Whilst in the United Kingdom constitutional vandalism seems to take the part of whatever destruction-du-jour a random and obscure Labour politician decides to inflict on us for short-term political gain, it seems that the Romanians have a slightly clearer view.

President Traian Basescu called today (Thursday) for a referendum on introduction of a single-chamber Parliament and a 36 per cent cut in the number of lawmakers, down to 300 from 471. This would replace the current Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

The referendum will be held on 22nd November, alongside the presidential election.

Basescu said he had sent Parliament a notice about organization of a national referendum on introduction of a single-chamber Parliament, according to Mediafax.

The president said a single-chamber Parliament with fewer lawmakers would better suit the country’s needs, as decisions would be made faster, public spending would be reduced and the measure would even help reduce corruption, as fewer high-ranking officials would mean fewer politicians to corrupt.

Of the two main parties, the Tories are skirting around the edges by promising to trim the number of MPs and Labour are creating a quango state of appointees who will spread their policies long after they are votes out, so there are tines (well, most of it really) when you really wish we could vote on a referendum like this.

It’d cause mass unemployment in the lamppost industry and the hemp-based product sector though.