Politics – The best strategy for Lords reform: give up

One of the lessons of the new Labour years is that constitutional reform is best avoided.

One of the lessons of the new Labour years is that constitutional reform is best avoided. New Labour swept into office with total confidence that the British constitution could be easily
‘modernised’. Its 1997 manifesto mocked the Conservatives as follows: ‘The party which once opposed universal suffrage and votes for women now says our constitution is so perfect
that it cannot be improved.’