Unless you own the Daily Telegraph there has not been much to smile about in recent weeks, but I couldn’t help chuckle at the UKIP theory that the MP expenses scandal had been put together by MPs to avoid discussing Europe in the run up to the European elections!
Clearly that one didn’t work as UKIP had a good result. However, there is an element of truth in the fact that important issues have been buried behind the shocking stories of the last few weeks.
Among the many stories pushed off the front pages was the UK agreeing to commit huge resources to guard Iraqi offshore oil production. The Prime Minister’s refusal to fund a UK troop surge in Afghanistan. Crude oil price rises creeping through to the pump price. The closure of Vauxhall in favour of production in Germany and the closure of LDV vans (and the involvement of Lord Mandelson’s friend Mr Deripaska in both). The IMF’s criticism of UK economic policy and it’s debts due to exceed 100% of annual GDP by 2013, and other worrying economic forecasts.
The biggest issue that has effectively become the elephant in the room is how our Government – whoever leads it – will deal with the escalated debt from the banking crisis that we will have to pay either through increased taxes, cuts to services, or both.
That debate has hardly begun but we need to have it before a General Election in order to expose the sacrifices the different parties are going to ask the people of this country to make.
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The Prime Minister’s statement on constitutional reform was warmly welcomed by the House this week.
Having spent decades discussing the reforms that could improve the way decisions are made, the weeks spent in conferences and committees working up the details, and the forest of papers, documents and manifestos - that went mostly unread – it seems everyone’s a reformer now.
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.
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 unless we change the culture and way Government works we cannot change the things Government does.
That culture isn’t just the expenses and allowances system. We also need to introduce fundamental reforms to our system of Government. Among them are reforms that brought me into politics in the first place.
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.
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 south west of Paignton do not understand why the MP for Totnes, and not the MP for Torbay, is their voice in Parliament.
Without such reforms the only thing that will change after the next election will be a few faces on the green benches.
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It was bad eggs all round on Tuesday when anti fascist protesters pelted the Bad News Party Leader Nick Griffin and his newly elected MEP colleague Andrew Brons.
The problem with such stunts is that they make these spokesmen for the racist BNP martyrs in the eyes of their followers.
I always remind people attracted to the simplistic messages of the BNP of what Pastor Martin Neimoller wrote of the Nazis who imprisoned him.
"In Germany they first came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant." "Then they came for me --- and by that time no one was left to speak up."
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When people contact my office threatened with bailiffs it is usually as a last resort and in desperation. It is a sign of the hard times now being felt in this recession that increasing numbers of constituents are contacting me faced with this threat.
My office has a briefing for constituents explaining their rights that can be obtained on the advice line: 200036.
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