The Governance Of Britain

This White Paper contains a three volume set of documents (Cm. 7342-I/II/III, ISBN 9780101734226) and is part of the Governance of Britain series examining constitutional renewal. In July 2007, the Governance of Britain Green Paper was published (ISBN 9780101717021) which set out the Government's vision and proposals for constitutional renewal, calling on the public, Parliament and other organisations to submit views. The result of the consultation is the publication of this White Paper. Volume 1 covers the substantive issues of constitutional renewal, including: the Government's policy proposals; the Attorney General; judicial appointments; treaties; the civil service; war powers; flag flying and other policies, such as the reform of the Intelligence and Security Committee; a wider review of the Royal Perogative; passports; the National Audit Office; public appointments and Church of England appointments. Volume 2, presents the draft Constitutional Renewal Bill, with Volume 3, setting out an analysis of the consultations. For specific publications on a number of the issues examined here, see Cm. 7239, War Powers & Treaties - ISBN 9780101723923; Cm. 7210, Judicial Appointments, ISBN 9780101721028; Cm. 7192, Role of the Attorney General, ISBN 9780101719223.

Following on from a Green Paper (Cm. 7170, ISBN 9780101717021) published in July 2007, this consultation document discusses ways of making the executive branch of government more accountable, focusing on two areas: the power to enter into international obligations (treaties) and the power to engage the country in war. Although these are two of the most important powers a government can wield, there is no legal requirement for the House of Commons to have any particular role in these decisions, with the executive traditionally deriving its powers from the ancient prerogatives of the Crown. This consultation paper considers how the role of Parliament can be strengthened in the conduct of diplomacy and armed conflict, whilst balancing this against the need for government to take swift action to protect national security and other national interests, and avoiding undermining operational security and effectiveness. The consultation period ends on 17/01/2008.

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This Command Paper is part of a series of documents looking at constitutional and electoral issues whose objectives and aims are set out in the original Green Paper (Cm. 7170 - The Governance of Britain, ISBN 978010171021). This Paper is divided into seven chapters with annexes, and sets out a review of the voting systems, with the chapters covering the following topics: an introduction to the subject; a summary of electoral systems operating in the UK; some arguments for and against different voting systems; the new voting systems and the experience since 1997; an assessment of the experience and a comparison with the international experience of voting systems. The publication draws information from previous reviews of voting systems, academic papers, books and other resources up to the end of October 2007. It takes account of the experiences of the new voting systems in the UK, for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the London Assembly, the London Mayor and the European Parliament.