The need for reform of Britain's electoral system
The Birmingham Post
15 June 2009
We can all agree that politics is depressing, disappointing and irritating. But the interesting question is whether it will continue like this, or does it mean that our system has to almost collapse before it can be remade?
Labour support is at an all time low, the Tory vote rising only slightly, the Liberal Democrats stuck and the smaller parties rising including the hateful BNP. But we also see the number who cannot be bother to vote rising very fast.
The expenses scandal is easy to fix. There was a culture around it of encouraging claiming the maximum and very lax checking by the Fees Office. Clearly, lots were extravagant, some downright fraudulent and many self indulgent. But The Daily Telegraph was dishonest in its presentation. In my case, the wrong mortgage figure was claimed from 2003 until 2006, with all the proper documents submitted and no attempt at deceit. By the times the Fees Office picked it up, it had become a large sum. I paid it back long before any freedom of information or public scrutiny, but it is still highlighted as if I am on the fiddle. The Telegraph failed to point out that many of us claimed well below the maximum. Public anger has already ensured that the rules have been tightened and there is to be a new system put in place and externally scrutinised. Many of the worst offenders have been required to stand down from parliament and the police are looking into the cases that may be fraudulent.
But I do not believe that this fixes the problems of our system. Even worse than the expenses scandal, everyone knows that we went to war in Iraq on the basis of lies that Tony Blair told to the country. Many lives were lost and Iraq remains damaged and deeply divided. The public were angry about this too, but after the election in 2005 when Blair got 35 per cent of those who voted and only 22 per cent of those eligible to vote, he ended up with a big majority in the House of Commons. So Blair then Brown can carry on telling half truths and not listening to the public. And it would be just the same if Cameron replaced Brown.
I think the key change that we need is an electoral system that ensures that the parties are represented in proportion to their vote in the country. Blair, with just one third of the House of Commons after Iraq, would have been a very different man. We also need MPs to feel more accountable to their electorates. At the moment, the government can capture power with the vote of as few as 1 in 4 of the people, as did New Labour last time. Power is massively concentrated in the Prime Minister's office. All MPs want to be Ministers. We have more than 100 which is far more than we need. To be appointed, MPs must do what the whips say and so most keep quiet. Even the appointments to Select Committees that scrutinise the government are made by the whips. Older MPs want to go to the House of Lords; to do this they have to keep the whips happy. Even at local government level, central power is great that there is little room for new thinking.
And so the people in power do not listen to the public, the one group they fear, court and grovel before are the owners of the media. They all hang on every wood of Mr Murdoch and the editors of the Tabloids. And Labour knows it can keep The Guardian sweet by special access. And then the BBC takes its line from the general thrust of press comments. One of the worst consequences of the 24 hour media is that handling the media becomes the obsession of all political leaders. Policy is not thought through and properly discussed in Cabinet or parliament. It is announced to the media to create an impression and then rammed through the House of Commons.
My conclusion is that the key reform we need is a voting system that reflects public support. No party would have a majority in the Commons. They would have to reach an agreement with other parties. The Cabinet would have to discuss and consider policies. The House of Commons would have to be listened to. Smaller parties and Independents would be represented and have their say. The world and the country face enormous challenges. Our present system will not elect politicians capable of rising to them.
