The end of Mediocre Britain, return of the Great?

[G27]

BBC News - Full text: Clegg reform speech

I have to admit, I'm actually jealous we don;t have someone in high office here who speaks this openly about the rights of the people vs government...

Full text: Clegg reform speech

Here is the full text of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's speech on political reform:

I have spent my whole political life fighting to open up politics.

So I'd like to make one thing very clear:

This government is going to be unlike any other.

This government is going to transform our politics so the state has far less control over you, and you have far more control over the state.

This government is going to break up concentrations of power and hand power back to people, because that is quite simply how we can build a society that is fair.

This government is going to persuade you to put your faith in politics once again.

I'm not talking about a few new rules for MPs;

Not the odd gesture or gimmick here or there to make you feel a bit more involved.

I'm talking about the most significant programme of empowerment by a British government since the great reforms of the 19th Century.

The biggest shake up of our democracy since 1832, when the Great Reform Act redrew the boundaries of British democracy, for the first time extending the franchise beyond the landed classes.

Landmark legislation, from politicians who refused to sit back and do nothing while huge swathes of the population remained helpless against vested interests.

Who stood up for the freedom of the many, not the privilege of the few.

And it's that spirit this government will draw on as we deliver our programme for political reform:

A power revolution.

A fundamental resettlement of the relationship between state and citizen that puts you in charge.

Today I want to talk about how we'll get there.

Three major steps, that will begin immediately:

One: we will repeal all of the intrusive and unnecessary laws that inhibit your freedom.

Two: we will reform our politics so it is open, transparent, decent.

Three: we will radically redistribute power away from the centre, into your communities, your homes, your hands.

Big, sweeping change.

Not incremental, not bit by bit.

Our democracy has suffered at the hands of encroaching centralisation and secrecy for decades.

Take citizens' rights: eroded by the quiet proliferation of laws that increase surveillance, quash dissent, limit freedom.

Take executive authority: consistently increased by successive administrations to the point that we now have a neutered parliament and government that enjoys almost untrammelled control - over precisely the people who are meant to keep it in check.

Take the welfare state: one of modern society's greatest liberators - now utterly different to that envisaged by Beveridge because of the sheer degree of centralised control and micromanagement.

Britain was once the cradle of modern democracy.

We are now, on some measures, the most centralised country in Europe, bar Malta.

So, no, incremental change will not do.

It is time for a wholesale, big bang approach to political reform.

That's what this government will deliver.

I'm a liberal.

My starting point is always optimism about people.

The view that most people, most of the time, will make the right decisions for themselves and their families.

That you know better than I do about how to run your life, your community, the services you use.

So this government is going to trust people.

We know that, when people see a real opportunity to shape the world they live in, they take it.

Just think of the election we've just been through.

Thousands of young people rushing to register to vote before they missed the deadline.

When people have power they use it.

And when they are denied it, there is anger and disappointment.

We saw it two weeks ago when across the country hundreds of people were turned away from polling stations on election night.

I am eagerly awaiting the findings of the Electoral Commission's review into this fiasco...

Not least as an MP representing a Sheffield constituency where it happened...

We must make sure this never happens again.

You must be confident that, come polling day, your voice will be heard.

And - more than that - that chance shouldn't only come around once every five years.

You should be able to use your voice, to exercise your power, every single day.

Under this government's plans, you will.

Three steps to new politics.

First, sweeping legislation to restore the hard won liberties that have been taken, one by one, from the British people.

This government will end the culture of spying on its citizens.

It is outrageous that decent, law-abiding people are regularly treated as if they have something to hide.

It has to stop.

So there will be no ID card scheme.

No national identity register, a halt to second generation biometric passports.

We won't hold your internet and email records when there is just no reason to do so.

CCTV will be properly regulated, as will the DNA database, with restrictions on the storage of innocent people's DNA.

Britain must not be a country where our children grow up so used to their liberty being infringed that they accept it without question.

There will be no ContactPoint children's database.

Schools will not take children's fingerprints without even asking their parent's consent.

This will be a government that is proud when British citizens stand up against illegitimate advances of the state.

That values debate, that is unafraid of dissent.

That's why we'll remove limits on the rights to peaceful protest.

It's why we'll review libel laws so that we can better protect freedom of speech.

And as we tear through the statute book, we'll do something no government ever has:

We will ask you which laws you think should go.

Because thousands of criminal offences were created under the previous government...

Taking people's freedom away didn't make our streets safe.

Obsessive lawmaking simply makes criminals out of ordinary people.

