Justice Secretary visits Brighton for soapbox debate
02 July 2009
Justice Secretary Jack Straw has visited Sussex to talk to local people about the government's new policy plan, Building Britain's Future.
Mr Straw presented the proposals and debated with the public from a soapbox outside Brighthelm church and community centre in Brighton.
Building Britain's Future presents the government's vision for a fairer, stronger and more prosperous society. The debate in Brighton is one of the first of a series of events being led by ministers up and down the country to explain more about the plan and to consult with the public on how to take it forward.
The plan is based on three priorities:
- putting Britain firmly on the path to recovery and seizing future opportunities for economic growth
- building on the improvements made in schools, hospitals and policing and modernising our national infrastructure
- cleaning up our politics and renewing our democracy.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw said:
'These plans push forward radical changes to redefine our constitution and begin to rebuild trust in politics. They include completing the process of making Parliament's second chamber smaller and answerable to the public. A programme of immediate reforms will help correct the most urgent problems and be complemented by a pledge to involve the people in discussions on even more fundamental far-reaching changes to our democratic processes that balance accountability, rights and responsibilities.
'Building Britain's Future includes important steps to reinforce our guiding principles of trust, fairness and transparency across the justice system. These underpin our plans to make the family court system more open and accountable to the public, and to ensure our business and commercial dealings are clear of any taint of bribery.'
Further information on other Building Britain's Future events and the full plan can be found on the Building Britain's Future website.