Constitutional Vandalism

A proposal by the Liberal Democrat spokesman for gridlock and pollution has elicited a foaming response from Lord Tebbit, and has been called "uncomprehending constitutional vandalism" by one of Daveybloke's cuddly chums. As might be expected, the proposal has nothing to do with selling our sovereignty to Washington or our soldiers to Halliburton; instead, the idea is that members of parliament should swear allegiance "to their constituents and the nation", and should promise to uphold the law rather than to serve the reigning chinlessness.

Lord Tebbit called the proposal "an attack on the state itself"; apparently he has repented the days when he thugged for Thatcher in a government which prided itself on rolling back the state, or else he is conflating state and monarch with all the Britishness of Louis XIV. Still, the disadvantages are doubtless fairly evident. Any hint that MPs should uphold the law, or should have the interests of their constituents at heart, would have obvious and unpleasant implications for those aspiring to Cabinet office. It could mean the end of parliamentary representation as a family business, and might even inhibit one or two members from supporting the wars, kidnappings, torture and bribery which are such a necessary and laudable component of the Generational Crusade Against the Abstract Noun.