Karen Bartlett: Why we have to reform our constitution

From a lecture by the director of Charter 88 to a conference on democracy held in London

Let's imagine Tony Blair, our Prime Minister, in Downing Street. For many of us, not an unpleasant thought.

Now imagine that George Bush is our Prime Minister. He's in the Cabinet Room, he's looking up Britain on the map. He has all his powers, and more. Unlike being President of the United States, he can easily pass all his legislation through the House of Commons. Unlike the United States, he can control the source of funding from the Treasury. Unlike the United States, he has the chief of his Supreme Court serving in his Cabinet and sitting in an office down the hall.

The chief of his Supreme Court is also his best friend. He can put the rest of his best friends in his Senate, or House of Lords. Unlike the United States, he can completely ignore elected representatives on major decisions, including starting a war, and ring up the head of state determined by hereditary principle instead.

Now tell me that constitutional reform isn't a bread-and-butter issue.

At Charter88 our agenda has been about changing the formal political system. Charter88 has already identified that there must be a new constitution; that it must be modern, fair, and written down; that it must be a constitution influenced by the people of the UK; and that it must be easily understood by the people of the UK. In short, a Citizens' Constitution.

To those who still don't see the need for a citizens' constitution I would say the following. Ultimately, if we do not write our own constitution, we may find that Europe has written one for us.