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Douglas Carswell: The time has come to change Westminster's rotten system
WHEN I tabled my motion of no confidence in Speaker Michael Martin, I did so not merely because I had lost faith in him. As a new MP, I have come to believe that Westminster itself is rotten.
It is not simply the expense system that does not stand up to scrutiny. The Commons has grown monumentally useless at holding those with real power to account. Not since the Civil War has our Parliament been so supine and spineless in the face of an overbearing, unchecked executive.
Much of what passes for "debate" on the floor of the Commons, is the sound of a smug, self-satisfied oligarchy patting itself on the back. Ministers rarely answer questions. The executive escapes scrutiny. Billion pound spending decisions go through on the nod. If the Commons cannot sort out its own expenses system, how can it manage the country's? It cannot. If MPs cannot be relied upon to use their judgement over allowances, how can they be trusted to make wise laws? Indeed.
How did we get to a situation where politicians seek to exempt themselves from the Freedom of Information rules they impose on the rest of us? When did we agree to allowing our MPs to have an off balance-sheet, tax-free income?
The political class in Westminster has grown remote and detached over several decades. Yet in highlighting the degree to which our politicians are now a caste apart, the scandal shows that reform is urgent. Nothing less than the credibility of our Parliamentary system is now in the balance. Removing Speaker Martin is the first step for reform. Within hours of his resignation statement, measures were unveiled that will end the worst excesses of the expense system.
It might have been five years overdue, but at least it has
now happened.
Next we need a new Speaker, who understands the need for change. But it is not enough to simply embrace transparency and put right the wrongs of the expense system.
In the age of Google, it's not just a question of putting all expense claims online – although that's a good start.
We also need to recognise that we are in this sorry mess because we have allowed our politicians to become a caste apart.
Westminster's culture of entitlement is a consequence of the fact that too many of our MPs are not all directly accountable to the rest of us. Government is able to control Parliament because of the power of party machines. And most people have little real say over who gets to represent them in the Commons.
Change needs to put Parliament back in control of government – and ensure that in every constituency there is real competition to decide who is your local MP.
Ordinary voters should have – as they do in other countries – a right to recall wayward MPs. If local people already had such a right, it is hard to imagine there would have been any nonsense over second homes.
People should be able to force their politicians to debate and vote on issues that matter to them. David Cameron announced just such proposals for a "right of initiative" on Tuesday.
Such People's Bills would help ensure that the people – not just remote officials and occasional Ministers – decide what is on Parliament's agenda. Then our MPs might spend less time trying to exempt themselves from Freedom of Information law, and more time addressing the public policy concerns that really matter to people.
If seven out of 10 colleagues in your workplace felt they had a job for life, would your business or organisation be firing on all cylinders? Parliament neither.
To make our politicians properly accountable to us, we need a system of open primary elections, for all candidates including sitting MPs, to let more people have a say over who gets to be their local MP.
Too many MPs come from what they regard as "safe seats". Only by making all MPs face real contests in order to sit in the Commons, will we get real accountability to the voter.
Disillusioned with the failings of our political system, Daniel Hannan MEP and I first outlined a programme for direct
democracy in our book, The Plan; 12-months to renew Britain. When we did so, many in Westminster dismissed it as being too abstract and obtuse. Yet the reforms we advocated, which seemed academic only weeks ago, today appear urgent.
Douglas Carswell MP is the author of The Plan; 12-months to renew Britain. He is also the MP who instigated the recent vote of no confidence in Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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