Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission: Civil Society Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission: Civil Society

Baroness Smith of Basildon Excerpts
Tuesday 14th January 2020

(4 years, 2 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Earl Howe Portrait Earl Howe
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My noble friend makes an extremely pertinent point.

Baroness Smith of Basildon Portrait Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)
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My Lords, the Minister has twice referred to restoring trust in our institutions. I put it to him that we do not restore trust just by changing the structures of institutions. It is about engagement. I endorse fully the comment of the noble Lord, Lord Young. However, although I appreciate that this in its early stages, we need to take into account the fact that our constitution hangs together through not just individual bodies, but how these institutions relate to each other and how changing the powers of one affects the others, whether that is local government and Parliament or both Houses of Parliament.

Earl Howe Portrait Earl Howe
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I do not disagree with the noble Baroness in the slightest. The commission will wish to engage with civil society, as I said earlier. The important thing is that that engagement is both wide and deep.