Daily View: Parliamentary reform
A committee set up after the MPs' expenses row delivered its proposals on parliamentary reform yesterday. These included giving backbenchers more powers by increasing their access to select committees and weakening the whip. Columnists and commentators welcome the proposed changes, insist on urgency in putting them through and ponder the proposals' relevance as a response to the MPs' expenses row.
the MPs expenses row as an ideal time to bring in changes:
"However painful these past few months have been for Parliament, this is a unique opportunity to rebalance the political system to reduce the power of the executive and reinvigorate the legislature. If not now, when?"
In the same vein but slightly more damning, in her blog the report an opportunistic initiative:
"Although the report itself refers to the row over MPs' expenses in its first paragraph, it is actually an expression of much longer-standing backbench aspirations."
the reaction to the report as tepid, which it says is not good enough. It urges instead immediate action to put through the proposed changes:
"Ministers must get off the fence. They must give unambiguous support to the Wright committee report. It must not be postponed to the uncertain future after the general election. Just do it. Do it now."
Political commentator says the Wright report "deserves at least two cheers for recommending more democratic election of select committee chairmen." But Riddell judges the report is too cautious on increasing public involvement.
party leaders must insist on the reforms going through, despite being a counter-intuitive response to MPs' expenses:
"Giving more power to MPs would not be everyone's plan to restore faith in UK political life after the Westminster expenses scandal. Some might even see it as a minor diversion. Yet the report published on Tuesday into changing the House of Commons so that MPs can hold the executive to account more effectively contains some sensible proposals."
Ben Farrugia at the the proposals but fears they would be forgotten:
"Anyone who wants to see good Government in the UK - which depends entirely upon having an effective and robust Parliament - should support their recommendations."
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