Labour demands yet more delay on AV, individual registration and Lords reform

Unbelievably, Labour has today demanded yet more delay on the issues of changing the voting system to the Alternative Vote (AV), House of Lords reform, party funding, recalling MPs and moves to prevent fraud by adopting individual voter registration. All are issues on which Labour has said they agree with the need to reform.

Despite making considerable progress on constitutional reform in their first term, the Labour government soon became a byword for kicking things into the long grass.

- They pledged to hold a referendum on electoral reform - only to abandon that pledge before suddenly being converted to the merits of AV shortly before the election;

- They held no fewer than three full reviews of the House of Lords and yet still did nothing, and

- They resisted individual registration for many years before eventually seeing sense and changing their position.

But now in opposition, they are suddenly reverting to type and demanding yet more talking and delay. In today's debate on the constitutional reform section of the Queen's Speech, Labour put forward an amendment calling...

"for active discussions by (the) Government on proposals for an elected House of Lords, a referendum on the alternative vote, recall of hon. Members... party funding... and individual voter registration"

This call for delay is quite unbelievable. If we are ever to get real reform of our constitution, it's quite clear that we will not do so under a Labour Government.