Yep—the Cabinet Manual again. Today Professor Hazell appeared before the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee along with Iain McLean and Lord Hennessy of Nymphfield to talk about the constitutional implications of the Manual. A fun time was had by all, although the session was far too long at two hours. Lord Hennessy really is the poet of constitutional history—he talked of the “magical mystery tour” of the Manual, the chapter on Cabinet procedure as the “herbivores’ charter” and the “velcro of [his] fading memory”.

The experts all agreed: the Manual was a great step forward. Here was greater transparency, which could only be a Good Thing. The PCRC, however, were disturbed by the Manual. Was it in fact a constitution? It was not, was the collective answer from the experts, although it might be considered constitutional. There seemed to be some confusion on the part of the PCRC about the status of the Manual (which Sir Gus O’Donnell has insisted is not law).

The Manual’s content, argued Graham Allen MP (PCRC Chairman) and Eleanor Laing MP, was not merely limited to the Executive but involved Parliament as well. So the Manual should be subject to parliamentary consent. They grilled the experts, and particularly Robert Hazell, about this. Hazell was perhaps the most executive-minded of the experts, insisting the Manual was for the Executive—it was more in the nature of an operating manual. Lord Hennessy thought that Parliament could give the Manual greater legitimacy. Only Iain McLean explicitly shared the PCRC’s concerns. But all thought it was better to have something published than to engage in uninformed speculation about the Executive.

Most of the hearing was devoted to the general legitimacy of the Manual—which seemed reduced to the elections chapter (note the Manual actually consists of 11 chapters and a rather curious introduction). There was some discussion about Cabinet procedure, and how the coalition and its programme of political and constitutional reform might impact on the content. Allen liked Lord Hennessy’s idea of an annual review of the Manual.

It’s unclear if this is to be a once-off hearing or not. Will the Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell appear, since he already has appeared once before the PCRC to talk about the Manual? To what extent will the Cabinet Office and Coalition Government take into account legitimate criticisms made in the consultation process? And instead of examining ‘the big picture’ as the PCRC have, will any of the other select committees actually examine the detail contained in the draft Manual? I hope so.