Call to scrap Parliament and adopt a written constitution

The House of Commons and the House of Lords should be scrapped as part of a new written constitution for the UK, a top constitutional lawyer said today.

The two chambers should be replaced with a House of Representatives, with equal numbers of male and female members, and a 70 per cent-elected Senate, according to Richard Gordon QC.

Other changes should include a Supreme Court charged with ruling whether legislation is compatible with the constitution, the disestablishment of the Church of England and explicit rights and duties for all British citizens, he argues.

The barrister today published his own version of a full, 17-point, written constitution in his book, Repairing Britain’s Politics, A Blueprint for Constitutional Change.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has already called for “a new British constitutional settlement” and promised to make constitutional reform a key plank of his premiership when he took office.

He has ruled out disestablishing the Church of England but relinquished powers for No 10 to influence the appointment of its bishops.

MPs are due to vote this week on proposals to give more power within Parliament to backbenchers, but Mr Brown has also been criticised by some campaigners for not pushing ahead quickly enough with constitutional reforms.

Mr Gordon said: “This draft constitution will, it is hoped, help promote the conditions which could lead to a real prospect of lasting political change for the better.

“It is intended to provide an antidote to the voter apathy that stems from universal disenchantment with the current political set-up. It will, I hope, also help to restore politics to a central position in all our lives.”

He also argues for fixed-term, four-year parliaments and an end to the first-past-the-post system of electing MPs.