THIS may seem an odd moment to make the claim,but Britain is a country in the grip of a modernisingfrenzy. The outside world may see an unvaryingkingdom of royal weddings, golden carriages andclip-clopping Horse Guards, with a young prime minister drawn from the old Establishment.But strip away the pageantry, and David Camerons Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition isproposing radical changes to the constitutional order.

　　現(xiàn)在似乎還不是下結(jié)論的時(shí)候，但是英國正受到對現(xiàn)代化的狂熱情緒支配。在國外人看來這個(gè)王國并無變化：皇室婚禮、黃金馬車、馬蹄得得的皇家騎衛(wèi)隊(duì)以及正當(dāng)權(quán)的年輕首相。但是在這華麗的虛飾下，大衛(wèi)??卡梅隆的保守黨、工黨、自民黨聯(lián)合政府正提議徹底改革憲法。

　　A national referendum on May 5th and months of parliamentary wrangling lie ahead. But if allthe changes being proposed by the coalition come to fruition, British democracy could lookand feel very different by the next general election, set by the coalition for May 2023.

　　5月5日全國范圍的公民投票后是長達(dá)數(shù)月的議會辯論。如果所有聯(lián)合政府提出的改革都得到成效，下一次聯(lián)合政府舉行大選時(shí)英國的民主會讓人們看到、體會到很大的不同。

　　Depending on the outcome of the referendum, that general election may be held using a newvoting system: supporters of change call it the biggest shake-up since votes for women in1928. Voters are to be asked to choose between keeping the winner-takes-all system of first-past-the-post and moving to the alternative-vote method, in which voters rankcandidates in numbered order of preference. Under AV, if no candidate wins more than 50%of voters first preferences, the least popular candidate is eliminated and the secondpreferences of those who voted for him are distributed. The process continues, redistributingthird, fourth or lower preferences until someone crosses the 50% line.

　　公投的結(jié)果將決定大選是否會采取新的投票體制：改革支持者稱之為繼1928年婦女獲得投票權(quán)后最大的改革.投票人將選擇是保留贏者通吃的簡單多數(shù)制還是改為排序投票制，后者框架下投票人根據(jù)喜好對候選人排序，如果沒有候選人獲得超過半數(shù)的首選，得票最少的候選人將被淘汰，其選票劃入排在第二位的候選人名下。以此類推，經(jīng)過對排在第三位、第四位甚至更靠后的候選人選票重新劃分直到有人的得票超過半數(shù)。

　　The House of Commons is also set to shrink from650 to 600 seats, and almost every constituency willhave new boundaries. With few exceptions, the seatswill be more uniform, with around 76,000 votersapiecea change that will mean many seatsstraddling county borders for the first time, and themerger of many small seats, notably in Wales. Thenext parliament might also have a fixed term of fiveyears, ending the privilege enjoyed by British primeministers of choosing the date tocall a general election.

　　下議院的席位將從650個(gè)縮減到600個(gè)，幾乎所有的選區(qū)都要重新劃分。總體來說席位將更加均衡，每個(gè)議員代表近 7.6萬的投票人，這一改變將意味著有很多席位首次跨郡，很多量小的席位合并，尤其是在威爾士。下一屆議會的任期大概也是5年，首相將不再享有選擇大選日期的特權(quán)。

　　Under another set of proposals due to be unveiled in May, the present House of Lords isearmarked for abolition. Its 792 serving members are to be replaced, after a transition period,by a semi-elected house of as few as 300 members. According topress leaks, 80% of its members would be elected by a form of proportional representation ie, a system in which a party that polls a fifth of the votes wins roughly a fifth of the seatsfor single terms of 15 years. The remaining 20% would be appointed, in an awkward trade-off between democracy and the expertise brought to Lords debates by retired military chiefs,judges, scientists and other grandees who may be unwilling to run for party-political office.The 92 remaining hereditary peers would be ejected from Parliament, as would most of the 25 Anglican bishops and archbishops who sit in todays House of Lords.

　　在其他將于5月揭曉的一系列提案中，當(dāng)前的上議院又被打上了待廢止的標(biāo)簽。792名議員將在過渡期后被300人左右半選舉產(chǎn)生的議院代替。據(jù)媒體透露，80%的成員由比例代表制選舉產(chǎn)生，該體系下得到五分之一投票的政黨得到五分之一的席位，每輪任期15年。剩下的20%通過任命確定，在對民主和專家艱難權(quán)衡后，上議院的議會辯論將加入退休的軍長、法官、科學(xué)家和其他無意加入任何黨派的顯貴要人。目前的92位世襲貴族將被擠出議會，25位圣公會的大主教和主教中大部分也是一樣。

　　Many peers expect their elected successors to be much more assertive towards the House ofCommons, straining old conventions that the Lords should bow before the primacy of theelected chamber. Government ministers play down the prospect of clashes, saying there is noreason why the relationship should alter. That seems a stretch. At the least the newrelationship will probably have to be written down in statutory form. And then, notes VernonBogdanor of Kings College London, Britain would be halfway to a written constitution. Thatmarks another break, this time with the tradition that Britains constitution exists merely invirtual form, scattered across the statute books and buttressed by precedent andconvention.

