The Reform Act of 2010 - Part 1

Early on in this expenses farrago I recall Stephen Pound touring the broadcast studios to insist that providing receipts for amounts under £25 would create an impossible work load for MPs. He insisted that MPs work "bloody hard" and that it would be "ridiculous" to expect MPs to do this.

Let's take at face value the assertion  that MPs do work hard and that it is a pressured job. We therefore need people who are dedicated to it. But you can't help noticing that as soon as MPs become ministers they seem to be able to cope with this second job without too much difficulty, and similarly, ex-ministers like Patricia Hewitt, Alan Milburn and William Hague can find time to slip into highly paid consultancy work, or that George Galloway has the time to be an MP and manage a broadcasting career. So which is it - a full time or part time job?

It has stuck me as ell as many other observers that the expenses scandal is a symptom of a Parliament that badly needs reform. The role of the MP has degenerated over many years from an independent representative of his or her constituency to little more than lobby fodder. And what really is the "sovereignty of Parliament" these days?

So perhaps we can start with the role of the MP. The idea of local constituency representation is both ancient and honourable and ought to be the core principle. Yet it is this aspect that has been the most manipulated by the parties in the 20th century. Ambitious and well-connected politicians  are parachuted into safe seats. MPs on the first rungs of the political ladder are reduced to asking planted questions along the lines of: "Does the Prime Minister agree with me that as the result of his government's unprecedented expenditure on education my Primary School in Lower Puddle has been able to afford to buy three computers?" Can you imagine Tony Blair ever returning to Sedburgh, or even the North East?

The first step is to restore proper local representation. Establish a residency requirement along the lines of 12 months certified residence within, say, 30 miles of the centre of the constituency prior to nomination. At a stroke this would gives MPs and their constituencies more independence from government manipulation and get closer to the original purpose of MPs.

Second, go for fixed term parliaments. The idea of calling an election at a time convenient for the incumbent party is now anachronistic. The term could be 4, 5 or even 7 and it could be staggered so that there is no wholesale replacement of the house, leading perhaps to more stable government. It would however, provide some employment security for MPs.

Third, pay MPs from the constituency. The Returning Officer would probably be the right person to do this. The taxes to support this could either be nationally or locally raised but this reform would do two things - free pay and expenses from government and political manipulation, and give back to the people in the constituency some sense of democratic control and ownership.

More thoughts in future posts.