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By Douglas Carswell MP - 10th May 2011
Douglas Carswell MP says elected MPs, rather than Whitehall grandees, should decide who represents Britain in Brussels.
In Westminster Hall this afternoon, I will be proposing that elected MPs – rather than Whitehall grandees – should decide who represents Britain in Brussels.
As much by accident as design, our constitutional arrangements have given the prime minister the powers of Crown Prerogative that once belonged to the Crown. Yet all too often, this means that the Whitehall machine – rather than anyone you directly voted for, gets to decide. As part of our process of political renewal, we need to transfer power from the executive in Whitehall to those we actually elected in Parliament. We began this process with a confirmation hearing for BBC chairman-designate, Chris Patten. The next step is to apply the same logic to Jon Cunliffe.
We do not know formally know that Sir Jon will be the next head to the UK Permanent Representation to the EU. Indeed, having tried through both parliamentary questions and letters and freedom of information requests, we’re not even allowed to know that his predecessor Sir Kim Darroch is standing down in June. We only know this thanks to a series of anonymous Whitehall press leaks.
But my point is why should we not know? The head of UKREP is a public servant, yet is almost entirely without accountability to the public in whose name they cut deals. Not only should the public have a right to know, but those they elect should have the right to approve – or to veto – candidates for the role.
A year ago today, at an emergency meeting of EU finance ministers, Chancellor Alistair Darling, committed us to bailing out the Eurozone. The deal he struck has made UK taxpayers liable for over £10bn. By any measure, this has been a disastrous deal for Britain. At a time of austerity at home, the Portuguese component of the bailout alone could have covered the basic salaries of 254,000 nurses, or 114,000 NHS doctors, or 180,000 police constables, or 246,000 Army privates. Rather than automatically elevate the officials who helped get us into this mess, we should be able to question them publicly about their role – and then decide if they are the best negotiators Britain can find.
Democratising the appointment process when it comes to senior officials is hardly controversial. As early as March 2000, the Commons liaison committee report Shifting the Balance: Select Committees and the Executivemooted the idea.
Indeed, in July 2007 Gordon Brown promised pre-appointment scrutiny hearings in his first statement to the House as prime minister – even if his ministers choose to ignore what the select committee thought when the Education committee gave a thumbs down to the new children's commissioner.
LibDems have supported measures to strengthen the power of the legislature over the executive for as long as anyone can remember. David Cameron, in opposition, specifically championed the idea of reforming Crown Prerogative, and in government threw his weight behind the idea of confirmation hearings, insisting the Chris Patten face such a hearing before being confirmed as Chairman of the BBC Trust.
It is time to make good on our promises, and hold a formal confirmation hearing for the next head of UKREP.
Douglas Carswellhas been Conservative MP for Clacton, Eastern since 2010.
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