We are now into the full swing of the party conference season, with all the usual bombast and political posturing that comes with it. It is a time when politicians often seem to be in a world of their own. Ed Miliband has promised a new 'bargain' for Britain which will end the rot in our political establishment. Similarly, the Coalition once promised a 'new politics'. However, after the broken promises, the AV referendum, the U-turns, the hacking scandal, and rioting on the streets of Britain, the gap between our political establishment and the British people has never been so wide.
Since 1997, the controversial Iraq War, the constant flow of sleaze scandals, bankers' bonuses, the M.P.'s Expenses' scandal, Labour's dependency on trade union funding, the Lord Ashcroft fiasco, and last year's ministerial lobbying scandal have led to a disturbing level of public apathy with our increasingly rotten political establishment.
Ed Miliband has claimed that it has been the 'fast buck' culture which has corroded our political system. However, this decay in our political system has actually been caused by power being taken away from Parliament and concentrated into the hands of a new unaccountable elite, and political parties being increasingly dependent on state funding and big donors. As a result, the power of vested interests has been allowed to grow unchecked, with bankers, union barons, media moguls, oil cartels, and 'big business' millionaires have all been on disturbingly intimate terms with the workings of government.
This new elite consists of ministers, quangocrats, the judiciary, and bureaucrats at the local, national and international levels who use statuary instruments, judicial rulings, and Directives and Regulations in order to determine the laws of the United Kingdom, without the consent of the people. Furthermore, the executive branch has been allowed to dominate Parliament by extending the ministerial payroll and maintaining a strong whipping system. The government then uses its patronage over titles and government contracts in order to boost party donations.
The increasing impotence of Parliament has led the advent of 'spin', as demonstrated by this leaked memo by Tony Blair in 2000, and politicians lining their own pockets. Also, bureaucrats now assume their own natural superiority when it comes to governing other peoples' lives and spending their money.
The British people no longer have a grip over what their government does and are fully aware of the fact, which is why voting turnout has been diminishing rapidly over the past 14 years. If the British people are to regain power over what their government does, then power has to be taken away from this unaccountable elite, and handed over to a reformed House of Commons.
The Coalition has so far been concerned with relatively minor issues such as the AV referendum, fixed term parliaments, and House of Lords reform. Even the moderate attempt to reduce the size of the House of Commons has aroused serious opposition from politicians fearing for their jobs.
There has to be bold action towards parliamentary reform, and we can only do this with a new Great Reform Act. I suggest that such an Act would introduce the following changes to our parliamentary system:
- The Speaker of the House of Commons, committee chairmen and parliamentary officials to be elected by secret ballot.
- M.P.'s perks and legal privileges to be abolished, and full transparency for expenses established.
- A cap would be placed on the number of ministerial positions, and the House of Commons to be reduced to 500 members.
- Annualised budgets for each department and agency would require approval by a Parliamentary vote.
- State funding for political parties to be scrapped and full transparency of party donations established.
- Open primaries would become compulsory for all Parliamentary candidate selection procedures.
- Committee hearings will be required for the appointment and dismissal of all ministerial positions, senior civil servants, senior diplomats, heads of executive agencies, and High Court judges.
- Parliament will have the right to make a Declaration of War and to ratify treaties.
- A Reserve Powers clause would allow Parliament to overrule treaties, and domestic and international judicial rulings.
- Any significant change to the Constitution of the United Kingdom would require a referendum in order to be legally binding, including this Bill.
This Bill would introduce a reformed House of Commons where our elected representatives would have the same rights and privileges as any British citizen. This smaller, transparent and independent House of Commons would then have the power to hold the executive and judiciary to account, according to the rights, interests and wishes of the British people. This can only happen if our elected representatives have the courage to stop the political posturing and give power back to the people.