So, we'll get rid of the unnecessary laws, and once they're gone, they won't come back.

We will introduce a mechanism to block pointless new criminal offences.

And, we will, of course introduce safeguards to prevent the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.

There have been too many cases of individuals being denied their rights...

And whole communities being placed under suspicion.

This government will do better by British justice.

Respecting great, British freedoms...

Which is why we'll also defend trial by jury.

Second, reform of our politics.

Reform to reduce the power of political elites...

And to drag Westminster into the 21st century.

Starting with the House of Lords.

Did you know we've been talking about reforming the House of Lords for over 150 years?

It's one of the areas where all the parties agree.

The time for talk is over.

This government will replace the House of Lords with an elected second chamber...

Where members are elected by a proportional voting system.

There will be a committee charged specifically with making this happen...

But make no mistake: that committee will not be yet another government talking shop.

This will be a dedicated group devoted to kick-starting real reform.

The same haste will be applied to fixed-term parliaments.

It's just wrong that governments can play politics with something as important as a general election...

Cynically picking the date to maximise their own advantage.

So this government has already set the date we think the next election should be:

May 7th 2015 - no matter who is where in the polls.

That is unless parliament votes to dissolve itself first.

As we legislate to fix parliamentary terms the details will of course need to be worked out...

But we believe that the support of 55% of MPs or more should be required for parliament to opt for an early dissolution.

That is a much lower threshold than the two thirds required in the Scottish Parliament.

But it strikes the right balance for our parliament: maintaining stability, stopping parties from forcing a dissolution to serve their own interests.

Former Labour ministers who were once perfectly happy to ride roughshod over our democracy are now declaring this innovation some sort of outrage are completely missing the point:

This is a new right for Parliament, additional to the existing powers of no confidence.

We're not taking away parliament's right to throw out government; we're taking away government's right to throw out parliament.

Parliament's power will be strengthened as we bring forward the proposals of the Wright Committee, put forward in November.

Starting with provisions to give MPs much more control over Common's business.

And, in addition to strengthening parliament, we will of course make sure we've cleaned it up.

Which is why I have already commissioned work on introducing the power of recall.

If your MP is corrupt, you will be able to sack them.

You will need the support of 10% of people living in the constituency...

And your MP will have had to have been found guilty of serious wrongdoing...

But it happens in Switzerland, in Canada, in 18 US states...

And it's going to happen here.

We will regulate lobbying in parliament.

Not all lobbying is sleazy.

Much of it serves a hugely important function, allowing different organisations and interests to make representations to politicians.

But let's get real: this is a £2bn industry, where, according to some estimates there are MPs who are approached by lobbyists a hundred times every week....

And that activity needs to be regulated properly and made transparent.

Which we'll do, for example, by introducing a a statutory register of lobbyists.

As long as money plays such a big part in our politics, we are never going to curtail the tyranny of vested interests.

That's why David Cameron and I are determined to reform party funding.

All of the parties have had their problems...

And governments have been stopping and starting on this issue for years.

But so long as big money continues to hollow out our democracy...

Everybody loses.

So we will pursue a detailed agreement on limiting donations and reforming party funding in order to deal with this once and for all.

And we'll act to tackle electoral fraud too;

Speeding up the implementation of individual voter registration.

There is, however, no programme to reform our political system is complete without reform of our voting system.

This government will be putting to you, in a referendum, the choice to introduce a new voting system, called the Alternative Vote.

Under that new system far more MPs will have to secure support from at least half the people who vote in their constituency...

And, hand in hand with that change, there will be new constituency boundaries, reducing the number of MPs overall and creating constituencies that are more equal in size.

David Cameron and I are very relaxed about the fact we may be arguing different cases in that referendum.

But my position is clear: the current voting system, First Past the Post, is a major block to lasting political change.

According to some estimates, over half the seats in the Commons are "safe"... giving hundreds of MPs jobs for life... meaning that millions of people see their votes go to waste.

Is it any surprise that, with a system like that, we end up with politicians who are seen to be out of touch with the people they serve?

New politics needs fairer votes.

This referendum will be our opportunity to start to make that happen.

The third, and final step, is the redistribution of power away from the centre.

It's something the prime minister spoke about yesterday, and it is something we strongly believe. All politicians say they want to give people more control over their lives.

This government is going to make it happen.

In fact, if there is one area, where the differences between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives are almost impossible to spot, it's here.

We don't, unlike Labour, believe that change in our society must be forced from the centre.

Unlike the previous Labour government, we're not insecure about relinquishing control.

