UK Government

Perhaps, we should now start to consider a coalition government between all the major parties. Gordon Brown has done the decent thing and resigned as party leader but remains as Prime Minister at the behest of the Queen until a new government can be formed. David Cameron has offered changes to the voting system and economic management. All of the major parties have talented politicians who could help lead the country out of a possible crisis. It should be possible to negotiate common ground between all parties. No one party is able to dominate. The wishes of the minor parties can also be taken into account. Many British people would agree to this; perhaps they are tired of the tribal politics visible every day in parliamentary debate and they are tired of an all powerful Prime Minister who is effectively Head of State and Government rolled into one.

A grand coalition of all the parties would save them all "losing face" before the electorate. What would be wrong in David Cameron being Prime Minister under these circumstances?

We need constitutional change and therefore a coalition of the three parties could put a referendum before the people about changes to the election system, including proportional representation and a fully elected House of Lords.

One change that should be most carefully thought of , however, is the change to a directly elected Prime Minister. We are a parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister has never been selected by popular vote. Prime Ministers have been selected either by the monarch, without reference to Parliament, or latterly by the the most powerful political party in terms of the number of seats in the House of Commons. We have got used to the one of the two major parties dominating the House of Commons. Each of the two parties select their own leader who could then possibly become Prime Minister. Our choice of Prime Minister effectively rests in the hands of the tens of thousands of party members not the electorate in general. It is not possible to have a general election every time a leader of a party resigns , retires or is deposed.

Politicians who claim that a Prime Minister should be elected by the public are either being disingenuous or they are ignorant of the British constitution. Neither Gordon Brown, David Cameron nor Nick Clegg have been or can be elected Prime Minister. Gordon Brown can not be pushed out of office at present because the Head of State needs someone to lead the country until another government is formed.

To elect a Prime Minister by popular vote would mean that we were electing a President. What would be the relationship with Parliament and what would be the monarch's powers ? Are those who advocate a directly elected Prime Minister proposing a full republic as well as parliamentary democracy? Let them come out and say it.

The demand for a directly elected PM is being fuelled by the media. The British people should watch out : we would need another referendum to ensure that the effective Head of State and Government does not exceed his powers. Public opinion suggests that we want to keep a constitutional monarchy, where the powers of the Head of State are moderated by Parliament.

I would prefer to keep a parliamentary democracy which has all the checks and balances required to prevent any abuse of power. A fully elected House of Lords or a Senate would be part of this democaracy. The President of this house could then advise the Queen - who the British people want to retain as Head of State - of what to do in the event of a hung parliament or government abuse of power. Both Houses of Parliament would then have better control over who is Prime Minister and who is appointed as government minister.

Effectively, we would have a full democracy and some of the powers rested away from the Queen could return to her. Why should the Prime Minister be able to veto the appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury? An elected House of Lords would also be allowed to reselect a monarch who was challenging our social mores or constitution. This would be preferable to the Church of England or the Prime Minister having to intervene, as was the case with Edward VIII when he was forced to abdicate.

I, also, say to those who want a Prime Minister who is directly elected by the people; "be careful what you wish for as you may unleash unpalatable forces for change." The Prime Ministers' debate may become more than a beauty contest.