andrewducker: (Default)
andrewducker ([personal profile] andrewducker) wrote2010-05-12 03:13 pm

The Principles Of Agreement

Between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems can be read here. (thanks to [livejournal.com profile] coalescent for linking to it)

This one is going to make life for the various people I know in the financial industry...interesting:
The parties wish to reduce systemic risk in the banking system and will establish an independent commission to investigate the complex issue of separating retail and investment banking in a sustainable way; while recognising that this would take time to get right, the commission will be given an initial time frame of one year to report.

And here's the bit I care most about:

The parties will bring forward a Referendum Bill on electoral reform, which includes provision for the introduction of the Alternative Vote in the event of a positive result in the referendum, as well as for the creation of fewer and more equal sized constituencies. Both parties will whip their Parliamentary Parties in both Houses to support a simple majority referendum on the Alternative Vote, without prejudice to the positions parties will take during such a referendum.

We agree to establish a committee to bring forward proposals for a wholly or mainly elected upper chamber on the basis of proportional representation. The committee will come forward with a draft motions by December 2010. It is likely that this bill will advocate single long terms of office. It is also likely there will be a grandfathering system for current Peers. In the interim, Lords appointments will be made with the objective of creating a second chamber reflective of the share of the vote secured by the political parties in the last general election.


To be honest - the system I'd most like to see for the Lords is "Whenever someone leaves the Lords the party with the biggest negative differential between the last vote and the current makeup of the Lords gets to nominate their successor."

and some stuff on civil liberties:
* A Freedom or Great Repeal Bill.

* The scrapping of ID card scheme, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the Contact Point Database.

* Outlawing the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission.

* The extension of the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency.

* Adopting the protections of the Scottish model for the DNA database.

* The protection of historic freedoms through the defence of trial by jury.

* The restoration of rights to non-violent protest.

* The review of libel laws to protect freedom of speech.

* Safeguards against the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.

* Further regulation of CCTV.

* Ending of storage of internet and email records without good reason.

* A new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences.

[identity profile] bracknellexile.livejournal.com 2010-05-12 02:22 pm (UTC)(link)
And no mention anywhere of the DEB they were all so keen to review after the stitch wash-up.
Edited 2010-05-12 14:22 (UTC)
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[personal profile] zz 2010-05-12 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
possibly in "A Freedom or Great Repeal Bill". we can but hope.
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[personal profile] zz 2010-05-12 02:55 pm (UTC)(link)
i thought labour had been sniffing around this one anyway.

A new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences.

[identity profile] zornhau.livejournal.com 2010-05-12 02:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Sounds good to me.

Re: A new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences.

[identity profile] khbrown.livejournal.com 2010-05-12 02:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Shame there isn't a new mechanism to prevent the continuation of unnecessary old criminal offences - e.g. through repeal of some of the drugs laws, the video recordings act.

[identity profile] the-gardener.livejournal.com 2010-05-12 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Not to rain on the party, but: how much of this do you think will be achieved before the coalition falls and the authoritarian wing of the Tory party takes over again?

[identity profile] the-gardener.livejournal.com 2010-05-12 05:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Indeed. But that is not actually an answer to my question!

[identity profile] the-gardener.livejournal.com 2010-05-12 11:28 pm (UTC)(link)
A question I ask because I do not expect the coalition to last more than a year -- see my original question above, see my longer post.

The most we are likely to get before the Tory authoritarians gain the ascendant is the abolition of ID cards. After that, the civil liberties agenda will disappear so fast we'll have a hard time believing it ever existed.

My glass is 1/2 full, my glass is 1/2 full, my glass is 1/2 full ..

[identity profile] missedith01.livejournal.com 2010-05-13 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
I suspect you are right, still, abolition of ID cards is a thing worth having.

[identity profile] ami-bender.livejournal.com 2010-05-12 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
The bit that worries me is " as well as for the creation of fewer and more equal sized constituencies.". Can anyone else say gerrymandering?

[identity profile] alextfish.livejournal.com 2010-05-13 08:21 am (UTC)(link)
That's been part of Cameron's policy for a while. He tried to spin it as "supporting voting reform" at one point, which was a bit irritating. But the constituency sizes and divisions at the moment do massively favour Labour; they could do with a bit of rebalancing.
matgb: Artwork of 19th century upper class anarchist, text: MatGB (Default)

[personal profile] matgb 2010-05-14 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
Yup. But Clegg's been put in charge of it. Besides, hard to gerrymander at the same time as changing voting system, voting system determines voter behaviour, new system'll see people voting in more interesting ways.

If you want to see real gerrymandering, think of what could happen if existing County seats, due to "size" are given AV, but Borough seats are merged into STV districts.

That'd be notionally PR, but a form of PR that favours the Tories over Labour due to support distribution...

Of course, it could also be done in a way that's completely balanced, but it'd also be better overall; but it could be gerrymandered much more than the current arrangement is (which is systemically biased, not deliberately so).

[identity profile] ami-bender.livejournal.com 2010-05-14 04:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Youch. on the other hand, If the Liberal democrats are thinking the way they should be, they will try and get the seats as even between Labour and Conservative as possible

[identity profile] missedith01.livejournal.com 2010-05-12 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Nice to see Ken Clarke as justice secretary, actually. He's one of the few Tories I have any sort of time for.