(This article was first published on Comment is Free on 30th May 2009)

There is a radical wave of political energy across all parties and amongst the voters – a wave that is demanding that from this political disaster there emerges a new way of doing politics in this country. The question now is not if there should be constitutional reform but what reforms and how will they be decided on.

Historically the mechanism for deciding on the great questions of constitutional change have been constitutional conventions. This option has been discussed in cabinet. There is a great deal of support for it. We do not need another long study of the options. We know what the options on the major issues are. The task now is to decide between these options and to put that choice to the country either in a referendum or through a general election. A constitutional convention need not take years to come to a recommendation – it could do it in six months. The rotten parliament now sitting could introduce the legislation for which there was consensus and a new parliament could introduce other measures on which the major parties did not agree. This would show that politicians have not only “got it” but that they know they have had to do something about it. This would not be business as usual. It would be a fresh start.

But it may be that we are past this now. Unlock Democracy will argue on Monday that rather than politicians sorting out the mess that politicians have made, the people should be called in. The citizens’ convention, randomly chosen people, discussing the options, agreeing on the issues and binding Parliament to carry out their wishes is the mechanism we need to sort out this mess. Grassroots democracy to sweep away the old politics and bring in the new – a new voting system, a new way of running the house of commons, a new relationship between voter and MP which pushes in the direction of delegate and away from the notion of representative. This seems to be the key to what people want. They want some sort of control over their MPs, they want a transparency in the way they work, they want to see the job of scrutiny done better and there seems to be a genuine desire to see the legislature more powerful in relation to the executive.

Both mechanisms for reform have arguments in their favour. Progress, a Labour party pressure group and other organisations are lining up behind the citizens’ convention, and powerful figures in government are discussing the old style constitutional convention. Ministers have called for a change to the voting system. David Cameron has called for profound constitutional change. What matters most is that the reform that takes place is built on a consensus between the parties. That means an initially long list of constitutional changes – voting system, elected second chamber, recall of corrupt MPs, reform of Commons procedures, term limits and fixed-term parliaments, a written constitution and a constitutional court and so on – will gradually be reduced to those reforms that can be agreed on. This is where the old politics will re-enter the scene. The Conservatives are so far ahead in the polls why would they accept a change to the voting system? The Liberal Democrats and Labour might be seen as cynical if they do a deal on this now. A written constitution would involve reducing the flexibility of Parliament and MPs will be reluctant to allow this. Similarly, the executive will be reluctant to allow more power to the legislature and what prime minister would want to give up their ability to call an election at the time of their choosing? And there are other many other complex issues. The great thing is: the country is debating them.

It has been a dark and bloody few weeks in politics but what is emerging could be the beginning of a renewal of our democracy. We are living at a defining moment and one that is rather wonderful. Suddenly all the parties are in favour of reform. Many of these issues have long been the preserve of political anoraks, now they are the stuff of water-cooler chat and saloon bar argument. From the stench of the lowest political moment of my lifetime, I can feel a huge opportunity arising to engage people in their civic life and keep them engaged in the political process. The expenses scandal showed a free press at its best, the political class at its worst. The freedom of information legislation that ignited the fuse under this scandal has proved its worth. Our democracy has been fundamentally weakened by what has happened but it could be greatly strengthened by how we respond now. There is a unique opportunity here. The people are coming, and they want to take charge.

Brian Brivati is a signatory to Progress’s “Real Reform Now!” campaign calling for a Citizens’ Convention