Anthony Barnett (London, OK): The Guardian's veteran political correspondent Michael White cultivates a knowing, seen it all, it won't change, nor-should-it-if-it-comes-to-that, attitude that is only bearable because he works fairly hard. Finally, after thirty years, his faith in the system may have been rocked. In today's political briefing he reports that Parliament's Lisbon debate "rings hollow",
What is shocking to the dwindling band of MPs who believe that parliamentary procedures are there to protect minority views is that the detailed Commons committee stage of the bill - five of the promised 12 days taken so far - is all but meaningless. Why? Clever Geoff Hoon, Labour chief whip, has persuaded MPs to vote to overrule their own standing orders. Instead of line-by-line debate which explores changes to foreign policy procedures, EU cooperation on crime or energy, at least half of each day is devoted to a "themed" discussion, with debate on specific amendments tacked on later.
Does procedure matter? No one would be allowed to change the rules before a football match or criminal trial. Yet younger MPs on both sides barely grasp what powers they have given to Whitehall - let alone to Brussels.
Do I detect that MW himself is a little "shocked"? Is he coming round to the view not only that procedures matter in a democracy but that in Britain the rules are unsafe in the hands that control them? If so the edifice is finally cracking.
Comments
Clever... is a boss clever for getting his workers to agree to do less work?
Geoff is a Hoon with a view, probably not dissimilar to my own, about many of his neutered colleagues, no doubt many of whom foster delusions of achieving the dizzy heights of power of our Geoff. Even their role as voting fodder has been traduced!!!!!!!
It is perhaps worth noting that J.S.Mill in his essay on Representative Government wrote that line by line amendments could only produce a dog's breakfast. He felt that MPs should reject a bad Bill in its entirety and throw it back to government to get it right.
He would also have approved of pre legislative scrutiny.
Westminster and Whitehall seem to be the only ones to ignore the fact that there is no real purpose to their existence.
Or could it be that they still regard their position as representatives of their constituents. And yet, as John McGregor, (now Lord McGregor, said to me in a letter, "Mr. Flynn, we do not have an agricultural policy. I just implement directives as they arrive from Brussels". That, today is the function of the Westminster Parliament.
At the moment, I am putting together what I hope will be the start of a new approach to Local Democracy. I want to resurrect the County Economy where the Local County sets and collects the Property and Business Rates. The Retail Shops that sell Local Goods and Produce, are given a percentage Rebate on Local Taxation for supporting the Local Economy, providing work for Taxpayers. And I see no reason why Norfolk cannot look at the possibility of a local supply of water and Electricity. And remember, Bacton is a local structure. I could go on and on. But times must, and I have a Parish Council meeting tonight. Regards, ATFlynn.
"Norfolks Mutineer"
Post new comment