Clarke: I'll restore faith in UK politics

BLACKPOOL, England, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Conservative leadership hopeful Ken Clarke pledged Tuesday to restore the public faith in British politics that has been eroded by Labor's culture of "spin."

Speaking at a crowded fringe meeting at the party's annual conference in Blackpool, Clarke said the mounting public "cynicism and disillusionment" with the entire political process was a "deeply worrying" phenomenon.

Little over half of the electorate had voted at the last general election, he noted, due to "cynical indifference" and a perception that there was little to choose between candidates.

Much of this was due to the "cynical style" of the Blair government, he argued.

It had undermined the natural checks and balances of the political system and wrested power from Parliament to the executive branch to a degree that was "extremely uncomfortable," the former chancellor told delegates.

As a future Conservative prime minister he would reduce the amount of personal authority and control of the premier, he said, dismantling the prime minister's department, ridding Downing Street of unelected advisers who in many cases had become more powerful than ministers, and reintroducing collective decision-making by the cabinet.

He would also restore power to Parliament, which under New Labor had become too subordinate to the executive, he said.

Parliamentary committees should be elected by secret vote and not appointed by the executive branch, while the upper house, the House of Lords, must be reformed so it was made up entirely of elected representatives and not stacked with political appointees, he continued.

Clarke insisted the government had to be more accountable to the outside world.