　　很多貴族期待他們通過選舉產(chǎn)生的繼任者能在下議院更有自信，由此打破舊時(shí)上議院屈從于下議院的慣例。政府部長們試圖減少可能的沖突，表示沒有理由改變現(xiàn)有的關(guān)系。這似乎也是行得通。最終新形成的關(guān)系很可能也要以文字形式立法。倫敦大學(xué)國王學(xué)院的韋農(nóng)??波格丹諾表示那時(shí)英國算是向成文的憲法邁進(jìn)了一半。那會是另一次突破，過去英國憲法只以道德形式存在的傳統(tǒng)，將為法令全書所打破并受到判例和慣例的支持。

　　Will all these changes happen? Previous attempts at bold reform have often been watereddown. Ordinary voters may determine part of the answer. Plans for reforming the upper housearelike plans for AVLiberal Democrat ambitions, and are the personal responsibility of NickClegg, the Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister. If May 5th sees a series of defeats forthe Lib Demsnotably in the AV referendum, but also in elections held the same day to localcouncils and devolved parliamentsMr Clegg will need something to cheer up his party. If, onthe other hand, AV is approved, furious Tory MPs may demand that the House of Lords be leftalone.

　　這些改變會成為現(xiàn)實(shí)嗎?先前大膽的改革努力通常都被沖淡了。普通的投票人也許會對結(jié)果有一定的決定作用。改革上議院的計(jì)劃如采用AV是自民黨的宏愿，也是自民黨領(lǐng)袖及副首相尼克??克萊格的個(gè)人責(zé)任。如果5月5日自民黨遭受一連串的打擊尤其是在就是否采取AV的公投，以及同日就市政委員會和江河日下的議會的選舉克萊格先生就得想辦法來給自己的政黨鼓氣了。如果情況相反，AV得以通過，怒火中燒的托利黨國會議員也許會要求喊停上議院改革。

　　THIS may seem an odd moment to make the claim,but Britain is a country in the grip of a modernisingfrenzy. The outside world may see an unvaryingkingdom of royal weddings, golden carriages andclip-clopping Horse Guards, with a young prime minister drawn from the old Establishment.But strip away the pageantry, and David Camerons Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition isproposing radical changes to the constitutional order.

　　現(xiàn)在似乎還不是下結(jié)論的時(shí)候，但是英國正受到對現(xiàn)代化的狂熱情緒支配。在國外人看來這個(gè)王國并無變化：皇室婚禮、黃金馬車、馬蹄得得的皇家騎衛(wèi)隊(duì)以及正當(dāng)權(quán)的年輕首相。但是在這華麗的虛飾下，大衛(wèi)??卡梅隆的保守黨、工黨、自民黨聯(lián)合政府正提議徹底改革憲法。

　　A national referendum on May 5th and months of parliamentary wrangling lie ahead. But if allthe changes being proposed by the coalition come to fruition, British democracy could lookand feel very different by the next general election, set by the coalition for May 2023.

　　5月5日全國范圍的公民投票后是長達(dá)數(shù)月的議會辯論。如果所有聯(lián)合政府提出的改革都得到成效，下一次聯(lián)合政府舉行大選時(shí)英國的民主會讓人們看到、體會到很大的不同。

　　Depending on the outcome of the referendum, that general election may be held using a newvoting system: supporters of change call it the biggest shake-up since votes for women in1928. Voters are to be asked to choose between keeping the winner-takes-all system of first-past-the-post and moving to the alternative-vote method, in which voters rankcandidates in numbered order of preference. Under AV, if no candidate wins more than 50%of voters first preferences, the least popular candidate is eliminated and the secondpreferences of those who voted for him are distributed. The process continues, redistributingthird, fourth or lower preferences until someone crosses the 50% line.

