Member

I do not suggest that we can return to the status quo ante. That metaphorical train, unlike many real trains under this Government, has actually left the station. But I do not think that we have gained from a system in which you can be Lord Chancellor on Monday but then be promoted—for many people this would be a promotion—to Secretary of State at Defra or DCMS on Wednesday. I have nothing against Defra or DCMS, but the fact is that the Secretary of State at Defra or DCMS does not take an oath to respect the rule of law, and it is the rule of law that underpins our constitutional settlement and also standards of honesty and behaviour in public life and within government.