Member News
By Philippa Silverman - 26th November 2010
MPs currently waste more than 250 hours queuing to vote over the course of a five-year Parliament, according to a Green MP.
Author of the report on Commons reform Caroline Lucas is calling for the implementation of electronic voting as part of a package of reforms to "bring the Commons into the 21st century".
Electronic voting systems are used in the European and Scottish parliaments.
Time spent on voting equates to £30,000 a week in salary costs because of the House of Commons' old-fashioned system of voting by walking through the "ayes" and "noes" lobbies, the Green Party leader suggests.
Elected to Parliament six months ago, the Brighton Pavilion MP has calculated this can take up to an hour and a half of MPs' time each week.
Lucas also called for a systematic overhaul of parliamentary language to make it easy for outsiders to understand and increase transparency.
She also wants a list of speakers to be published before a debate, rather than MPs' having to try to "catch the Speaker's eye".
The report also suggests bringing in measures to prevent the "talking out" of Private Members' Bills introduced by backbenchers.
And Lucas recommends an end to late-night sittings to make MPs hours and those of parliamentary staff more "family friendly".
Lucas said: "At a time when the political process is struggling to achieve legitimacy and credibility in the eyes of the public, it is more vital than ever for Parliament to demonstrate that its work is efficient, transparent and accountable.
"Now is the time to shake off the image of the 'old boys' club' - and move Westminster into the 21st century.
"What's more, as the government's programme of severe spending cuts to reduce the deficit comes into force, the financial cost to the taxpayer of time-wasting in Westminster takes on a new and more urgent significance.
"For example, an electronic voting system would make far better use of MPs' time; just queuing up to vote accounts for around £30,000 a week in MPs' salary costs.
"In the last Parliament there were over 1,200 votes.
"Since it takes about 15 minutes per vote, that means an MP with an 85 per cent voting record would have spent over 250 hours queuing to vote - a huge waste of time and money."
A copy of the report has been sent to the Commons Speaker and all party leaders at Westminster.
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