So much hot air

Brown is proving that he is a servant of the people and not a "centralising autocrat" by suggesting constitutional reform. Forgive me if I sound cynical, but haven't we heard all this before? Wasn't Major going to change the balance of power between citizens and leaders, and ended up implementing a traffic cone hotline? It is easy for an incoming PM to say they was to decentralise power and limit the reach of the executive. But once they have got used to that power they are a lot less likely to give it away.

Also, what precisely would a written Bill of Rights do? Would having the right to life on a bit of paper stop murder? No, it wouldn't. And does the lack of a Bill of Rights mean the government commits mass murder of the voters? No, it doesn't. A Bill of Rights/constitution is a meaningless piece of paper. Don't forget that under Uncle Joe Stalin the USSR had a constitution. Didn't stop prison camps and mass murder.

It is also telling that Brown's first announcement is about changing the constitution and shifting the powers/rights of the government. He is talking about doing cerebral things on a legal level. Nothing he says will really change life in Britian. It is also telling that the opposition parties have, conditionally, supported his non proposals. They would all rather discuss legalistic issues like the constitution than discuss real, practical policies.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the politicians of the Brown era (who are not unlike the politicians of the Blair era): Just so much hot air.