Regular readers of this may blog have noticed that I comment less and less on day-to-day politics. This blog was set up initially to discuss how politics is communicated and over time has taken on other topics: communications in general, how the media and the PR profession is changing, discussions of films and books that interest me and exploration of certain ideas such as emergence.
Every now and again I dip into politics: for a while I looked at what it might take to edge towards a more liberal society.
Many others cover everyday politics and arguing over what society should look like. I hope my topics interest people sufficiently.
However, I thought I would dip my toe into the debate about Lords reform as the vote is happening tonight.
It seems that there will be a significant Conservative rebellion against the proposed reform. Historically, the Conservative party has been against any change to the Lords but in the last few years it has changed its position. Even those MPs who say they will vote against aren't saying reform shouldn't take place. They just don't like this reform.
For the Liberal Democrats, this is seen as a test of political virility. They want the reform as a way of saying to their supporters that they are delivering on liberal pledges.
Lords reform isn't easy. The key has always been to decide what the second chamber should do. For many Conservatives, and others, that still isn't clear. Of course, there are some who still don't want any change but they are in the minority. However, once you clearly work out what the second chamber should be doing, how it is structured, how many peers or senators are in it and how they come to be there should become easier.
For people who aren't interested in politics it all seems a touch odd. Why are elected officials worrying about changing how the Lords function when there are so many pressing problems impacting on the lives of citizens?
It might have been wiser to wait and bring in constitutional reform when there was cross-party consensus for what the second chamber should do. Sadly, politics doesn't quite work like that.
