Cameron takes another left turn

Analysis
By Nick Assinder
Political Correspondent, BBC News website

It's enough to have Tony Benn and Gordon Brown spluttering into their breakfast cuppas in shock and disbelief.

Cameron wants constitutional reform

Tory leader David Cameron wants to strip the Queen of some of her historic constitutional powers.

With a proposal that closely echoes the campaign waged by veteran left-winger Tony Benn, Clare Short and others, the Tory leader has claimed it is time the royal prerogative was overhauled.

Specifically, the monarch's power to declare war, ratify treaties and award honours might be abolished and transferred to MPs.

But it is probably fair to rule out the possibility that the hard-left have a Militant-style entryist at the head of the Conservative party.

The key to Mr Cameron's proposed reforms is that they will concentrate on the powers officially held by the Queen but actually exercised by ministers or, more particularly, the prime minister.

Presidential style

Mr Cameron has drawn the line at stripping the monarch of any of her personal powers, such as appointing prime ministers or dissolving parliament.

Benn has called for end of prerogative

As Ken Clarke, the man heading the review, argues, any reform would actually be aimed at strengthening a constitution that has been undermined by Tony Blair's increasingly presidential style of government.

That does not make the proposals any less radical, but simply points out that many on all sides of the Commons have been debating them for some time.

The fact that Mr Cameron is now saying it helps drive home the message that he is out to turn the Tories into a modern, radical party.

And if it infuriates some of his right-wingers, he may just consider that a bonus at a time when he is attempting to show voters that the party truly has moved on.

Old Labour

But why should any of this bother Gordon Brown?

Simply because he appeared to be planning to do something similar himself if he made it to Number 10 - during both the election campaign and in December he called for a debate on whether to give MPs the final say on sending troops to war.

Debate over who should commit troops to war

Mr Cameron's move appears part of his continuing tactic of treating Tony Blair as a virtual irrelevance - except when attempting to embarrass him by supporting his policies - and concentrating his fire on the man he expects to be facing at the next general election.

The aim is to divide Mr Brown from Mr Blair while painting the chancellor as a roadblock to reform, instinctively old Labour and way beyond his natural shelf life. By adopting this latest policy, he has denied Mr Brown a chance to prove otherwise on this issue.

The chancellor remains unimpressed by the Tory leader although he is said to be champing at the bit in his desire to hit back at him.

He has insisted he would intensify New Labour reforms and claims the Tory leader is really a "core" right winger who would actually abandon key government policies on things like child tax credits and the new deal.

And, of course, this is all another example of Mr Cameron "doing a Blair".

It was the prime minister, after all, who first pledged massive constitutional change, with reform of the House of Lords top of his agenda.

It turned out not to be quite that straightforward and, while the process was started, it has since stalled.

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