The democratic deficit

Whilst Gordon Brown witters on about the Democratic Renewal Council the facts are somewhat different. Gordon Brown's "re-shaped" Cabinet contains two members of the House of Lords (Mandelson and Adonis) - I am not counting the Leader of the House of Lords in this list. Then amongst Other cabinet attendees are the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Lord Malloch-Brown and Minister of State (Science and Innovation) at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Lord Drayson. Then amongst those who will attend Cabinet when their Ministerial responsibilities are on the agenda is the Attorney General, The Rt Hon Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC. So the great defender of democracy has five members of the House of Lords in or around the Cabinet with two more on the way - Alan Sugar and Glenys Kinnock. Well why should members of the Gordon Brown cabinet be elected
members of the House of Commons, that's not what Gordon Brown's definition of democracy is.

Now to Peter Mandelson, it would seem that his reward for backing Gordon Brown to the hilt over the last few days is two-fold:
First his department is expanded such that his new department becomes the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which will be a merger between his old old Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills - just think of the upcoming expense on renaming, rebranding and stationery.
Second Lord Mandelson is elevated to the position of "First Secretary of State", whatever that means.