You are not logged in. (Straw’s written constitution hint
Jack Straw is apparently due to make a speech in which he is to drop hints about a written British constitution, partly based on a Bill of Rights.
This on its own would be fine, some would say inevitable. But the wording of the BBC article linked below is concerning. Firstly, it’s not just a Bill of Rights (as previously proposed by David Cameron and also suggested by the government), but instead a
Bill of Rights and Responsibilities [which] would spell out an individual’s obligations to society and place a new emphasis on the concept of civic duty
This is troubling for a start. A constitution has traditionally been used to establish rights and the structure of the country, not to impose responsibilities on the population. Often actions by a government will be accused of being “unconstitutional”, but can you really label the actions of an individual who is not doing their “civic duty” as “unconstitutional”? At what point will these be clarified in the form of a series of new laws and crimes?
The wide ambit of a constitution means that any subsequent crimes are likely to be broad as well.
Also alarming is the comment that “the government is ready”. There is no clue in the article as to whether or not this is BBC elaboration, but if this is the precise wording of Jack Straw’s speech then the government need to completely reexamine their position.
The implementation of any legislation or bill, especially a bill of rights or full-blown constitution, is not a matter of whether the government is ready, but whether or not the country is ready. Given the vast amount of negative media coverage over the Human Rights Act, I would suggest that this question needs to be taken very seriously, and not merely glossed over because the government thinks that it is ready.
Open thread: what should the bill contain, and do we need it?
[From BBC NEWS | Politics | Straw's written constitution hint]
Trackback URL for this post: http://cunningtitle.com/current-affairs/straws-written-constitution-hint/trackback/