Constitutional Dark Clouds over Great Britain

Basically, at the very bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity. And maybe that's what gives us our joy for living, because the only thing that can defeat absurdity is lucidity.

Albert Camus

And absurd it seemed when an announcement was made today from the UK Government that, after the Chancellor was defeated by the House of Lords, the UK could slip into a "constitutional crisis".

The story, in short, goes like this: The Tory government wants to reform the tax credit system by sloshing them on the one hand, but on the other hand raising the minimum wage. Tories believe tax credits are unfair and costly. They introduced this new bill, a bill which was heavily opposed by the whole opposition. The biggest concern about the new bill was, that by abolishing tax credits the poorest of the poor would have been hit the hardest.

The bill went through the House of Commons, got a majority vote, and was passed to the House of Lords where it was expected to be nodded off, too. But it didn't! The Lords put in their veto and delayed the bill expecting an enquiry as to what the impact for the poorest households would have been in case the bill had been introduced. The Chancellor and Prime Minister were embarrassed and probably pissed off and announcements made publicly that the House of Lords overstepped their boundaries, hence possibly creating a constitutional crisis. 

In order to understand this whole issue better, there is a tradition dating back a bit more than 100 years that the House of Lords would not block any financial legislation. But it is a tradition, not the rule, nothing has ever been written down, and that's the important bit here. This is also why one can hear Tories say something along the line: How dare the non-elected House of Lords overrule the elected House of Commons! Yawn! Let me be honest here, I am so glad the Upper House did what they did. Not because I think the tax credit bill was unfair (I don't write about the bill as such), but because it shows victory of democracy and common sense! 

My alarm bells went off when I read the term "constitutional crisis" and that the government wanted to review the composition of members of the House of Lords and add a couple of Tories so they'd be silenced in the future. For me, this is the real crisis!

1st: There is not such a thing like a written constitution detailing exactly what the roles and responsibilities of both Houses of Parliament are. Traditions and a very fluid understanding of those competences are imminent and can barely be legally challenged by a "Constitutional Court of Justice", which also doesn't exist in the UK. What confidence can the public have in their government if Westminster can fudge their responsibilities according to their liking?  

2nd: Changing to composition of the Upper House just so they don't hinder the Lower House from making laws is in my understanding an act of treason. It reminds me of Putin becoming prime minister, only to become president again afterwards, and of Hitler flooding the Reichstag with Nazis and making laws to legalise dictatorship. This can't be right! 

What amazes me, whereas my own alarm bells ring like Big Ben on New Years Eve, the country seems to accept this and the press isn't overly concerned. Political Fudge Alert is on a minimum! And the Brits complain about the EU; duh! 

The House of Lords have already postponed several legislations in this legislative period. This is the only thing they can do really, postpone. But it's good enough to embarrass any government and have them revise previously passed bills by the Commons. This time the government speaks about constitutional crisis and threatens the Lords with reforms. Again. 

Let's hope those reforms, if they should ever come, which I doubt, are real ones and not just another drop of water onto a hot stone. Let's not forget what Albert Camus already said: Lucidity is the only thing that can defeat absurdity.