Boris Johnson warned by hostility of a former Supreme Court judge towards the judiciary, the civil service and the BBC is a sure path to failure

A former Supreme Court judge warned Boris Johnson that a manifest hostility towards institutions such as the judiciary, the civil service and the BBC is a certain path towards failure.

In a conference on the proposed revision of the constitution and democracy No. 10, Lord Sumption, who retired as a judge at the UK's highest court in 2018, urged the government to radical changes are not partisan.

He also insisted that electoral reform was overwhelming and suggested replacing the first-past-the-post system with proportional representation as the Conservatives and Labor move to extremes.

Emboldened by the decisive victory in the general election in December, the Prime Minister announced his intention to reform the constitution, democratic institutions and legal systems of the United Kingdom, but provided little details on the powers of the next commissions.

The plans have raised fears that Downing Street is seeking revenge for two explosive Supreme Court cases involving the suspension of Mr. Johnsons from Parliament and Theresa Mays is trying to bypass MPs to invoke Article 50.

Speaking at Kings College London, Lord Sumption, who is called upon to lead the review in some quarters, said that any constitutional reform must take account of dissent, debate and diversity of values ​​and opinions.

These things are not just rules of political decency. They are fundamental to the survival of the democratic state, he said. Constitutional change is not like other laws. It determines how we make collective decisions for our society.

Lord Sumption added: In a society with established institutions, radical change cannot be achieved through a process of demolition and reconstruction. You have to carry people with you, not just people who already agree with you.

Demonstrated hostility towards other national institutions such as the judiciary, the civil service and the BBC, which are accused of obstructing but in fact only represent the diversity of opinions, is often presented as a way to get things done. It is actually a certain path to failure.

It increases the resistance of powerful institutions which enjoy considerable public support. People tend to judge politicians as much by their tone as by their substance. The shouts and rumbles cause unnecessary hostility among the electorate who ultimately condemns the whole project.

Addressing electoral reform, he said that the current first-past-the-post system exaggerates electoral fluctuations and makes the representation of small parties in the Commons extremely difficult.

It didn't matter when the two big parties between them represented a large part of the electorate. But it is extremely important that voters ask themselves at the polling stations which of them they hate the most because there are no other realistic choices, he said.

Proportional representation would force both parties to broaden their appeal beyond their ideological base or risk losing their support for small parties. Unless political parties are reformed to diminish the power of riding associations, the arguments for proportional representation are overwhelming.

Elsewhere in his speech, Lord Sumption also defended the unwritten constitution of remarkable displays of force when the Prime Minister and his predecessor attempted to abuse their powers over the procedures of the Commons.

When Mr. Johnson's government attempted to abuse its power to prorogue Parliament in order to quell criticism of its Brexit policy, Parliament responded by adopting the so-called Benn Act, limiting his ability to opt for a Brexit without a deal, he said. .

These were remarkable demonstrations of the strength of our constitutions of unwritten conventions. They also illustrated his ability to adapt to new challenges. "