Oct 26 2007
No signs of the advertised democracy for the Commons: further attack on England
When Gordon Brown arrived as PM we were told a new era had dawned. Parliament would be given a central place again in our island story. Spinning and briefings would be banned. Parliament would be told first and would make the decisions.
The first 100 days did not work out like that. For most of the time the doors of the Commons Chamber were closed to argumentative MPs, as Parliament stayed on holiday. After a brief “clear up” session we are about the be dismissed for another week long break before the new session.
If Parliament does not meet enough it is difficult to hold the government to account. The summer’s events - floods, terrorism, bank run, mortgage pain and EU sell out all carried on with no opportuntiy for MPs to cross examine Ministers or to debate the issues. it is frustrating to see the government’s majority used to minimise the time Minsiters are exposed to quesitoning.
Now we are told that Parliament will be revitalised by a series of measures announced and debated yesterday:
1. Parliament will have the right to vote before any war. It always did have - and did so whenever a war was contentious.
2. Parliament will have the right to vote on Treaties. Again it always had that right, although it would help if a convention or requirement were established ensuring it was part of the regular process to ensure proper discussion of these events which can bind Parliaments for a long time.
3. There will be topical debates each week. This would have more credibility if backbenchers rather than the government chose the subjects.
4. There will be topical questions to departments each day. That is a good idea.
This does not amount to an earth moving agenda to transform Parliament into the centre of our governing system. All too many things will remain out of Parliament’s control, run by Brussels, by quangoes or by Ministers reluctant to let Parliament see much of what they get up to.
Worse still is the government’s threat of a further assault on England. Whilst they are dealying and struggling to work out the detail, Harman yesterday confirmed that they want to establish “regional accountability” around the artificial EU regions proposed for England.
I explained to the Leader of the House that there is an English problem, which will be made worse if the government persists in trying to split England up into a series of competing regions. We do not wish to be balkanised. A region like the “South East” is entirely artificial. I have never heard anyone expressing loyalty to or enthusiaism for the “South East”, especially as the region leaves out its most important city, London.
There are several possible models for such “regional accountability”. The government could set up a series of Select Committees, which would have Labour majorities for regions like the South East and South West where Labour is the minority. This would be an insult to electors. It could allow all MPs for each region to form a regional “Grand Committee”. This would mean the anti Labour majority in some regions could then take a different view to the government’s. Or it could form new regional scrutiny committees with a membership to be decided.
The truth is it cannot work, given the hostility to regionalisation shared by Oppositon MPs and many of the voters who have to pay for it. If Labour allowed South eastern MPs to have some influence over the quangoes of our part of the UK we would want to abolish regional bodies which Labour has set up or strengthened. The government does not want this to happen as it is wedded to all this unelected bureaucracy. If Labour creates artificial labour majorities for parts of the country where they do not have natural ones people will just see this as another stunt by a bunch of cotnrol freaks who cannot accept their brand of bureaucracy is not universally popular.
RSS Feed
John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College...
[...] John Redwood: Worse still is the government’s threat of a further assault on England. Whilst they are dealying and struggling to work out the detail, Harman yesterday confirmed that they want to establish regional accountability
I have come to hate the word “English regions”. It is an insult to English people. The late Robin Cook was quite up front about it when he said “England is not a country, you’re just regions”.
The best thing to do when Harriet Harridan next broaches this subject is shout “No Mandate”. That should shut the (lady) (text adjusted )up.
Unfortunately John, we still haven’t heard the official Tory answer to the above questions, please don’t repeat that “Grand Committee” rhubarb, England is a nation just like Scotland and Wales we are not a bloody Golf Club.
Reply: The official answer in the last election was “English votes for English issues” and may well be again. I appreciate this does not go far enough to satisfy people who want English independence, but it does provide some balance to our present unbalanced constitution and avoids extra cost for yet more politiicans, bureaucrats and expensive buildings.
