A measured response to expenses outrage

By Alan Laing

We are now in the midst of a panicked bidding war in response to the rightful public outrage over MPs expenses. Increasingly, people like me are left wondering what on earth is going through the minds of the political class who have been found so wanting when it comes to the spirit of public service.

From cutting the number of MPs, to reforming the electoral system, calls are now coming from every direction for one set of actions or another. What we actually need to do is not deflect attention from what is at the heart of the issue: expenses.

I was one of the signatories of an open letter to Labour’s NEC calling for a stronger and more robust and, some might say, ruthless, approach to those MPs who have kept to the “rules” but who certainly didn’t keep to the moral rulebook of public service. Embarrassment to the Party should be grounds enough for deselection, not just where there is deliberate attempt to pervert the system.

However, the steps now being advocated to restore public faith in our political class such as electoral reform and the like miss the point for a number of reasons.

If the electorate are dissatisfied with the political class in Westminster, why would we wish to bring the Liberals round the cabinet table when the electorate have roundly rejected them for almost a century? How can proportional representation be seen as Labour’s silver bullet when the obscenity of a non elected second chamber remains? Adding the concept of “list” MPs to an already half-reformed and chaotic constitutional system makes no sense and would only confuse the public more and allows the difficult situation of rationalising what we have already to be kicked into the long grass. Nor does it improve voter turn-out. Wales is testament to that. “Making every vote count” (a very simplistic and understandably tempting slogan) doesn’t deal with voter apathy.

So how do we begin the long and torturous process of rebuilding public trust in Westminster? First; the expenses and ethical issues of Westminster need to be separated out from wider issues of voter apathy and falling tunout and politicial involvement.

Second; Westminster needs to adopt, with pace which is rare in these matters, an ethics code along the lines of local government, the Greater London Assembly, Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Assembly. It has been done elsewhere and there is no need to invent the wheel or have summits to agree it.

Third; Westminster needs to work more like the real world. It’s not the pageantry that people object to, it’s the perception of MPs only turning up to work for a fraction of what everyone else has to do. It needs longer sessions, less holidays, more scrutiny.

Four; recognise that the process will be long and difficult. People connect with the political system when they see it affecting their lives directly. Devolve real power to local authorities. Recognise that other bodies have democratic mandates and unshackle them. Let people see the local political system work and then they’ll understand the national system and its importance. If people don’t like what is done, they can reject councillors at the next election. Treat others like adults and have faith in the democratic process.

Five; allow party members a real and effective say on policy. Engaged and enfranchised members will go out and campaign, will get out the vote and help turn around falling voting numbers. The Party activists on the ground are the lifeblood of our system. The Party has to recognise that it’s dying in many parts of the country and internally look at what can be done to re-engage members and supporters into the structure.

Six; in the longer term, sort out the constitutional settlement. If Parliament is going to end its era of running as if the membership was still a group of landed gentry, so must the rest of Westminster. Elect a second chamber, bring in a real check and balance on the executive and people will understand what the point of Parliament is.

Seven; Labour needs to bring in reselection of MPs as standard. Not open primaries. Why should members and activists who pay their dues and tramp the streets be usurped by random members of the public rocking up and deciding who represents the Party? MPs need to be properly accountable to their local parties. Opening up a full selection process allows them to be held to account by those who put them there and allow us the chance to review them properly. Trigger ballots are too easy for sitting MPs to control and it would have taken away the difficulties facing the leadership in the current crisis by letting local CLPs decide what to do.

Lastly, Labour needs to get back to the job. Yes, this is serious. But people want to know about the economy and jobs. Accept that an election is coming and that we face an uphill struggle and let’s just get on and do the things that we were perhaps to timid to do in the first couple of terms. A real defining, radical agenda – some will dislike it but others will see as true leadership. In terms of the polls we have nothing to lose.

We either accept that something is going to change radically or we’re going to fiddle round the edges. Whilst a dramatic set of steps need to be taken, let’s remember to keep our heads and focus on what matters. This isn’t the time to suddenly let the personal views of some become mainstream. Electoral reform isn’t the answer. Nor is blind panic. Let’s not panic, but carry on doing what we do best: reform and renew.