Views
Time is ripe for sweeping reforms - for The Inverness Courier
PEOPLE are rightly angry about the abuses of MPs expenses, and this is shedding a light on the arrogance and secrecy that it is at the heart of the British political system.
That justified anger gives us a real chance to clean up the British political system and give people much more power over what happens in Parliament.
For too long, Labour and Conservative governments have been happy to do nothing on the basis that every few years they get their hands on power. They have colluded to keep the people out. Decades of red-blue, blue-red government have got us into the mess we are in today. Now we need to get out of it.
Last week, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg set out a plan for reform that could be implemented over the next 100 days if Parliament put its mind to it. I think that MPs should be forced to stay in Westminster until these reforms are passed. There should be no summer break until our broken democracy is fixed — and then there should be a general election.
Over the course of the next 100 days we could put in place the sweeping changes that are needed to open up the political system and give people more power over their politicians.
The first step should be acceptance in full of Christopher Kelly's proposals to clean up the MPs expenses system. Having set up an independent body to reform the system, it would be quite wrong for MPs to pick and choose which of his findings to implement.
We should then put in place a power for local people to force a by-election where their MP is found guilty of serious misconduct. This so called "recall" power is used effectively in other countries, and it would make sure that voters have an immediate say in these cases.
We need to stop prime ministers fiddling the date of general elections. In most other countries the election date is fixed far in advance — the President of the United States is elected every four years, for example. We should do the same, and stop the election day being a political choice.
We also need to stop politicians being corrupted by money. There is no doubt that large donors have a malign influence — in many cases their money is used to try to buy elections. We should outlaw big donations to political parties and make every party rely on small donations from larger numbers of people.
Most important of all, we need a fair voting system for Westminster. It is outrageous that an all-powerful government can be elected with the support of only 22 per cent of those able to vote — yet that is all the support Labour had at the last election. By changing the voting system, we can make sure that government has to listen to people and that safe seats where MPs can ignore their voters are a thing of the past.
This change will not come from politicians alone — people will need to keep the pressure on to force it through. So I hope that people across the Highlands and Scotland will sign up to back that change at www.takebackpower.org. Liberal Democrats have long argued for change, but it to make it happen now it needs to be understood that more dithering and complacency from Labour and Conservatives is unacceptable to the people of this country.
EURO POLL
The European elections have gone largely unnoticed so far. But what goes on in Brussels affects us directly. Whether it is rules and subsidies for farmers, action on climate change, or funds for projects in the Highlands, decisions taken in Brussels really matter in the Highlands.
That's why I believe it is so important to make sure we have at least one MEP from the Highlands and Islands elected this time. The Lib Dems top candidate George Lyon, a farmer from Argyll and former MSP for that area, is the only Highlander with a real chance of winning. He would be a strong voice for the Highlands in Europe.
Posted on: 02/06/2009
