Bethan Jenkins AC/AM Blog

Just had this pr through from our MPs in Westminster. There are news stories here and here. Be interesting to see how Cameron responds given that he hasn’t stopped mentioning that he wants an election since the whole expenses story broke, though today’s poll in the Independent shows that support for the Tories are now also waning. Did they really think they could get away with coming out of this expenses drama unscathed??

 And what of Nick Clegg- will he turn his rhetoric on reform in to action, and support Plaid and the SNP?

So ,will MPs get support for this motion? Good on Elfyn, Adam and Hywel and the SNP for putting this on to the agenda. 

PLAID CYMRU AND SNP TO BRING FORWARD DISSOLUTION DATE

MPs could be given an opportunity next week to dissolve parliament and call an early General Election after Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party (SNP) announced they would seek to use debating time allotted to them to force a dissolution debate.

The move, if it was successful, in the wake of the Westminster expenses scandal, would give the public the chance to pass judgment on their politicians and the UK Parliament.

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Elfyn Llwyd MP said:

“This would be a precursor to a root and branch reform of the political system in Westminster.

“We in Plaid Cymru have long raised the issue of reform of the House of Lords but also reform of the first past the post system to a more democratic means of securing that membership of Parliament better reflects society.

“We also firmly believe that the time has come for fixed parliaments in Westminster and curbing the Royal prerogative. The expenses scandal is merely the boil on the skin of Parliament – much more in depth attention is required.”

The SNP’s Angus Robertson MP, added:

“This dissolution motion is about confidence in the whole Westminster political system which has been mired in the expenses scandal.

“It is not just the UK Government that is out of step with public opinion, but Parliament itself.

“The only way to sort this mess out is for Parliament to be dissolved and for the people to have their say in a general election. There can be no argument against the entire House of Commons submitting itself to a vote of the people who elected them.”

“This political crisis was created by politicians, and the SNP and Plaid Cymru will give Parliament the chance to give the people their say.

“The Westminster Government is crumbling, its authority has drained away and with European elections on Thursday the Scottish public have the opportunity with a vote for the SNP to force the pace on a general election.

“The time has come to allow people to have their say, and what better way to have a debate than hold a general election. There are a raft of issues from more responsibility for the Scottish Parliament, to reforming the House of Lords and the MPs’ expenses issue that need to be debated by the public.”

Diwedd / Ends

Yesterday after a meeting with the UK Ambassador to Moldova, I attended an Unlock Democracy event at Porcullis House. They were launching a Public Accountability and Political Ethics Bill, which they hope will be debated in Westminster. The event had general cross party support, and the speakers included Helena Kennedy, Norman Lamb, Caroline Lucas and Douglas Carswell.

The purpose of the Bill is to establish a system of political ethics in order to restore public confidence; ensure that decisions on the matter are driven by citizens; and to establish a Citizens Convention for that purpose. Their aim is that the Electoral Commission would establish a Citizens Convention of no less that 100 registered electors in the UK, and would make recommendations on the following matters-

payments and expenses of MPs and House of Lords, electoral system, greater power for citizens to hold MPs and members of the House of Lords to account, conduct of business in Parliament, funding of political parties and caps on donations.

The intention of the Bill is that the Prime Minister would ensure that Parliament debates the report or reports by the Convention within 3 months of receiving them,  put in practise within 12 months, and that if the PM or the House of Parliament disagrees with them, then 5% of citizens  may call for a referendum on the issue.

This is an interesting idea, and an idea that has been tested via the Civic Lotteries system in Canada, whereby a group of citizens were chosen at random from the electoral register to investigate and come up with recommendations on the voting system in Canada.

All politicians present  yesterday were supportive of the concept of the Bill- most using the current expenses crisis as an example of the need to engage the public much more widely in policy and in scrutinising government. I did ask a question of the panelists as to why a review of the Monarchy was not included in relation to democratic reform, yet this was not warmly received. I also asked whether they supported open primaries given that most said that closed party lists perpetuated the feeling of isolation by the public when electing their representatives.  Most of the panelists were in favour of looking in to this area for development.

I asked during business questions today whether we could have a debate on constitutional reform at the Assembly, but Carwyn Jones didn’t seem too keen for that to happen. I think its vital that we have a say in Wales as to the direction of any changes to the UK’s constitution as it has an affect on how we work as an Assembly. After all, we can share our experiences,-especially in the realm of fixed term parliaments, an open system with regards to expenses, and our voting system- however imperfect it is.

I look forward to progress on this, and Unlock Democracy’s aim of garnering support for this new Bill from all MPs.