　　公投的結(jié)果將決定大選是否會采取新的投票體制：改革支持者稱之為繼1928年婦女獲得投票權(quán)后最大的改革.投票人將選擇是保留贏者通吃的簡單多數(shù)制還是改為排序投票制，后者框架下投票人根據(jù)喜好對候選人排序，如果沒有候選人獲得超過半數(shù)的首選，得票最少的候選人將被淘汰，其選票劃入排在第二位的候選人名下。以此類推，經(jīng)過對排在第三位、第四位甚至更靠后的候選人選票重新劃分直到有人的得票超過半數(shù)。

　　The House of Commons is also set to shrink from650 to 600 seats, and almost every constituency willhave new boundaries. With few exceptions, the seatswill be more uniform, with around 76,000 votersapiecea change that will mean many seatsstraddling county borders for the first time, and themerger of many small seats, notably in Wales. Thenext parliament might also have a fixed term of fiveyears, ending the privilege enjoyed by British primeministers of choosing the date tocall a general election.

　　下議院的席位將從650個(gè)縮減到600個(gè)，幾乎所有的選區(qū)都要重新劃分。總體來說席位將更加均衡，每個(gè)議員代表近 7.6萬的投票人，這一改變將意味著有很多席位首次跨郡，很多量小的席位合并，尤其是在威爾士。下一屆議會的任期大概也是5年，首相將不再享有選擇大選日期的特權(quán)。

　　Under another set of proposals due to be unveiled in May, the present House of Lords isearmarked for abolition. Its 792 serving members are to be replaced, after a transition period,by a semi-elected house of as few as 300 members. According topress leaks, 80% of its members would be elected by a form of proportional representation ie, a system in which a party that polls a fifth of the votes wins roughly a fifth of the seatsfor single terms of 15 years. The remaining 20% would be appointed, in an awkward trade-off between democracy and the expertise brought to Lords debates by retired military chiefs,judges, scientists and other grandees who may be unwilling to run for party-political office.The 92 remaining hereditary peers would be ejected from Parliament, as would most of the 25 Anglican bishops and archbishops who sit in todays House of Lords.

　　在其他將于5月揭曉的一系列提案中，當(dāng)前的上議院又被打上了待廢止的標(biāo)簽。792名議員將在過渡期后被300人左右半選舉產(chǎn)生的議院代替。據(jù)媒體透露，80%的成員由比例代表制選舉產(chǎn)生，該體系下得到五分之一投票的政黨得到五分之一的席位，每輪任期15年。剩下的20%通過任命確定，在對民主和專家艱難權(quán)衡后，上議院的議會辯論將加入退休的軍長、法官、科學(xué)家和其他無意加入任何黨派的顯貴要人。目前的92位世襲貴族將被擠出議會，25位圣公會的大主教和主教中大部分也是一樣。

　　Many peers expect their elected successors to be much more assertive towards the House ofCommons, straining old conventions that the Lords should bow before the primacy of theelected chamber. Government ministers play down the prospect of clashes, saying there is noreason why the relationship should alter. That seems a stretch. At the least the newrelationship will probably have to be written down in statutory form. And then, notes VernonBogdanor of Kings College London, Britain would be halfway to a written constitution. Thatmarks another break, this time with the tradition that Britains constitution exists merely invirtual form, scattered across the statute books and buttressed by precedent andconvention.

　　很多貴族期待他們通過選舉產(chǎn)生的繼任者能在下議院更有自信，由此打破舊時(shí)上議院屈從于下議院的慣例。政府部長們試圖減少可能的沖突，表示沒有理由改變現(xiàn)有的關(guān)系。這似乎也是行得通。最終新形成的關(guān)系很可能也要以文字形式立法。倫敦大學(xué)國王學(xué)院的韋農(nóng)??波格丹諾表示那時(shí)英國算是向成文的憲法邁進(jìn)了一半。那會是另一次突破，過去英國憲法只以道德形式存在的傳統(tǒng)，將為法令全書所打破并受到判例和慣例的支持。

　　Will all these changes happen? Previous attempts at bold reform have often been watereddown. Ordinary voters may determine part of the answer. Plans for reforming the upper housearelike plans for AVLiberal Democrat ambitions, and are the personal responsibility of NickClegg, the Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister. If May 5th sees a series of defeats forthe Lib Demsnotably in the AV referendum, but also in elections held the same day to localcouncils and devolved parliamentsMr Clegg will need something to cheer up his party. If, onthe other hand, AV is approved, furious Tory MPs may demand that the House of Lords be leftalone.

　　這些改變會成為現(xiàn)實(shí)嗎?先前大膽的改革努力通常都被沖淡了。普通的投票人也許會對結(jié)果有一定的決定作用。改革上議院的計(jì)劃如采用AV是自民黨的宏愿，也是自民黨領(lǐng)袖及副首相尼克??克萊格的個(gè)人責(zé)任。如果5月5日自民黨遭受一連串的打擊尤其是在就是否采取AV的公投，以及同日就市政委員會和江河日下的議會的選舉克萊格先生就得想辦法來給自己的政黨鼓氣了。如果情況相反，AV得以通過，怒火中燒的托利黨國會議員也許會要求喊停上議院改革。