No, you weren’t dreaming – you really did wake up to news headlines dominated by the leader of the Lib Dems promenading the party’s proposals to reform the UK’s democratic processes. Full marks to the party’s media operation today – it’s a long time since an article by a Lib Dem has made such a splash.

There will be some – I see them already appearing in the LDV comments threads – who argue that what Nick Clegg is calling for is hopelessly Utopian. I disagree. What Nick is doing (successfully, in my view) is:

(1) setting the bar high for what is needed for genuine reform to improve democracy in the UK – unlike David Cameron he isn’t merely “seriously considering” fixed-term Parliaments, Nick is putting forward a legislative programme which will achieve them;
(2) putting clear gold water between the Lib Dems and the Tories – there is little wrong with what David Cameron has proposed (bar his knee-jerk opposition to electoral reform and an elected house of lords), it’s just that it’s wholly inadequate;
(3) demonstrating that if the political will is there, change can be achieved – if politicians are serious and united about the need for real reform, there is no reason why legislation cannot be expedited swiftly. As Anthony Barnett noted on open Democracy yesterday, “You could not have found an expert in the land who would have said that Labour could have passed the amount of very far-reaching constitutional reforms it pushed through in its first term. What matters is the will to change. That’s why Cameron’s careful let-out clauses speak louder to me than the fine words.”

For those who wish to devour the Lib Dems’ constitutional reforms in full, glorious, technicolor detail, they’re re-printed IN FULL below: