If the first rule of success is to follow a failure, then the 157th Speaker of the House of Commons, whoever he or she may be, is off to a good start. Michael Martin was everything a Speaker should not be: partial, too deferential to the executive and an opponent of transparency. His alleged comment that ‘I did not come into politics not to take what is owed to me’ sums up so much of what has gone wrong. His removal was a necessary first step in the process of once more making Parliament an effective institution, and one of which the British people can be proud.
But it would be wrong to imagine that it is the expenses scandal alone that has brought the Commons into disrepute. The deluge of stories about flipping, moats and feather-bedding has hardened — not created — the public’s contempt for Parliament. In fact, the public’s loss of respect for Parliament can be traced back to Parliament’s loss of respect for itself.
The Commons has handed away far too many of the powers lent to it by the voters. More than half of our laws now originate in Europe. It has allowed the executive to bypass it: Gordon Brown made his announcement about parliamentary reform on Tuesday not in the Commons chamber but in a televised Downing Street press conference timed to coincide with the nightly news. For a minister to mislead the House used to be an indelible stain on his record. Now mistakes can be corrected with a quick letter and are soon forgotten.
If the Commons allows itself to be treated with contempt by the executive, it is little surprise that the electorate treats it the same way. Fighting to recover the prerogatives of Parliament must be one of the first tasks that the new Speaker undertakes.
Simultaneously, he must set about undoing the damage done by the revelations of the past fortnight. He must order the immediate publication of all expenses claims — only if they can see every claim will the public believe they are legitimate. Indeed, the act of publication itself drains much of the poison from the issue. All new shadow cabinet expenses are now online and reassuringly dull they are too.
The new Speaker should be an advocate for Parliament both against the executive and to the people. No party sees electoral gain in fighting cynicism about politics, so that should be part of the Speaker’s job. He must be prepared to take to the airwaves to make the case for Parliament and justify its workings to the people it serves. The unthinking deference people once accorded Parliament is dead, and the electorate cannot now be expected to value an institution whose workings it does not understand. MPs complain incessantly — and with justification — about the paucity of parliamentary reporting in the press. So why not have the Commons take the opportunity that the internet provides to go over the heads of the papers to the people? Instead, the parliamentary authorities have been waging a counterproductive campaign against new media, like the one they waged against the printed press in the 1770s. Bills are published online in such a form that it is nearly impossible for the electorate to understand the role their MPs are playing in the legislative process, what amendments they are proposing and supporting. The authorities have even banned video of debates from being downloadable from the internet on the grounds that they might be used ‘for campaigning or satirical purposes’.
Disdain for Parliament is unhealthy and corrosive to our democracy. A new Speaker who stands up for Parliament, enforces transparency and shows the public what Parliament does can not only reverse the damage done by this whole sorry expenses business but also begin to restore public respect for the institution itself.
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