Luthori

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Advisory and Independent Institutional reform committee formed by Parliament, under Cabinet's guidance.
9th December, 5660



Mrs. Miles’ government’s work on institutional reform had been believed to have been put on the background, with the Cabinet mostly focusing its efforts upon fiscal policy and foreign policy, but, as of yesterday, Parliament approved the creation of an institutional reform committee, tasked with advising the Government on the matter. The committee, composed of numerous individuals such as constitutional lawyers, Senators, Representatives and representatives from the broad civil society, is meant as an “advisory extra-parliamentary” body, in opposition to the Parliamentary Work and Expertise Committee, which was, until now, tasked with oversight of such reforms, but will now see this power being stripped in favour of an expanded committee focused around just that.

Secretary of State for Institutional Reform, Mr. Bercow said on LBC that the creation of the committee was “merely the first step in a wider overlook upon our outdated institutions” and that the Cabinet was looking towards the “dawn of a new, more democratic Luthori” through this committee. There, the Cabinet’s reform proposals for both the Senate and the Supreme Courts will be studied, as both institutions form the backbone of Luthori’s legislative and judicial powers. As of now, an introduction of what a post-reform Senate might look like. First of all, the Government plans to strip all hereditary peers and archbishops of the Church of their right to sit in the upper house, that would mean that personalities such as former Prime Ministers Windbury and Porchey wouldn’t be members of Parliament anymore, the Senate’s remaining peers, serving for life, would be reduced in numbers, passing to 35 life peers. The rest of the Senate, which will be slimmed down which was then elected by the provincial legislatures, would now be directly elected by the Luthorian electorate, through direct election which would be held at the same time as parliamentary elections.

The Prime Minister and her government currently defends a line where increased popular representation and decreased membership would be the defining paths towards which the Senate reform is going to be oriented. These motives aim at removing an ever-opposing roadblock to any form of Labour-led reforms, as the Senate is traditionally dominated by the Conservatives and their allies within the large independent caucus within the upper house. Removing such a roadblock might benefit in the short term, the Labour Party and their allies, especially as a house elected at the same time as the Chamber of Representatives will, without a doubt, benefit the party which has won in the lower house. Left up to chance is the electoral system that will be used in the Senate, as of now, the Chamber of Representatives uses a mixed-member proportional system, while the Senate’s electoral system is mostly based upon first-past-the-post, although with variations due to the indirect nature of the election. With Prime Minister Miles being a staunch opponent of the “40-60” compromise, decided by the Senate during Prime Minister Hall’s tenure as the Increased Representation Act slowly made its way into law, it’s expected that her preferred system of proportional representation will be the one prioritised by the Cabinet in their reform proposal. 

Critics mostly worry about the possible unstable upper house that Mrs. Miles can leave after her tenure, as with proportional representation, it becomes impossible for any government to hold an outright majority in the upper house, but it seems that a clause to codify the fact that the Chamber of Representatives will remain the dominant house in the parliamentary dynamic, with the Senate not being allowed to reject a bill coming from the lower house without any amendments and for more than three times, where the Chamber of Representatives could then bypass the Senate entirely towards the process of the Sovereign’s Assent. Secretary Bercow didn’t answer to these critics or worries, but stated that the current duopoly between both Houses of Parliament “couldn’t stand long-term” or would be responsible for “adding instability and distrust towards our political system”, so a resolution of that power imbalance between the directly-elected house and the indirectly and unelected house would likely see the introduction of a Bill that would finally codify what has long been common knowledge, the supremacy of the Chamber of Representatives against the Senate.

Of course, while the government’s priorities have been set towards fiscal and economic efforts for the beginning of their term, hoping to strengthen its position ahead of the 5662 local elections, institutional reform remains an ever-lingering issue on its part, with Green leader and Foreign Secretary heavily pushing for increased efforts from the Cabinet on this field.