IS THERE an uglier word in common usage just now than "redacted"? How typical that when the House of Commons authorities – with their fondness for arcane garb and ceremony – had to come up with a phrase to describe the processing of MPs' expenses they chose an obscure word that had most of us reaching for the nearest dictionary.
Even harder to comprehend is how, after weeks of the most intense and visceral public opprobrium, the parliamentary authorities thought they could get away with publishing MPs' expenses receipts with most of the interesting and revealing detail oblit
erated by black boxes.
Far from making Parliament look more open and transparent, the exercise only confirmed in a stark visual way what we already knew about Westminster's reflex antipathy to transparency. The acres of black, Orwellian in their heavy-handedness, have joined the moat and the duck island as leitmotifs of modern British democracy's darkest hour.
It is clear there is some distance to go before we have fully plumbed the depths of just how the political class has taken advantage of the taxpayers' largesse. Take, for example, the system we reveal today whereby political parties can benefit to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds a year by having parliamentary offices (which are there to serve the public) situated in accommodation owned by the parties themselves (thereby serving the parties). There has long been a debate about whether parties should be funded from the public purse, to avoid the conflicts of interest that arrive with big-money donors. Little did we realise that we were funding the parties already, through rents. Expect more details of these sweetheart property deals to emerge in future – especially as it becomes clear that the landlords were often charging more than the going commercial rate.
The departure of Michael Martin as Speaker at least provides an opportunity to start a new chapter in the history of the House of Commons. But whether that chapter proves to be any less ignominious remains to be seen. Tomorrow sees the election of a new Speaker, and the expectations that will descend on the victor's gowned shoulders will be onerous indeed. Early favourite John Bercow has set the tone with a far-ranging set of proposals that include a much more public role for the Speaker, making him or her a champion of the Commons' role in our democracy rather than simply a master of ceremonies and provider of fine dining opportunities for honourable members.
Mr Bercow may yet be denied the job he desires – the result of horse-trading, personal vendettas and petty tribalism that is yet another indictment of Commons culture. Some MPs are, it seems, incapable of regarding the mother of parliaments as anything other than a playground to exercise their small-mindedness. Yet even if he fails, Mr Bercow will have done the Commons a service by laying out the terms of the debate.
A commonsense approach to publishing MPs' expenses will go some way to allaying the public's anger. But Westminster's reputation will not recover fully until it can rebalance the relationship it has with the government of the day.
The centralising of power in the executive – started by Margaret Thatcher, continued by John Major and intensified under Tony Blair – has left parliament playing second fiddle to Downing Street. Westminster needs to reclaim its place as the heart of British democracy – the crucible in which the people of these islands decide, through their MP proxies, how they want to be governed.
Gordon Brown, on inheriting the premiership, began the process of restoring lost legitimacy to the legislature, largely as a result of a lingering feeling that it had been steamrollered by the Labour government in the run-up to the Iraq war. Mr Brown promised new rules to ensure parliament was treated with due respect.
Respect, however, has to be earned. Mr Bercow's suggestion that he would strip the party whips of their ability to choose the members of select committees – a primary instrument of control over MPs – would be an excellent first step. But restoring Westminster's lustre in the minds of the British people will be a long and laborious task, with a sceptical public in no mood to give any incoming Speaker the benefit of the doubt.
The full article contains 716 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
