One of the great disappointments of Tony Blair’s Premiership was his failure, in the excitable and fervent aftermath of the ‘97 landslide, to effect some of the profound constitutional changes that would have had a dramatic and positive effect not only on the long-term general wellbeing of British society, but also on the mid-term economic outlook for the country. His suffocation of the Jenkins’ Commission recommendations was perhaps the first indication of his determination that political pragmatism would defy wider political principle. We are paying the price for his inaction today.
As Jonathan Freedland argued in his excellent 1999 book ‘Bring Home The Revolution: The Case for a British Republic‘, the fundamental lack of democracy enshrined within a monarchy that demands subject (or subjugated?) status from its so-called citizens, has had a consistent and negative economic impact on the UK since we parted company with the Thirteen Colonies in 1776. In simplistic terms, America’s sense of enterprise and love of entrepreneurship finds the same root as its commitment to constitutional freedoms (however odd some of their Amendments seem to us bleeding heart liberals). This embedded enterprise culture will most likely mean that the US pulls itself out of Recession faster than we in the UK are able to do; we will all still be watching Dragons Den and Alan Sugar on The Apprentice for our voyeuristic dose of ‘enterprise’ instead.
The way that the lack of true democracy hinders our economic - and, now, environmental progress - is something we explore in Citizen Renaissance (Chapters 9 and 10). In the US, Barack Obama has a wonderful opportunity to learn from the mistakes of Blair a decade ago. He needs to work beyond traditional political allegiances to find long-term partners in government who can properly deliver his Change agenda. Gordon Brown used his ‘Government of all the Talents’ as little more than a headline-grabber, bringing in the odd bloke from the CBI and the UN. Obama can, and should, go further - giving real political power to those who can effect the radical change necessary to deliver real and long-lasting economic and environmental reform. This will not be mere maverick liberalism from the man from Illinois. This is what it will take to properly change our world.
Back home in Britain, David Cameron should consider the same as he prepares for Government in eighteen months’ time. If Ed Milliband proves a hit at the newly formed Department of the Environment and Climate Change, why not ask him to stay on in a Cameron-led coalition for the future? Why not go one step further and take the ‘N’ out of certain NGOs - bringing people into positions of real authority and power who totally understand both the depth and the urgency of the critical issues we face today? Why not invite WWF or even a Greenpeace into the Cabinet? Some may consider this mad; others properly progressive. Political decision-making from hereon on simply has to be long-term.
Cameron is at a turning point. As he leads the search for policy and content (and urgently seeks to fill the policy and people vacuum created by Tory ills of the past fifteen years), so he is looking left and right for content advisors and providers. New Tory Advisors are not cut from the traditional mould. In fact, many are not even Tories at all. This could lead to some horrendous splits among the Conservatives of the future (I have blogged before about the tortured soul of the free market), so surely it is best to get onto the front foot and persuade Britain that there is another way. The real bravery of this would demand not only a higher level of Public Engagement but also - inconveniently for some but wonderfully for others - a parallel reformation of the so-called institution of monarchy.
If we really are to learn from the economic horrors of recent months; if things really can only get better; and if a change is, at last, going to come - now is the time to set aside traditional political convention and dogma and to embark on a more radical journey that can pursue consensus without compromise. The US is already heading in the right direction. Now, we, the followers can be leaders, too. If they - and we - have the guts.
NB. This Post was written in honour of Prince Charles’ sixtieth birthday celebrations.
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