Nothing Yet

A Liberal Democrat of my acquaintance has read this account of the schemes being considered at the very highest levels of each of the Conservative and Labour Parties in order to reassert their respective claims to be the party of One Nation against the mere sectionalism, factionalism and separatism of the other.

Somewhat paradoxically, those proposals centre on the heavy involvement of Labour and the Lib Dems in the selection of Conservative parliamentary candidates and in the election of the Leader of the Conservative Party, and on the heavy involvement of between 40 and 60 Conservative MPs, plus the same number of Lib Dems or all of them as the case may be, in the day-to-day business of a Labour Government, with a considerable weighting towards the Tory Right over the heads of the frontbench.

On the afternoon of Friday 8th May 2015, do not be surprised to see them both established as the new constitutional order by those imperial decrees of our age, press releases from 10 Downing Street and from Conservative Campaign Headquarters. Then again, both my Labour source and my Conservative source have in the past used this site to scotch things that they did not want.

As has my Lib Dem source, who assures me that, "You ain't seen nothing yet."

At or near the top of the Lib Dems, but with at least tacit approval in both of the other parties, they are drawing up an idea for a new second chamber in which each of the 99 lieutenancy areas would elect four Senators, one Conservative (or Ulster Unionist in Northern Ireland), one Labour (or SDLP in Northern Ireland), one Liberal Democrat (or Alliance Party in Northern Ireland), and one Crossbench.

The Lib Dems reckon that, even if their number is greatly depleted in the next Parliament, any Government is still going to need them in order to approve any specific model, rather than the general principle, of an elected second chamber.

The shortlist of two Conservative or Ulster Unionist candidates to be submitted to the electorate as a whole would be drawn up by a committee drawn equally from the local Labour Party or SDLP and the local Liberal Democrats or Alliance Party.

The shortlist of two Labour or SDLP candidates to be submitted to the electorate as a whole would be drawn up by a committee drawn equally from the local Conservative Party or UUP and the local Liberal Democrats or Alliance Party.

The shortlist of two Liberal Democrat or Alliance Party candidates to be submitted to the electorate as a whole would be drawn up by a committee drawn equally from the local Conservative Party or UUP and the local Labour Party or SDLP.

And the shortlist of two Independent candidates seeking to become Crossbenchers to be submitted to the electorate as a whole would be drawn up by a committee drawn equally from all three local parties.

You have not read any of this incorrectly.

Apparently, the notion of submitting these shortlists of two to the voters at large constitutes a considerable concession. Powerful Lib Dem and other figures had wanted these committees to produce one name apiece, for simple appointment every, as is still intended, six years. Casual vacancies would still be filled in this way.

Even harder-won has been the inclusion of a provision for each of the 12 regions to elect a further five members from the lists of other parties, with each of us voting for one party, and with each of the top five getting one from its list elected.

However, those parties would have to undertake not to contest elections to the House of Commons. "That bit has been influenced by your work." Oh, well, one does write in order to be read.

The answer to cries of unfairness in favour of the Big Three in Great Britain and of what those wish were the Big Three in Northern Ireland would be, "Take it or leave it." The SNP and Plaid Cymru might take it, but probably would not. Sinn Féin and the DUP definitely would not.

The Greens and UKIP no less definitely would, with the former guaranteed 12 Senators rather than one MP, if that, and with the latter guaranteed at least 11 Senators, or 12 in the absence of the DUP, rather than no MPs.

The absence of the SNP or Plaid Cymru would possibly change the whole game in Scotland or Wales. The absence of Sinn Féin and the DUP would certainly change the whole game in Northern Ireland. All kinds of people and parties would suddenly become players.

The SSP would have managed a seat anyway. But it, Respect, TUSC, Left Unity (no, not a hint of it) and the SLP would need to get their act together in order to secure a seat everywhere. It could be done.

All of them and more, however, would be swamped in a House of 456 in which 396 were, or were as good as,  an even spread Conservatives chosen by Labourites and Lib Dems, Labourites chosen by Conservatives and Lib Dems, Lib Dems chosen by Conservatives and Labourites, and Crossbenchers chosen by all three of Conservatives, Labourites and Lib Dems.

Even after this, we would have seen nothing yet.