Conserving the Constitution? The Conservative Party and Democratic Renewal MATTHEW FLINDERS As recent work produced by the Han- sard Society, the Electoral Commission, the British Social Attitude Survey and the ESRC's Democracy and Participation Programme all con®rm, New Labour's constitutional reforms and attempts at democraticrenewalhavefailedtorebuild public trust in politicians, political insti- tutions and political processes. After over a decade of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, only a quarter of Britons trust politicians and less than a third believe their system of democracy works well. With Labour's failure in mind, this article examines the Conservative party's atti- tude to constitutional reform and demo- cratic renewal, and raises numerous questions about how David Cameron might respond to the new constitutional con®guration. Thearticleisdividedintofoursections. The ®rst examines the constitutional and democraticlegacythatafutureConserva- tive government would inherit. The sec- ond considers the main options for change that a Cameron administration is likely to face. The third section presents a detailed analysis of the Conservatives' currentposition.Delineatingthecontours of any agreed position or package of policies is, however, dicult due to the fact that a schism appears to have devel- oped between the leadership and the wider party. The Conservatives' failure to oer any clear narrative for change nonetheless oers valuable insights into the complexities of intra-party bargain- ing, the role of political cultures in shap- ingandlimitingagendas,and,®nally,the nature of elite politics and the strategic manipulation of policy preferences as they relate to the re)distribution of power. These broader issues are exam- ined in the concluding section. Labour's legacy A vast literature now exists on New Labour's constitutional reforms. The aim of this section is to analyse what has occurred in terms of drilling-down into the statecraft and executive mentality of the Blair±Brown governments. This facil- itates a deeper understanding of the chal- lenges that a future Conservative government will face. In terms of identi- fying the essence of Labour's statecraft it is possible to identify three main elem- ents: . Labour implemented their reforms within the contours of the Westminster Model that is, it was a programme of majoritarian modi®cation). . Labour adopted a bi-constitutional strategy that has created anomalies and set in train a host of constitutional dynamics. . Labour failed to adopt a strategic approach in relation to constitutional reform. In terms of understanding Labour's state- craft, the most important fact is that the Westminster Model was not rejected. 1 In fact the logic, principles and rationale of the Westminster Model provided the # The Author 2009. Journal compilation # The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd. 2009 Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA 248 ThePoliticalQuarterly, Vol. 80, No. 2, April±June 2009