Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

Let me begin by saying how much we welcome the fact that this Bill, for which we have been waiting for about two years, has finally arrived. I assure the House that we welcome many of its provisions, as the Lord Chancellor will have appreciated from the interventions that he received. I have to tell him, however, that it its title rather belies the paucity of its content. I fear that it is unlikely to take its place as one of the great reforming Acts. A little over two years ago, the Prime Minister, in his first speech to this House in that role, made a statement that was intended to define his vision as Prime Minister. I remember it very well. He promised us""change in a spirit that takes us beyond parties and beyond partisanship…a new…constitutional settlement…a new relationship between citizens and Government"," and it was to start immediately:""I can today make an immediate start"." What happened? Let us have a look at the areas where he pledged that immediate start—12 areas where the Government would surrender or limit their powers:""the power of the Executive to declare war; the power to request the dissolution of Parliament; the power over recall of Parliament; the power of the Executive to ratify international treaties…the power to make key public appointments…the power to restrict parliamentary oversight of our intelligence services; power to choose bishops"" and""judges; power to direct prosecutors in individual criminal cases; power over the civil service…and the Executive powers to determine the rules governing entitlement to passports and the granting of pardons."—[Official Report, 3 July 2007; Vol. 462, c. 815.]" According to my calculations, we are still waiting for the Government's proposals on war powers, dissolution, recall, the intelligence services, prosecutors, passports and pardons. Treaties, judges and the civil service are covered in the Bill. Having set out the 12 priorities for immediate action promised to us by the Prime Minister in his grandiloquent phrases, we find that only two—on bishops and quangos—have actually been implemented. Having seen the recent behaviour of the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in respect of the Children's Commissioner, we can probably fairly say that it is only one and a quarter or one and a half. The Prime Minister went on, in what I am beginning to think was a moment of fantasy, to say that he had some big ideas. There were citizens juries—what happened to them? There was the statement of British values, which is the pet project of the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for North Swindon (Mr. Wills). I understand that a roadshow is about to start to do with that, but all I can say is that it looks like it will be a very slow road. One by one, the Prime Minister's initiatives have fallen by the wayside—British day, a national motto, citizenship ceremonies for school leavers, rewriting the national anthem. It is amazing how extensive and far-reaching it all was.