Many of you may know that for the last quarter century I have taught Constitutional Law (though shortly going into enforced early retirement) - and have been a close observer of constitutional affairs in both the UK & USA.
We hear today that we are now in the midst of a major constitutional crisis, as a result of the House of Lords asking the Commons to think again about measures not set out in the Government's manifesto (and which they denied in the election that they would do), set out in secondary legislation - rather than in a Bill which had been subject to detailed scrutiny.
It is with great reluctance that I have come to the conclusion that we need now to address the weaknesses of the British Constitution. I've always treasured the flexibility that our unwritten constitution has given us. But that depended upon respect for the rules and conventions of that constitution. It was based on the British idea of 'fair play'. The trouble is we have seen in recent years the adoption of bankers' morality that winning is everything, and traditional practices can be abandoned if they don't aid the goal of the day.
We've seen legislation rammed through the Commons, with little scrutiny and little thought of the consequences. The Fixed Term Parliament's Act is a case in point - elections are now to be less frequent. By the next election the size of the Commons may have been slashed - with less representation - and we've also seen the loss of many from the electoral roll.
The problem is NOT an over-powerful House of Lords. The problem is within the House of Commons. Once the election results are in, power is handed to a minority of a minority. Whips ensure that this minority can get its business through. Some MPs may be too sheepish to challenge the whips - but the real problem is that MPs have too little power - in our system, to have power you need to become a minister. Rebels are not likely to get that opportunity.
In the last week the Health Secretary refused the Health Committee access to the data, and a report, which was considered in preparing an obesity strategy. It wasn't refused because of national security, or to protect legitimate commercial secrecy - but because the government didn't want the select committee "interfering" with what the Government wanted. I'm a great fan of select committees - but withholding information is NOT ACCEPTABLE. I urge you to visit the Health Committee's webpage to get the full background. Over the effects of the tax credit proposals, the government failed to supply the scrutinising committee with the full figures.
It is now common for Parliamentary Question Time to descend into Ministers not answering questions about their responsibilities, but just challenging the opposition. Cameron is a master of this. Last week, Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan got ticked off by the Speaker for doing the same thing.
Whether the accountability is sought in select committees or in oral questions, it is being sabotaged by Ministers.
The ruse which provoked last night's debacle involved severely limiting parliamentary time for scrutiny in the Commons, by using secondary legislation, then threatening the House of Lords.
Last night convinced me we need a written constitution, with effective checks & balances, and greater separation of powers.
All comments gratefully received.
Tuesday 27 October 2015
Wednesday 21 October 2015
Power tends to corrupt...
Arrogance has come quickly to the new Conservative government. It seems to have quickly forgotten that in the Westminster system, the Government is accountable to Parliament.
First of all the Health select committee asked for data that the government was using to inform it's soon to be announced obesity strategy. This quite reasonable request was refused. A refusal on the grounds of national security or commercial secrecy might be valid (sadly these reasons have been abused in the past), but in their arrogance, the Government isn't even hiding behind these. They are just not prepared to release the information to a committee which seeks to scrutinise the government.
Secondly, the government has been caught red handed withholding full information about the actual impact of their tax cuts on real people.
If this is "politics as usual", it needs to stop now. This isn't a game! Real people are affected by the consequences of the government's policies - and it should be straight with MPs. They are their - not for themselves - but to represent the people of this country. The government should not be subverting Parliament.
First of all the Health select committee asked for data that the government was using to inform it's soon to be announced obesity strategy. This quite reasonable request was refused. A refusal on the grounds of national security or commercial secrecy might be valid (sadly these reasons have been abused in the past), but in their arrogance, the Government isn't even hiding behind these. They are just not prepared to release the information to a committee which seeks to scrutinise the government.
Secondly, the government has been caught red handed withholding full information about the actual impact of their tax cuts on real people.
If this is "politics as usual", it needs to stop now. This isn't a game! Real people are affected by the consequences of the government's policies - and it should be straight with MPs. They are their - not for themselves - but to represent the people of this country. The government should not be subverting Parliament.
Tuesday 20 October 2015
Tax Credits
The parliamentary battle to halt the all-out war on the poor...
(what we want is a war on poverty - with the issues that are causing greater uncertainty, instability, institutional disadvantaging and problems for those on low - and even medium incomes - being addressed)
... goes into high gear today.
The House of Commons will be debating the motion "That this House calls on the Government to reverse its decision to cut tax credits, which is due to come into effect in April 2016." Already there is much disquiet in Tory ranks about the policy (and its potential impact on their re-election prospects). Recent revelations about how the government has been playing hard and fast with the facts have increased their unease.
If you can email your local Tory MP - I would urge you to do so. They are there to represent ALL their constituents - not just the rich and comfortably off. Perhaps a few might vote according to an awakened conscious - or at the very least to reduce the number of people who might be motivated to work for their defeat if they don't stand up against these pernicious proposals.