It is becoming an intolerable situation. One thing that the last 10 years are teaching us, is that democracy doesn’t work. The back handed way in which the RAs were imposed on us, is evidence enough, but we have a PM who has signed a pledge to always put Scotland’s wants first and foremost, but who has also skewed the Parliamentary system so much that he is not ruling England without ever being expected to be elected to do so.
How can this be right?
We also find ourselves in a situation where the opposition parties will not speak out in our defence, because they are also playing for Scottish votes and anything that might seem like defence of England over Scotland is seen as pandering to Little Englanders (a phrase your own leader used in Scotland).
How can this be right?
England is not best served by the British establishment. It has to go. One way or another.
Mr. Redwood,
Thank you for speaking out for England, I think you must be the only Englishman in the Conservative Party,because Mr. Cameron does not appear to be fond of the English,and as for the others the silence is deafening.
Time is running out for England if Labour gets going with their Regional Ministers,the break up of England will happen in a big way.
Can the rest of your party not see your votes are all with England since Devolution.
Push for an English Parliament it is the only way.
Sincerely
Eleanor Justice
Regionalisation just makes me angry. I remember here in Wokingham a couple of years or so ago receiving another “Consultation Document” regarding the unelected SERA plans to impose more and more housing on Wokingham.
I have not spoken to anyone that supports the idea of a Regional level of government. It seems crazy to me, for a government to get rid of county councils because of too much bureaucracy, then replace it with more bureaucracy….At least we had a vote for the political make up of the old Berkshire County Council.
I accept more homes are needed if we continue with Labour’s open door policy, but I do not want Wokingham to become a suburb of Greater Reading.
I also found the aforementioned “consultation” document cleverly worded so that one could not say no thanks to further development. Each option was just a choice as to where development would take place. There was not a ” No development” option on the form. This means in my cynical view that, the SERA could have said a majority wanted a particular site developed, where as, had they asked if we wanted no development at all on any of the proposed sites, I suspect that would have been the overwhelming winner.
Sometimes I feel that we in the southeast are being “punished” for not being Labour friendly in the past. We pay more tax and get less for it compared to many of the Labour heartlands up t’north.
There can never be true democracy in parliament while we have the party system. The system does not allow free voting on the issues and many MPs seem to put their party line first before the needs and views of the local people. Recent cabinet ministers on protests to save their local NHS facilities, which they had voted to close while towing the party line comes to mind.
The party system allows a PM with a large majority to put through unpopular legislation.
Some MPs seem to me to put the party and their job or future job ahead of their principles or the needs of their electorate.
Reply: I like your idea of more free votes for MPs. In order to get justice for England we need a result at a General Election which does not give such a strong majority to pro regional parties, the Labour and Lib Dem parties. Our democracy works best when the governing party has a small majority and has to work hard to win each vote. For 11 years we have had Parliaments where an very large majority of MPs want more EU government and more unelected regional government, when the people of England are against this.
England will have its own parliament. That is not a threat but a future that the people of England are now beginning to consider, and will demand. Hopefully, if it occurs early enough then the Union can be saved. However, withdrawel from the EU is a forgone conclusion; and the longer it is dragged out the more acrimonious it is going to be.
There is funny but true story about Harriet Harman. Just after she was put in charge of the constitutional unit, there was a discussion on Question Time, about devolution and the anomolies it had created. She had no idea what we are all talking about and said, “What anomolies.”
That woman is (badly informed) (Text edited) and would crack under questioning.
I am ashamed to have her represent females in politics. Off with her head !
Reply: I take this to be a call for her resignation. Unfortunately her lack of understanding of devolution is the official government line which she is paid to retail to the rest of us.
An English Grand Committee would be toothless as would not govern England. It would only discuss and vote on legislation formulated and administered by ministers of the UK government, some of whom might represent Scottish or Wesh constituencies.
It might be a compromise alternative to an English Parliament only if it were empowered to elect an English Executive to which the Uk Government had devolved powers similar to those devolved to Scotland.
Reply: I want English votes on English issues so we can have an English executive to match the Scottish one
[...] new attempt to establish “regional accountability” in England last week. Mr Redwood had this to say: Worse still is the government’s threat of a further assault on England. Whilst they are [...]