Legal 'nasty' (From The Northern Echo)

Legal 'nasty'

9:17am Tuesday 1st April 2008 in Letters

THE Government recently published the draft Constitutional Renewal Bill, with proposals ranging from giving MPs a vote before going to war to the possibility of an elected House of Lords.

Hidden in the small print, Section 43 of Part 6, is a nasty little paragraph which has only just come to light.

It would give ministers the power to amend, repeal or revoke any provision made by an Act of Parliament or even to repeal an Act entirely. This means Parliament's consent would no longer be needed to make major changes to the law.

This constitutional change would take away MPs' ability to control the government and must never be allowed to pass.

I hope Labour MPs in this area will speak out, in the way they did not over local post office closures, and will tell Mr Brown that this is a step too far.

James Wharton, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Stockton South.

OUR Government is dangerous and makes bad law. Take the draft Constitutional Renewal Bill. The first parts repeal the law requiring permission to protest in the vicinity of Parliament and requires the Prime Minister to seek the Commons' approval before going to war: these are to be welcomed.

However, Part 6 of the Bill resurrects certain provisions of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill of 2005, which were dropped amid widespread protest - it was widely referred to as the "Abolition of Parliament Bill".

If passed, this would allow any government minister to "amend, repeal or revoke any provision made by or under an Act". In other words, it would allow ministers to rewrite law at will, without having to bother consulting Parliament - our very own Enabling Act.

Chris White, Spennymoor, Co Durham.