Then next week the matter may come before the House of Lords. On Monday the Order Paper sets down the following business -
Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 Lord O’Neill of Gatley to move that the draft Regulations laid before the House on 7 September be approved. 4th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, 9th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope to move, as an amendment to the above motion, at end to insert "but this House regrets the lack of available evidence in support of the policy changes contained in the Regulations as set out in the Social Security Advisory Committee’s letter to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury of 9 September 2015, and that the Regulations fail to take account of concerns about their short-term impact on the household incomes of working families."
A defeat on the main motion would be regarded as "fatal" - and there have been some ugly threats about would might happen if the government failed to get its way.
In a year when Parliament has been celebrating Magna Carta; Simon de Montfort's Parliament; the Chartists; the Suffragettes and so on - see http://www.parliament.uk/festival-of-freedoms. It would be good to see Parliament rising to the challenge of protecting the British people's rights.
(what we want is a war on poverty - with the issues that are causing greater uncertainty, instability, institutional disadvantaging and problems for those on low - and even medium incomes - being addressed)
... goes into high gear today.
The House of Commons will be debating the motion "That this House calls on the Government to reverse its decision to cut tax credits, which is due to come into effect in April 2016." Already there is much disquiet in Tory ranks about the policy (and its potential impact on their re-election prospects). Recent revelations about how the government has been playing hard and fast with the facts have increased their unease.
If you can email your local Tory MP - I would urge you to do so. They are there to represent ALL their constituents - not just the rich and comfortably off. Perhaps a few might vote according to an awakened conscious - or at the very least to reduce the number of people who might be motivated to work for their defeat if they don't stand up against these pernicious proposals.
Then next week the matter may come before the House of Lords. On Monday the Order Paper sets down the following business -
Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 Lord O’Neill of Gatley to move that the draft Regulations laid before the House on 7 September be approved. 4th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, 9th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope to move, as an amendment to the above motion, at end to insert "but this House regrets the lack of available evidence in support of the policy changes contained in the Regulations as set out in the Social Security Advisory Committee’s letter to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury of 9 September 2015, and that the Regulations fail to take account of concerns about their short-term impact on the household incomes of working families."
A defeat on the main motion would be regarded as "fatal" - and there have been some ugly threats about would might happen if the government failed to get its way.
In a year when Parliament has been celebrating Magna Carta; Simon de Montfort's Parliament; the Chartists; the Suffragettes and so on - see http://www.parliament.uk/festival-of-freedoms. It would be good to see Parliament rising to the challenge of protecting the British people's rights.
Monday 12 October 2015
Other interests?
The purpose of this blog is to argue for progressive causes and issues which are of concern.
But if you read yesterday's post - you'll see that I have other interests - and if you share them you might be interested in
The Washminster Blog. I set this up for those who are interested in the work of the UK Parliament and the US Congress (although I also stray into French politics and the European Union). I also use it to provide information of relevance to my law and politics students. So don't expect the 'progressive slant' seen in this blog - but material which may be of interest to you is available there.
I also provide a twitter feed which concerns itself with political news from the UK - again, very different from the jdm_progressive feed: it is called Washminsterparl. It too is aimed at students of law and politics, and anyone interested in the British Parliament.
But if you read yesterday's post - you'll see that I have other interests - and if you share them you might be interested in
The Washminster Blog. I set this up for those who are interested in the work of the UK Parliament and the US Congress (although I also stray into French politics and the European Union). I also use it to provide information of relevance to my law and politics students. So don't expect the 'progressive slant' seen in this blog - but material which may be of interest to you is available there.
I also provide a twitter feed which concerns itself with political news from the UK - again, very different from the jdm_progressive feed: it is called Washminsterparl. It too is aimed at students of law and politics, and anyone interested in the British Parliament.
Sunday 11 October 2015
Back on target!
But with much of the immediate work completed, I can return to posting on jdm_progressive. During the next week I'll be down at Westminster again. There are some interesting meetings of committees coming up.
One of my policy passions concerns Lifestyle Influenced Chronic Diseases. The NHS faces a potentially crippling crisis as obesity, diabetes, dementia and mental health problems such as depression are set to increase. But not only are the potential costs astronomical - but personal costs of early death and disability will be immense for those that suffer from these conditions.
Action can be taken to reduce the threat - but as ever, there are powerful forces who are doing all they can to protect their profits, despite the harm that their products cause. Perhaps you read the article about the Coca Cola funded research which is being used to lessen the impact of independent research. (we've been down this road before - with the Tobacco companies). This article comes from the Daily Mail -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3266079/Coca-Cola-pouring-millions-scientific-research-healthy-eating-schemes-counter-claims-drinks-cause-obesity.html
Not my paper of choice (I read the piece in the Guardian), but even the Right are concerned about the impact of Coke's actions are on our national, and personal health!
On Tuesday the Health Committee is holding an evidence session on Childhood obesity. If, like me, you can't catch it at the time - Parliamentlive.tv stores video and audio recordings of committee hearings.
Further details of the inquiry can be found here.
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