The Succession to the Crown Bill is a constitutional can of worms

Today, the Succession to the Crown Bill will receive its second reading in the House of Commons. If one had to think of one person who would welcome this plan to ‘modernise’ the Monarchy, it would have to be that arch-Blairite, Baroness Jay of Paddington. But she popped up yesterday in her capacity as chair of the Lords’ Constitution Committee, to warn of the potential ‘unintended consequences’ of the Bill and to decry the use of the emergency fast track procedure to rush it through.

Surely some mistake? Actually, no. Baroness Jay arguably knows more than anybody about tinkering with the constitution, having made it her life’s work. Despite the consensus across parties and in the media, we ought to take her comments as a sign there is far more unease about this Bill behind the scenes than there is in public.

A hint of the trouble the Bill could bring, comes in clause 5, which says that once it is passed, none of its measures will actually come into effect until the Lord President, ie Nick Clegg says so.