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We now have a government that seems intent upon changing the British Constitution, the restructuring of the House of Lords, although it could well be argued the lottery of birth should not be an invitation to be part of our parliament, has dangers, in that if the hereditary peers are being replaced by the present governments yes-men, then one part of our Constitutional safeguard is lost. If the power of privilege is placed in the hands of the prime minister of the day, then those appointed owe allegiance and cannot be considered independent.

Now we have Lord Falconer the Constitution Secretary beginning the mammoth ask of taking “The Constitutional Reform Bill” with 111 clauses followed by 190 pages of schedules through both Houses of Parliament.

Lord Falconer said. There was no doubt that the role of the Lord Chancellor should change, he claimed. The office holder would be the head of a significant Government department, but with a special obligation to put the values of justice, the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law above partisan considerations.

On the face of it there is nothing wrong with ensuring the separation of the judiciary from the legislators, but part of the law lord’s role in the upper house is to ensure that proposed legislation conforms to the Constitution. This power is now to be passed to the likes of Lord Falconer, a political appointee the suggestion is that the minister responsible for courts and the rule of law should be called the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. There would apparently be no need for the Secretary of State to be a lawyer or to sit in the House of Lords; he would also not sit as a judge; which is probably a good thing if he does not need to be a lawyer.

So it appears that the person who is to be charged with looking after the Constitution and ensuring the Government of the day does not overstep its authority is to be appointed by the same government and owe his place to that government. This is yet another other British Constitutional safeguards gone.

We are now being ruled by nothing more than an elected dictatorship, the other political parties are obviously in favour of this continued destruction of the Constitution we see no outcry of objection from either the Liberals or the Conservatives, we see no Law Lords standing up and defending a thousand year old method of government, that is the British Constitution.