Clegg Challenges Brown And Cameron To Match Their Words With Deeds

6.25.00pm GMT Sun 30th Dec 2007

• 'Shortly after I was elected as Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the Prime Minister phoned me to offer his congratulations and express his wish that we should work together on the issues that unite our country.

Similarly, shortly before I was elected as Lib Dem Leader, the Conservative Leader made a posting on his website seeking support from the Liberal Democrats to build a "progressive alliance". His approach was a little less personal and a bit preemptive, but I shall not hold that against him. I would like to think that my opponents' apparent wish to cooperate is a sign of a new age dawning in British politics - an era of political civility in which parties set aside narrow self-interest for the good of the country. More likely, it is the latest wheeze by Labour and the Tories to take the best of Liberal Democrat ideas and call them their own. That risk is well-known to my party. But I am prepared to take risks in working with others to address one of the greatest crises facing us today: Britain's broken political system.

Our system of government is the stage on which the battle of political ideas takes place. That system must be fair, accessible and strong. In its present state, I do not know a single person who would use those words to describe it. Members of Britain's political establishment need to ask themselves why voter turnout has fallen so far and so fast, why mass membership of political parties is becoming a thing of the past, and why people feel not just that the political system is rotten but that it operates in a way that prevents them from changing it.

The United Kingdom can make the unattractive boast that it hosts the most centralised, ossified and unresponsive system of government in Europe today. Go to Britain's most deprived communities and ask people whether government listens to them. In response, you will hear what I have heard time and again: people believe that a politically-inspired - and economically advantaged - minority can sometimes work the system to their own advantage, but that for the vast majority of the British people politics is closed. The system has become the master, the people rendered powerless.

But this is Britain - a country whose population has resisted the exercise of undue control and authority by the Powers That Be since the signing of Magna Carta in 1215. Today, the way we are governed is eroding trust and breeding cynicism more than ever before. This must change. We need to bring the British people back into our politics. We must have a Parliament that reflects the views and composition of British society, that decentralises power both to local government and to individuals, and which elevates the interests of communities above the primacy of institutions.

So, if Gordon Brown and David Cameron are serious when they say that they want to cooperate, here is the litmus test. They should join the Liberal Democrats in establishing an independent British Constitutional Convention that would bring together representatives from all political parties and from every corner of British society. Its remit would be the construction of a consensus on the reforms needed to reopen the political system and revitalise public trust. The Convention would be inspired by its predecessor in Scotland, in which Labour and the Liberal Democrats were joined by voices from the trade unions, churches and other civil society organisations. By bringing together a cross-section of society, the Scottish Constitutional Convention was able to obtain widespread endorsement for what became the blueprint for devolved government in Scotland: the settled will of the Scottish people. I believe that the same can be achieved for reform at Westminster too.

The British Constitutional Convention would examine the role and powers of Parliament and ministers; the way in which Parliament is elected and held to account; the relationships between the nations of the United Kingdom; the concentration of power in Whitehall; and the need to strengthen basic individual rights and liberties against the abuse of state power. Its independence and its broad remit would avoid the "pick and mix" approach that has bedevilled previous attempts at constitutional reform in this country. It would work to a deadline of less than one year in length, and would require commitment from all parties to work towards the implementation of its conclusions.

Fixing Britain's broken politics is no easy task, but it is essential if we are to restore public faith in a system that relies on popular participation. Only once we have reformed our constitution to make it open and accessible to every British citizen - regardless of status or income - will we restore public trust and engagement with the policy process. So here's my invitation for David and Gordon: join me in forging a new consensus on the future of British government. No gimmicks, no gestures - just hard work and real action. Are you ready?'