Rescuing
Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected
Dictatorship
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Spin, not
face-to-face confrontations with the voters, is the Government's
chosen method of communication. Ordinary
people are dangerous. Ordinary people might ask a question
which throws a politician 'off message'; the Cabinet member
might reveal himself or herself to be a human being like
us, and not a programmed android. Worse still, he or she
might tell the truth.
Ann Leslie - Daily Mail, September
16, 2004
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Leading
Tory calls for a cull of 100 MPs
By Jane
Merrick - Daily Mail, December 14, 2004
The
number of MPs should be cut by a fifth to restore public confidence
in politicians, a senior Conservative said yesterday. Andrew Tyrie,
Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury wants a reduction of
more than 100 MPs. This would save the taxpayer £25million
in pay and allowances and a further £10million in the cost
of Commons administration.
It
chimes with promises made by Michael Howard and his Shadow Cabinet
to trim 'fat' government and hand more power to ordinary people.
But Mr Tyrie's proposal to cut the number of MPs from 650 to fewer
than 550 is unlikely to become Conservative Party policy. He said
the resounding NO vote in last month's referendum on a regional
assembly in the North-East proved that people wanted fewer politicians.
"The
public do not want to pay more for politics," he added. "Politicians
should find ways to arrest the growth in the cost of politics.
The best place to start - and the best signal for politicians
to send - would be for the Commons to prune itself."
Mr
Tyrie also called for the number of peers in the House of Lords
to be halved from the current 693. The plans are set out in his
paper Pruning the Politicians. Cast your own vote
on this proposal.
Letters
to the Daily Mail on November 2, 2004
from
J. Pocock, Reading, Berks
The
£31,845 that Labour MP Siobhan Mc Donagh claimed
for her postage would pay for my pension for the next
seven years. I wonder if she would let me be her postman.
*******
from
Mrs Betty Snelling - Saltfleetby, LINCS
It
is time the number of MPs was cut by half to a more workable
level. Their constituents would vote on all major issues
via referendums.
MPs
should work a five-day week, from 9am to 5 pm, as the
ordinary man in the street has to. As we are now mostly
ruled by Brussels and Tony Blair, Government could cut
out the dead wood, just as big companies are forced to.
*******
from
John D. Waller, Huddersfield, W. Yorks.
The
number of MPs representing Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland
should be reduced to take into account the fact that these
contries have national assemblies. The money saved would
contribute to funding the interest charges on the new
Scottish Parliament building.
It
might have the added advantage of eliminating a number
of Scottish ministers and Cabinet members and give us
a more balanced feel to the government.
*******
As half of our laws are made by the EU,
the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, why do
we need 600-plus MPs in Westminster on a four-and-a-half
day week with an increased salary and ridiculous expenses
from
I.W.Atchison, Longhorsley, Nothumberland
*******
So
17 of the 20 MPs claiming the highest expenses are Labour,
two are SNP and only one is Tory. Hard to believe that
Labour came to power on an anti-sleaze ticket.
from
Darren Midgley, Todmorden, Lancs.
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YESTERDAY
IN PARLIAMENT
By
Quentin Letts - Daily Mail, June 23, 2004
Something
amazing. An Hon Member stood up and suggested that there be a
cull of MPs. He proposed chopping numbers from the current, bloated
figureof 659 to about 500.
The
fellow in question was Andrew George, a handsome but unexciting
Lib Dem from St Ives, Cornwall. No orator, young George. He gulps,
waffles, repeats himself like a man who has had lamb curry for
lunch. As he meanders through sentences Mr George has a habit
of tugging on an ear lobe. It is really quite astonishing what
a poor public speaker he is.But
good on him for the core of his suggestion. Given that he himself
would be a prime candidate for extermination, he is to be congratulated
on showing such noble indifference to his fate. The debate was
held in Westminster Hall, an expensive annexe where MPs burble
away unnoticed. The one consolation they have is knowing that
their words will appear in the next day's Hansard and can therefore
be faxed to the newsdesk of their constituency newspaper.
Sure
enough, hardly anyone turned up for Mr George's debate on the
composition of Parliament. In attendance, one other LibDem, one
minister, one shadow minister, one ministerial aide and, er, that
was it. Not a single member of the public turned up to hear the
Cornish Cicero.
Up
stood Mr George, peachy dimpled, smallish fingers flexing at the
end of two slightly too-long sleeves. He noted that the Commons
wanted to sack 40,000 civil servants. Should not MPs (each of
whom costs £211,000 per annum) set an example and axe a
few score from their own pampered ranks?
Mr
George was sure everyone could think of MPs they would like to
get rid of but this was not about personalities. It was the principle.
Britain had 'an unfeasibly large number of MPs'. Time for a firing
squad!
This
brought us to Nick Harvey (LibDem, N Devon). Ah. It is only when
one hears a speech from Mr Harvey that one is forced to reappraise
therhetorical abilities of Comrade George. Hr Harvey spoke at
length, at really very considerable length, about his vision for
the British political system. He wanted to get the Commons down
to just 450 MPs, but at a price. As he proceeded to tell us, in
detail, his plan envisaged greater powers for county councils,
regional councils, local talking shops, etc.
The
Minister, David Lammy, begged a sucky sweet from an aide to while
away the time. In the press enclosure elbows slipped off the table
edge. A civil servant left the Hall dazed, her eyes glazed. It
is possible she was in need ofoxygen, or simply a loaded revolver.
Was
the Hall's clock working? How could the seconds pass so slowly?
As Mr Harvey carefully gave each syllable a coat of treacle the
breathing in his audience slowed to the respiratory rate of a
hibernating tortoise.
It
was at this point that Sir Nicholas Winterton squawked.
The
singular Sir Nicholas (Con, Macclesfield) was in the chair and,
like the rest of us, may have been struggling to keep his eyelids
open. "Order!" he suddenly screeched.
People
jolted, jumping high out of their skins. Sir Nicholas proceeded
to make some minor point of order, but his intention had been
plain. It was, to use that hackneyed expression, a wake-up call.
When
Mr Harvey finally sat down after half an hour we heard the shadow
minister, Oliver Heald, agree that there were too many MPs. Chipmunk-cheeked
Mr Heald, a congenial roly-poly, showed himself a man of mercy.
He spoke for just nine minutes.
He
noted that when Britain had an Empire the Commons made do with
658 members. Now we had nothing. The European Union is taking
away our powers. Devolution had further eroded decisions from
Westminster. Why do we now have 659 members?
Mr
Lammy would not agree to a cull. No one expected him to. But Mr
George's debate was a useful starting point. There is a campaign
to be pursued here. And I think we all know where a cull could
begin, don't we?
Click
one of the links above to cast your vote
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