scotland; now let's reinvigorate democracy across the rest of the UK.