Fortnightly Herald Express Article

I am excited about the flurry of proposals for constitutional reform that MPs from all parties are arguing for right now.

All those years discussing the reforms the country needs, the hours spent in conferences and committees working up the details and the forest of papers, documents and manifestos that went mostly unread, and now everyone’s a reformer.

I never thought I would witness a Conservative leader calling to reduce the power of the executive and devolve power to councils.  Pity he fell short of the most important reform of all, to make every vote count at election time with a more proportional electoral system.

It seems the attraction of majority power on a minority vote is still too seductive to propose that change, but there are growing numbers in all parties and none who want to see this long overdue reform.

Of course this is all taking place against the back drop of public anger at what some MPs and Peers have been up to.

Many sections of the media are calling for all heads to roll rather than focussing on the culture that has led to this and changing it for good. 

That culture isn’t just the expenses and allowances system that must and will change, because anyone who thinks that’s the end of the matter is living in the clouds. 

And knee jerk suggestions as opposed to thought through reforms are not the answer.  Take for example the vote to immediately transfer MP’s staff onto the House pay-roll.  In principle that is where we ought to end up.  In practice there are a number of legal and financial details that need to be worked out to protect the taxpayer from an even bigger bill.

First there is employment legislation we ourselves have passed that means we have to consult staff before making such a change.

Then there is the fact that at the moment each MP has a fixed budget for salaries and on-costs.  If we simply switched to the Commons employing everyone isn’t every MP going to propose their staff should be at the top of each pay band – something they can’t afford to do within the present system unless they top-up the allowance from their own means.

Yes, we should transfer staff over with their consent and with open procedures to judge salary rates, performance and recruitment practices.  Let’s do it properly.

But there are far more fundamental reforms we must also instigate to our system of Government that Liberals and Liberal Democrats have for decades been campaigning for.  Among them are reforms that brought me into politics in the first place and under Nick Clegg’s leadership might now see the light of day.

We need an electoral system that gets rid of safe seats and makes every vote count.

We need a written constitution and a bill of rights that enshrines freedom of information and transparency in Government.

We need to devolve fiscal and decision making powers to local councils.

We need an elected House of Lords.

Unless we change the way Government works we cannot change the things Government does, whether local or national.

We also need to cut the costs of Government by reducing the number of MPs to around 500 so that each represents around 100,000 electors.  That would work out nicely for Torbay where many voters in Brixham, Churston and the Tweenaway, Foxhole and Maidenway areas of Paignton do not understand why the MP for Totnes, and not the MP for Torbay, is their voice in Parliament.

MPs only have themselves to blame for this.  We can say sorry, but that doesn’t begin to assuage for the collective failure of Parliament.   We can pay back monies if found by the independent auditor to have broken the rules or the spirit of the rules, but that’s nothing more than what should have happened. And some can stand on their record at the next election and allow the people to exercise their ultimate power, to sack or re-hire us.

But nothing much is going to change other than a few faces on the Parliamentary benches unless we fundamentally reform our system of Government – that’s why David Cameron’s move towards some minor changes is an important start, but it is a long, long way from where we need to get.

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Torbay began its bid for Geopark status back in 2003 and in September 2007 became the 32^nd member of the European Geoparks Network.

As part of an international network we can better preserve our geological heritage while using it to benefit tourism, education and the quality of life of our residents.

I joined the radio enthusiasts at Kents Cavern last weekend celebrating the second annual English Riviera Geopark Festival broadcasting the merits of Torbay around the globe.

I got to speak to someone in Eire, who strangely had a Birmingham rather than an Irish accent, and when a call went out around the planet to see if anyone was listening the first person to respond was only 3 miles away in Paignton! 

Contacts had been made with the USA and across Europe as well as throughout the UK.

Geopark status is a really exciting concept and thanks to the Torbay Amateur Radio Society our area is gaining worldwide recognition.

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A sign of the hard times now being felt in this recession are the increasing numbers of people contacting my office threatened with bailiffs.  My office has a briefing for constituents explaining their rights that can be obtained on the advice line: 200036.