• Tory leader proposes to reduce power of No 10 • Straw convenes all-party talks to discuss reforms A call by David Cameron, the Tory leader, for a "massive redistribution" of power in Britain was given a guarded welcome at Westminster, but reformers dismissed his blueprint as too modest. Jack Straw, the justice secretary, depicted Cameron as a latecomer to the cause of reform but said h...

Jack Straw MP, Labour’s Justice Secretary responding to David Cameron’s speech this morning said: “David Cameron’s position this morning is breathtaking for its sheer hypocrisy. “Just a few months ago the Conservative Party were actively sabotaging all efforts to exclude the ambit of parliamentary privilege from the new laws on MPs expenses. “Now Mr Cameron̵...

Justice secretary responds to Tory leader's Guardian article calling for major changes to the way parliament works Jack Straw today welcomed some of David Cameron's plans to strengthen parliament and invited the Tories to take part in cross-party talks on constitutional reform. The justice secretary claimed that the government had already taken steps to improve the legislative process an...

A series of reforms to parliament are expected to be put to MPs before the ­summer recess after David Cameron and Nick Clegg indicated their willingness to take part in all-party talks to be convened by the justice secretary, Jack Straw. As Westminster gave a guarded welcome to a call by Cameron in yesterday's Guardian for a "massive redistribution" of power, government sources said Straw...

My friend James just alerted me to this story. Justice Minister Jack Straw has cancelled an eight day comedy workshop in Whitemoor Prison, a top security jail in Cambridgeshire. Mr Straw said:"Prisons should be places of punishment and reform, and...

David Cameron is simply not credible as reform champion Dear Sir, So David Cameron thinks that suddenly we will believe he intends genuine political reform? I'm sorry, but the Conservatives have been on the wrong side of any political reform for their entire history as a political party. The clue is in their name. Mr Cameron may think that simply because he has proved more popular than his immedia...

So David Cameron wants to reform parliament. Nice timing, Dave. Sort of fashionable issue right now, no? And they are all at it. There was Jack Straw, too, joining Alan Johnson in wanking on about proportional representation. Note how Labour politicians tend to major on PR, which could just prevent a Tory majority in the Commons.

It can be surprisingly easy to excite some journalists. Today is a case in point. Nick Clegg stood in for David Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions. During his exchanges with Jack Straw (who was standing in for Labour’s Harriet Harman), the Deputy Prime Minister referred to the invasion of Iraq as “illegal”. To most people

Peter Riddell in the Times assesses the government's record on cutting poverty. Jack Straw tells the Daily Mail why he is "frustrated" by some of the judgments made under the Human Rights Act. Mark Mardell on his BBC blog on how Angela Merkel is unwilling to support Gordon Brown's plans to save Europe from recession. Andrew Porter at Three Line Whip says David Cameron has now served long...

The Guardian reports David Cameron’s plan to reduce the number of MPs at Westminster by ten per cent: The Tories would not change the number of Scottish constituencies, which were cut at the behest of English cabinet ministers, such as Jack Straw, as the price of their support for a Scottish parliament. But Cameron would reduce