So rest assured, you will get more control over the hospitals you use; the schools you send your children too; the homes that are built in your community.

In our legislative programme we will be setting out plans to strip away government's unelected, inefficient quangos, plans to loosen the centralised grip of the Whitehall bureaucracy, plans to disperse power downwards to you instead.

And we are serious about giving councils much more power over the money they use, so they depend less on the whims of Whitehall, and can deliver the services and support their communities need.

We know that devolution of power is meaningless without money.

Our plans to disperse power also include strengthening devolution to other parts of Britain: Working with Holyrood to implement the recommendations of the Calman Commission...

Working with the Welsh Assembly on introducing a referendum on the transfer of further powers to Wales...

Supporting the continued success of the devolved government in Northern Ireland.

And, of course, asking what we can do about the difficult issues surrounding the West Lothian Question.

So, the repeal of illiberal laws, the reform of politics, and the redistribution of power.

Our very own Great Reform Act.

Not everyone will like it.

Not every MP...

Not the vested interests that want government to stay closed, opaque, easily captured.

But this new government, this new kind of government, creates an enormous opportunity for those of us who have spent our lives fighting for political reform..

This is a moment to step back and look at every shortcoming in our democracy...

Before we launch into the most radical programme of reform, empowerment, enfranchisement in over a century.

A programme so important to me personally that I will take full responsibility for seeing it through.

And as I do, I will be open, I will be ambitious, and I will listen.

I'll still be holding my town hall meetings, that I've been holding for the last two years, around the country, where you can come and ask me whatever you like.

The next one is actually in Sheffield on Friday.

As I lead the transformation of our political system, I want you to tell me how you want your politics to be.

Power will be yours.

That is new politics.

Thank you.

[Guest jackdm3]

There seems to be some universal law that good things and good people get squashed. Hope not.

[G27]

There seems to be some universal law that good things and good people get squashed. Hope not.

I've been watching V for Vendetta during my AM workouts the last two days, so maybe I'm just overly hopeful, but dang - impressive speech!

[Guest jackdm3]

That movie was the first thing that entered my mind.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

It appears that the UK, with this kind of leadership, might be adopting the very constitution our politicians are trying to shred. Very impressive for a liberal, well,

the right kind of liberal.

Now, if we can clean up the mess in our country before it's too late.

[G27]

Very impressive for a liberal, well,

the right kind of liberal.

Always worth reminding ourselves that liberals, in the classic definition, are the good guys.

The modern / US bastardization of the term liberal makes my skin crawl.

Classic liberals, as Europeans use the term, are those who simply want fairness in the application of rights, laws, and opportunities. Our liberals over here want 'fairness' in results. Big difference.

[Guest SUNTZU]

Always worth reminding ourselves that liberals, in the classic definition, are the good guys.

The modern / US bastardization of the term liberal makes my skin crawl.

Classic liberals, as Europeans use the term, are those who simply want fairness in the application of rights, laws, and opportunities. Our liberals over here want 'fairness' in results. Big difference.

This. Big, big, freaking HUGE difference between a liberal and a classical liberal, as in someone took Opposite Day too far and too seriously.

[Guest jackdm3]

Watching "Vendetta" now and John Hurt just said, "I want everyone to remember WHY ... THEY ... NEED ... US!"

Spooky parallels to our government's activities.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Always worth reminding ourselves that liberals, in the classic definition, are the good guys.

The modern / US bastardization of the term liberal makes my skin crawl.

Classic liberals, as Europeans use the term, are those who simply want fairness in the application of rights, laws, and opportunities. Our liberals over here want 'fairness' in results. Big difference.

that's the way I understood it. Thanks for clarifying it. Nowadays it is often confused with socialist, but the 'classical liberal' was a good thing. Maybe there are a few left.

[USMCJG]

Yep, real liberals are the good guys. The way the extreme left in the US(read socialists) has co-opted and bastardized the term angers and sickens me.

[mcurrier]

I've been watching V for Vendetta during my AM workouts the last two days, so maybe I'm just overly hopeful, but dang - impressive speech!

Never heard of it.

Watching "Vendetta" now and John Hurt just said, "I want everyone to remember WHY ... THEY ... NEED ... US!"

Spooky parallels to our government's activities.

No, REALLY?!?!?!

<<<<<< see avatar at left if you do not get it

[kb4ns]

see avatar at left if you do not get it

Thanks

[mcurrier]

Didn't mean you.

Should have said -

"<<<<<< see avatar at left for those who do not get it"

Thanks