UK News

Justice Secretary Jack Straw spared me a few minutes on the campaign trail to explain why he doesn’t agree with Conservative and Liberal Democrat plans to cut the number of members of parliament.

After he quickly downed a bowl of soup in a cafe in London’s legal quarter, he described in this video clip how his plans to half the size of the House of Lords would be a better way to save money.

And he takes aim at Conservative plans to redraw all Britain’s electoral boundaries to an equal size, saying that would usher in an era of gerrymandering because the new constituencies would change frequently, not match natural community boundaries as at present and would break the link between constituents and MPs.

He also suggested he was opposed to offering the Liberal Democrats the promise of proportional representation in return for their support should the election result in a hung parliament, as polls indicate. You can read that interview on our website here.